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Machinery Photo Index
Manufactured/Badged by:
Hammond Machinery Builders, Inc.
Kalamazoo, MI

Machine Specifications
Machine Class: Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type: Grinder, Bench
Machine Size: 12"
Submitted By: Curt Roberts
Machine Specifications
Description/Model: ND-12A
Date of Manufacturer:
Serial Number: 5956
Last Updated 3/15/2012 8:58:32 PM

Comments:
A nice grinder which will sharpen my lawnmower blades very quickly and without bogging down. Most of its early life was probably spent making automobile parts for the Buick division of General Motors -- at least this machine didn't get melted down when the plant closed.

The specs for this machine (taken from various badges) are:
220 or 440 volts
6 or 3 amps
Three Phase
2 HP
1750 RPM
S/N 5956
Patent 2384414 (for the dust collector which is no longer on my machine)
Patent 134699 (for the grinder design)
Machine No 96814, Buick Motor Div, Gen. Motors Corp
Allen Bradley Bulletin 712, size 1, type 12 starter

The original machine was gray and seemed to have red lettering on the base casting. It seems doubtful that my machine had any red on the wheel guard housings (none was seen during paint removal and I could find no other machines with such a feature) -- I painted the red on them anyway because I liked it. I used TSC Valspar Massey Ferguson Gray paint, brushed on (take a look at the wiki for tips on brush painting -- I found it very helpful). Prep work for the painting included chemical strippers, electrolysis (spooging) and sandblasting (with emphasis on electrolysis since its easy). Aside from the paint, the motor electrical leads were replaced (old ones were crumbly) and a mobile base was constructed. Nuts, bolts, washers and the like were treated using a phosphate process called (I think) 'Parkerizing' -- it looks good, and doesn't flake off when you tighten the hardware -- we'll see how it holds up. Some soft white substance (white lead??) was found in the wheel guard housing's clamping area -- I replaced that with 3M 5200 Marine Sealant (somebody over at the forums mentioned using 5200 as bandsaw tire replacement -- I thought it would be useful for this), though I probably didn't need to replace it. Also, removing paint from the Allen Bradley motor starter housing was quite difficult -- even with aircraft paint stripper it really didn't want to bubble up from the metal. All of the tags were removed and cleaned up -- mostly by soaking them in water and detergent and then scraping the softened paint off with my finger nails. They were covered with a coat of lacquer to make them look pretty again. Small screws and/or Permatex Ultra Black RTV was used for reattachment.

Grinder dimensions are: 31 1/2" wide, 20" deep (from end of dust port to front of the water tray), 47" tall (from bottom of the base casting to the top of the wheel housing casting), 50 1/2" tall (from bottom of the base casting to the top of the plexiglass shield holder). The water tray protrudes from the base casting by 5". The footprint is 21 1/4" wide, 13 3/4" deep. The dust ports are 4" outer diameter. The front opening is 15 5/8" wide by 18 3/8" tall (originally this opening was covered by a removable panel). Weight is guessed at 400 to 500 lbs (I've seen this range in used in a few auctions for this style of grinder). It holds a wheel up to 12" in diameter and 2" wide.

The mobile base consists of 2" angle iron, a solid oak board for the grinder to sit on, two solid oak 'legs' / 'wings' and four 3" casters (swivel in front, fixed in back). The whole affair is approximately 26" deep and 32" wide and rides maybe 1/2" off from the floor. The 'legs' / 'wings' are held to the angle iron and bottom board with four bolts -- the grinder 'hangs' on the four bolts.

While the picture shows a flap wheel (actually Norton Bear-Tex) on the right side of the grinder, I have been informed that this may not be the safest thing to do as parts may be grabbed by the wheel and then circulated back to the top and thrown at the operator -- OUCH!

Photo 1:

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Photo 2:

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Photo 3:

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Photo 4:

Comments: Paint stripping -- note the red letters peaking through
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Photo 5:

Comments: In the wild
Source: a famous auction site
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