DIY surface grinder or Coleman Lanterns?

[cujet]

OK, my valve caps and other parts would be much nicer if ground square and true.

While I have always wanted a surface grinder, I do not have the money or space.

What I do have is a Chinese Chink-oleum 40 inch lathe with milling machine head on top. It is a "shopfox" brand and actually works well. The 2 axis lathe power feed works wonders as a milling table with the milling head.

In any case, I am trying to figure out how to use this thing as a surface grinder. The milling head has a DC motor and can run up to about 2000RPM. I could mount some form of grinding wheel in an arbor and use the lathe cross slide to move parts. Problem is I do not have a magnetic mount for parts. Nor do I have a suitable grinding wheel.

How do I mount the valve caps, and how do I mount the grinding wheel. What size and what type wheel do you suggest?


Thanks!

Chris

[adhall]

I made an attachment for my lathe to mount an electric grinder on the toolpost. It isn't as solid as I wish it were, but it works well enough if you can afford to go slowly. I have mounted a 4" angle grinder to it and also a "Dremel" type hand grinder (at different times). I just held the parts in the lathe chuck or bolted them to the face plate and fed the grinder across with the power cross feed while running the spindle at a slow speed (back gear).

The attachment consists of a piece of 2" angle iron about 4" long with an old lathe tool brazed to the outside corner at 45 degrees to both legs of the angle. I clamp the lathe tool in the toolpost and fasten the grinder between the legs of the angle iron with a couple of hose clamps.

The biggest job I done was to resurface the flywheel from a Volkswagen Vanagen. I did that with the angle grinder and a 60 grit wheel. It took about an hour to make one pass over the flywheel.

Best regards,
Andy Hall

[cujet]

Thanks Andy,

I have a small tool post grinder. I forgot to mention that. It does a good job of surfacing rotating parts, such as Lister tappets. However, towards the center of the tappet, the grind gets iffy and leaves a high spot (point).

I was hoping to make some form of surface grinder that makes a uniform and linear pattern.

Chris

[adhall]

Chris,

Sorry to belabor the point, but I think there is way around the problem you mention. If you mount the part off-center from the lathe spindle axis, you would avoid grinding at the center of rotation of the part. That should eliminate the high spot you describe. You would also increase the radius of the grinding marks which would come closer to matching the finish from a surface grinder.

For what it's worth, one way to get your "cheap" surface grinder is to pick up a metal shaper and mount your toolpost grinder on the end of the ram.

For that matter, why not mount your toolpost grinder onto the ram of the milling head of your lathe/mill? You could make a bracket that clamps onto the outside of the ram.

Best regards,
Andy Hall

[Doug]

I took them to a machine shop.

He charged me 15 bucks each....

[adhall]

Aw, be a sport, Doug. Think of the satisfaction not only in doing the job yourself, but also in making the actual tool required.

Best regards,
Andy Hall

[rcavictim]

Yeah Doug!      What happened to your 'sense of adventure'?

[Doug]

I have scotch, life is one big adventure......

Does anyone have a globe for a 1948 Coleman 236 or 237 lantern?

[mike90045]

I have scotch, life is one big adventure......

Does anyone have a globe for a 1948 Coleman 236 or 237 lantern?

I have a 228-E , new in box. Unused,  It has a globe with it.

[Doug]

Close and it would fit but that has straight sides.

I'm troubled by the idea of destroying the value of one by stripping it to repair another.
Thank you for the offer.
220 series big lanterns are very nice to use and forgiving of abuse. You should hang onto that.....

Also out of scotch

[mkdutchman]

I have scotch, life is one big adventure......

Does anyone have a globe for a 1948 Coleman 236 or 237 lantern?

Hey Doug,
The local lantern shop would have all you need, dunno what shipping would to you though...

[Doug]

There is no local shop here and most of these parts are 25 years out of production. In your travels if you find he has parts like globes ( proper parts not improvised from tottaly different lanterns ) I would be interested.

Infact if any of you fellows have any old Kero/Gasoline Colemans you would like to part with or lanterns of interest for parts ( EG many 236 parts are identical to 237 ) please send me a PM and I'll make you an offer

I've a new hobby.
Blow torch referbishing.....
Coleman lantern rescue and repair.....

[mkdutchman]

There is no local shop here and most of these parts are 25 years out of production. In your travels if you find he has parts like globes ( proper parts not improvised from tottaly different lanterns ) I would be interested.

Infact if any of you fellows have any old Kero/Gasoline Colemans you would like to part with or lanterns of interest for parts ( EG many 236 parts are identical to 237 ) please send me a PM and I'll make you an offer

I've a new hobby.
Blow torch referbishing.....
Coleman lantern rescue and repair.....

I meant the local lantern shop from my perspective  the one where I worked for six years. We had all kinds of Coleman lanterns coming in, most of them ended up in the "old lantern cubbyhole", far as I know they're probably still there. Regarding a globe, the 237 uses a larger one than the 220, right? (trying to jog my memory) If I recall correctly we didn't use the stock Coleman globes for the 237 - we used one that bulged outward in the center. It spread the light better and was more resistant to cracking when the mantles cracked or pinholed.

[Doug]

Your more or less right....

The 220 types had a straight sided glass and this you can still buy from a Coleman dealer but it looks queer as hell on the 237 and 236 in my opinion.
There is the 660 globe for the 625 and 639 that fits but its short. As long as you dont; move the lantern I guess this isn;t a problem but there is nearly a 1/4 inch of play up and down.

I would love to have a lamp shop in my area your lucky you do.

Its only recently that I found my interest in things that burn gas or kero rekindled. The hiss or howl of gas apliances brings me back to a place with log walls and no hydro where I had nothing to worry about.

Next I need a 1964 Rambler station waggon and trailer, 1969 Johnson 440 Golden Ghost, late 1960's Peterborough 12 foot aluminum boat, a 1958 5 1/2 Evinrude. Some red dye to mix in my gas and pretend its leaded premium. Some DDT in a spray can for bugs and some fishing tackle from the 1930's with hand painted spoons featuring smiling fish or topless mermaids and last but not least a full bottle of 5 star wiskey under the seat for the drive into the woods

[clytle374]

Doug:  You need to try out Alladin lamps.  We have a few. They are safe indoors, just as bright, and still produced almost unchanged.