pistonpete
SILVER Star
Ohhh Baby !!
Show off your tools! (7 Viewers)
- Thread starter SNLC
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I got a new tool! A 1945 18-30 Blanchard grinder. We've had the need for a very long time. Tried several ways to do a Blanchard grinder's job without a Blanchard grinder. None worked all that well. One of my guys told me about this grinder going up for sale by his previous employer. After inspecting it without power I took a chance on it based on my employee's claim it was in very nice shape. He wasn't kidding!
Most Blanchards are in rough shape. This one is like new. It was almost never used in a climate controlled R&D shop for it's entire life. I spent some time cleaning it and getting all the lubrication systems flushed out and working properly.
A Blanchard works different from other types of grinders. Blanchards are good at roughing material off, but they can also make very fine finishes. They have a lot of HP and put considerable downforce into the grinding wheel. They're also semi-automatic so even in a modern shop filled with CNC's they make sense for the right parts. You can load the table with parts, set the feed depth, pull the clutch and walk away.
Here's a very rough mild steel bar about 4" wide x 20" long. This Blanchard roughed 50 thou off and finished two of these, both sides in about 2 minutes total time.
Most Blanchards are in rough shape. This one is like new. It was almost never used in a climate controlled R&D shop for it's entire life. I spent some time cleaning it and getting all the lubrication systems flushed out and working properly.
A Blanchard works different from other types of grinders. Blanchards are good at roughing material off, but they can also make very fine finishes. They have a lot of HP and put considerable downforce into the grinding wheel. They're also semi-automatic so even in a modern shop filled with CNC's they make sense for the right parts. You can load the table with parts, set the feed depth, pull the clutch and walk away.
Here's a very rough mild steel bar about 4" wide x 20" long. This Blanchard roughed 50 thou off and finished two of these, both sides in about 2 minutes total time.
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brian
SILVER Star
I was 18(1992), fresh out of school, had just recently landed my first real welding job, the then girlfriend, still wife and i went to sears....irrc it was the first time i was in the tool section with a purpose, it was the beginning of life long love affair....this was the first tool i purchased.....i needed something to snip the mig wire....it was in my gangbox in the service truck up until i moved in the office a few years ago.....its now safely in the home tool box.
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I started collecting my Craftsman tools in the late sixties as a teen. Man was that a neat feeling, owning your own tools. Some were stolen in the nineties, but I still have most of the old ones and still using them at seventy.
RUSH55
SILVER Star
Pretty satisfied with piecing this set of 1”+ SK wrenches together. Picked up the 1”, 1-1/16”, and 1-1/8” years ago at a yard sale. Assembled the rest through eBay last year. The only one I can’t find is 1-3/16”, and even question the existence of what potentially would be the C-38 of the series. That size is available in the “SuperKrome” line, but not in the SK classic line. Unless someone out there can please prove me wrong.
RUSH55
SILVER Star
I think it’s a size used in JIC and/or FFOR applications (couldn’t quote you the actual size ATM).
SK *should* have still made with the size since the 1-1/16” is C-34, 1-1/8” is C-36, and 1-1/4” is C-40. C-38 is missing from the sequence and that size could only be 1-3/16”.
SK *should* have still made with the size since the 1-1/16” is C-34, 1-1/8” is C-36, and 1-1/4” is C-40. C-38 is missing from the sequence and that size could only be 1-3/16”.
YODA 88 62
SILVER Star
About 22 years ago, bought this original pry bar set, before Harbor Freight existed, from a tool store on Harwin in Houston. Harwin was a street where you could buy fake Oakleys, designer handbags and cheap tools. The long pry bar of the set was lost years ago. The other two have survived tons of abuse and reshapings while protecting me from misguided blows. Happy to have stumbled upon these at Harbor Freight yesterday while buying replacements of other worn out tools.
Also, recently bought the new gel lock tite and prefer its stickiness over the traditional liquid.
Also, recently bought the new gel lock tite and prefer its stickiness over the traditional liquid.
Just looked it up, Harbor Freight started in 1977. I remember ordering a few things from their catalog back in the 90's, which took weeks to arrive. I didn't get to actually walk into a store until some time around 2005. Now I have 3 stores near me.
SteadfastRocky
Supporting Vendor
I was underneath a precast form for a clamshell 5k gallon tank, had someone pull the plug on my mag drill power cord, it dropped on me, wrapped my sweatshirt up in the annular, and crazy power in a compact package.
I might use a mag drill a couple times a year. Definitely useful tools when you need them. It seems mine is loaned out to friends about 30% of the time.
SteadfastRocky
Supporting Vendor
Land Shark
SILVER Star
Then we had those guys that would ride around in a pick up full of tools and would bounce from job to job business to business...
I've been using my Blanchard frequently. Easy machine to use for it's intended purpose- Ripping metal off and leaving a pretty finish. It's a different kind of challenge when you have to hold tight tolerances over a longer part. Last week I got a rush job in to test just how accurate I could get with the old girl.
These are tools I did last week for a bigger household name manufacturer. Held +/- .0001" parallelism over nearly 17" on all sides. Parts are 59RC toolsteel. Note the reflections in the parts even with my crummy picture.
I'm proud of these parts!
RUSH55
SILVER Star
