Tony Bird
Senior Member
Hi,
While away on a winter break I bought what is probably a Chinese made cast iron model of a Treadle Grinder. It only cost a few Euro's as it was the last in the shop and had its treadle and belt missing.
I had the idea to use a small steam engine to drive the model. It was badly welded together and had to be ground apart.
Having been cleaned up it was drilled and tapped to hold it together again. One corner of the frame was chilled and had to be annealed so it could be drilled. The axle holes for the flywheel and grinding mandrel where trued up and increased in size.
The flywheel was turned it had a couple of chilled spots but the tool managed to cut through them.
A drive pulley was made from a castor.
An axle for the flywheel was made.
The original grinder mandrel was a bit on the small size so a new one was made the idea was to fit brass grindstones as a contrast.
Then I found that some very small grindstones I have could be bored out using a harder small stone.
A mandrel with a pulley at its centre was turned.
And the grindstones were glued to it and a buff fitted.
So the model now looked like this more or less finished.
I then came across an old Mamod locomotive cylinder and a wheel. The cylinder is a double acting oscillating one and the wheel didn't have a crank pin. So it was decided to mount an engine directly on to the frame of the model grinder. The flange of the wheel was turned away. and a crank pin made
A mount for the engine was made and fitted using the bush fitted for the flywheel axle as a register and the screw hole in the frame which was for the treadle to hold it.
A port block was made for the cylinder,
The engine fitted to the model grinder.
The finished model.
When I have down loaded it I will post a video of the model in steam.
Regards Tony.
While away on a winter break I bought what is probably a Chinese made cast iron model of a Treadle Grinder. It only cost a few Euro's as it was the last in the shop and had its treadle and belt missing.
I had the idea to use a small steam engine to drive the model. It was badly welded together and had to be ground apart.
Having been cleaned up it was drilled and tapped to hold it together again. One corner of the frame was chilled and had to be annealed so it could be drilled. The axle holes for the flywheel and grinding mandrel where trued up and increased in size.
The flywheel was turned it had a couple of chilled spots but the tool managed to cut through them.
A drive pulley was made from a castor.
An axle for the flywheel was made.
The original grinder mandrel was a bit on the small size so a new one was made the idea was to fit brass grindstones as a contrast.
Then I found that some very small grindstones I have could be bored out using a harder small stone.
A mandrel with a pulley at its centre was turned.
And the grindstones were glued to it and a buff fitted.
So the model now looked like this more or less finished.
I then came across an old Mamod locomotive cylinder and a wheel. The cylinder is a double acting oscillating one and the wheel didn't have a crank pin. So it was decided to mount an engine directly on to the frame of the model grinder. The flange of the wheel was turned away. and a crank pin made
A mount for the engine was made and fitted using the bush fitted for the flywheel axle as a register and the screw hole in the frame which was for the treadle to hold it.
A port block was made for the cylinder,
The engine fitted to the model grinder.
The finished model.
When I have down loaded it I will post a video of the model in steam.
Regards Tony.
