D Bit / Tool Grinder ?

[Munty Scruntfundle]

Hi folks.

Can anyone suggest a decent tool grinder available in the UK? I'm looking at something the size and style of the Optimum GH20, but needs to be 240v.

I am not at all going to entertain the thought of those small drill doctor things, they're terrible, and I need to grind end mills, shell mills etc.

I'm prepared to pay around the 1k mark.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Many thanks.

 

[John Hall]

https://www.warco.co.uk/metal-grinders/303371-universal-tool-cutter-grinder.html
These collets fit this machine..
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...df7ffd44be2abf921487b08214c&afSmartRedirect=y

 

[John Hall]

There’s a Boremaster Tiplap grinder on EBay..£650… or best offer…been on quite a while…if you like vintage..

 

[Keith 66]

The school i worked at a few years ago had an Optimum lathe & bench drills as fitted by our service provider. All had the legend "Made in Germany" on them, in fact they were made in China & were a mix of good & shockingly bad quality, the lathe was supplied new with roll pins missing from its gear selector forks. The drills were made with a rise & fall mechanisn that had gears looking like they had been made from compressed swarf, they failed within 1 week of first being used.
I would not waste my money on anything made by them.

 

[deema]

The usual defecto grinder is a Clarkson mk1 or 2. For that kind on money you will get a very nice one with tooling.

 

[Phill05]

I use one of the Universal Tool & Cutter grinders and find it great to use and makes a very good job.

​

 

[TFrench]

I have a deckel SO - the original one that all the others have copied. Fantastic piece of kit. I also have a tiplap at work which is probably a more versatile machine with the interchangeable workholders, although not quite as nicely made. As deema says, a clarkson may be better if you're planning to regrind endmills. Personally I just use the D-bit for doing specials and odd cutters, life's too short to be sharpening endmills unless they're something special.

 

[evildrome]

I have a deckel SO - the original one that all the others have copied. Fantastic piece of kit. I also have a tiplap at work which is probably a more versatile machine with the interchangeable workholders, although not quite as nicely made. As deema says, a clarkson may be better if you're planning to regrind endmills. Personally I just use the D-bit for doing specials and odd cutters, life's too short to be sharpening endmills unless they're something special.

"interchangeable workholders"

?

I have a TipLap that I got for £50 at an auction.

I thought the way I got it was the way it was. The top comes off?

Could you post some pictures of the work holders you have?

Thanks,

Wilson.

 

[evildrome]

Hi folks.

Can anyone suggest a decent tool grinder available in the UK? I'm looking at something the size and style of the Optimum GH20, but needs to be 240v.

I am not at all going to entertain the thought of those small drill doctor things, they're terrible, and I need to grind end mills, shell mills etc.

I'm prepared to pay around the 1k mark.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Many thanks.

I have a Clarkson, a Quorn, a Tiplap & two Ferrets (metal, not furry) and I can recommend the Clarkson.

But if you could get a Deckel SO for that money, maybe consider that.

 

[TFrench]

"interchangeable workholders"

?

I have a TipLap that I got for £50 at an auction.

I thought the way I got it was the way it was. The top comes off?

Could you post some pictures of the work holders you have?

Thanks,

Wilson.

Will do. I've had a couple over the years and I think I've managed to assemble a complete one, including the original makers stand. Just done some googling and turned up this:
https://wadmes.co.uk/index.php/workshoptools-bt/Some kind chap has scanned his manual and uploaded it.

 

[TFrench]

"interchangeable workholders"

?

I have a TipLap that I got for £50 at an auction.

I thought the way I got it was the way it was. The top comes off?

Could you post some pictures of the work holders you have?

Thanks,

Wilson.

Attached a couple of pics of my tiplap. As you can see, the deckel SO fits perfectly in the cabinet and switches over when I need it! As well as the standard holder I have two collet chucks, a boring bar holder and a blank one that I think is intended as a fixture plate for grinding specific repeat cutters. The top right one in the last picture is the "clenslap" for cleaning the diamond lapping wheel.