Making a Set of Riser Feet for the Surface Grinder

[@petergamache5368]

I've never heard such a high-value proposition for becoming a patron: technical drawings of ... a cylinder. :)

[@LesNewell]

Just a quick safety note. When using toe jacks it is well worth having some backup support in case the jack fails or slips out, especially when you are in the firing line. In this case instead of pulling the blocks out when you lift just slide them out of the way but still under the body of the machine. That way if the jack fails the block will catch the machine before it falls on you.

[@mitch1632]

Fell in love with your demeanor, the calm and intelligent discourse are a winning combination. Now for my OCD side, lol, could you please check your feelings on the power cord routing. Touching the drip pan could wear away the insulation in 100-300 years (hope you'll still be around 🙂) and look for possible oil getting on the cord. I truly want to keep you safe. Great content, keep it up.

[@Clough42]

SJOOW cord has oil-resistant outer and inner insulation. If the grinder is moving enough to wear the insulation, you're doing something very, very wrong.

[@oldfarthacks]

@@Clough42 Oil resistant is the key phrase. I have seen cable routing cause any number of problems. While I am not in any way, shape or form OCD, this is one area where even I don't say good enough. I love a proper festooning to insure that all wear is not on the cables.

[@mitch1632]

@@oldfarthacks Good enough, tend to be safety conscience overboard. Glad to see you both are highly intelligent people.

[@riptide6161]

You are a humble guy and a very good teacher. I'm looking forward to additional high quality content. Personally, I like "project" videos (ala Blondihacks, Joe Pie, steam engine type stuff, etc.) but whatever you feel comfortable with presenting us, I'll watch... and learn. Thank you for your time and effort to educate and entertain us!

[@sintaxera]

Wd40 sprayed on the blade definitely does more than make smoke :) I cut heavy section aluminium all the time, and my saw cuts 4x as fast and lasts a lot longer when lubricated. There are better cutting oils, but wd40 is cheap and adequate

[@jort93z]

i mean, if it smokes, that means it's evaporating. Evaporation does a lot of cooling.

[@Cj19944]

100 percent true

[@ellieprice363]

Mineral Spirits or paint thinner by the gallon is probably cheaper but WD-40 lubricants a little better.

[@nightowl19696]

Those saws are pretty rugged, my brother has the same one and we cut a piece of railroad track with it haha. Diablo blades work really well. cheers

[@ellieprice363]

Must be nice having a new shop with brand new machines. Your grinder is about the same size as my 1985 Kent which still does a decent job. Once you have a surface grinder in the shop you’ll wonder how you did without it.

[@thomaswimmer5323]

Great video, a little trick I learned from a mechanic, just open the handle of the jack with pliers if you want more feel.

[@fubartotale3389]

I'm 6'1" and I raised my Mitsui up 4", and ran it like that for ten years I ran a 7.5 Kva machining center for 15 years off a rotary phase converter without that gizmo. It was a Roto Phase and I ran it through a balance transformer and never had a prob.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

I feel your pain on that James, it sucks having to be hunched over while operating any machine! I'm 6'5" and the Lathes and Mills where I work seem super low to me, so I'm always hunched over. I recently talked my boss into letting me jack a single Mill and Lathe up 6½" inches just so I could operate them without being in pain all day. Which wasn't easy, I had to use the old "well if you'd prefer paying my workers comp when my back finally goes out, I guess we can just leave them" argument lol. 👍👍

[@eslmatt811]

If only people cared about tall people like the do "vertically challenged" a friend from highschool under 5' got a bunch of tax breaks and funding for being short. At 6'8" nobody has ever cared about my quality of life, even my wife gets annoyed at my shelves, for my stuff.

[@angrydragonslayer]

Here i am, at almost 7'

[@eslmatt811]

@@angrydragonslayer Have fun over there. I have a 7' arm span, but people sized legs and feet. I have no envy of someone taller, but plenty of pity. My son asked if he would be a tall as me, hopefully not...

[@oldfarthacks]

Ah the places that even we 6'1" people can't get into. When the GM Saturn came out I just for fun tried to get into it. That was a joke. But then, even my 65 Mustang required that I take off the driver side arm rest so that I could get past the steering wheel to work the clutch. And don't you just love all the long sleeve shirts that end about midway down the forearm?

[@georgespeake5089]

Glad to see you are no longer unsettled with your grinder.

[@davidrahn9903]

For cold sawing heavy aluminum sections like that I've found white bar soap works great. Works well on band saws as well. Which makes senses to me since anchorlube works well when sawing aluminum as well. Doesn't cool the cut but helps prevent chip packing and edge buildup.

[@wizrom3046]

Or candlewax. Same result. 👍

[@bobuk5722]

Hi James. It's 4:02 am here! Nice gentle voice over presentation. Thanks for taking the trouble.

[@homemadetools]

Good work. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

[@garytodd5605]

All the ice cube type phase monitors i worked with for years were based on % of rated voltage. 7 seconds in a single phase condition is an eternity. And probly will be shut off by the overcurrent setting of breaker and maybe even Thermal OL before the 7 sec of the phase monitor. In a single phase condition the current is go's ballistic. And you cant shut that condition down fast enough. If you are truly worried of damage to motor in a single phase condition. Test it by setting time at minimum. Try it. Bump up time to just give you enough for stabilizing and not 1 secnd more. Normal inrush current on old motors was about 10 to 14 x of full load amps. But with the newer more efficient motors it was upwards of that. Low input voltage is what the phase monitor protects from. Low voltage translates to high current.

[@TheTsunamijuan]

If you don't mind silicoln on the surface. CRC's heavy duty silicoln cutting lubricant (which is a dry film kinda setup) Often works great on these types of blades. I have been using it on router and shaper bits for wood cutting for ages. But I have found it works for cold cutting aluminum quite decently too.

[@Clough42]

Cool. The key concern in this scenario is keeping the chips from welding up in the gullets.

[@a154james]

@@Clough42 We use Boelube with our Cold-Cut saw in aluminum, works well and doesn't clog up the blade teeth

[@Sam_596]

I wonder if you could have automatic constant-surface-speed by figuring out a way to connect the VFD to the cross-slide DRO/scale, sort-of analogous to the ELS

[@Clough42]

I think this machine will eventually have a servo-driven power feed, if I know me. :)

[@oldfarthacks]

@@Clough42 That's the nice thing about electronic control, you can automate everything. Say that your tailstock is not aligned quite right with the spindle, well instead of moving the tailstock, just put in the offset. The full CNC package is not needed, just something that has the comp tables. Also it lets you throw away the hand wheels and just use a remote knob.

[@FullSendPrecision]

I just did the same thing out of a 4 inch bar of 1144 for my lathe. They're beautiful but I know I'll never install them because I don't want to go to that amount of effort to re-level the lathe :)

[@AlmostMachining]

Great stuff James! Nice new pads for leveling the grinder!

[@wizrom3046]

With that circular saw it is a good idea to "peck" at the cut, ie; cut for a couple of seconds then lift it a tiny bit for a half second. That helps clear the chipsmfrom the teeth, gets some cooling air back around the teeth and the up down movement gives you a fractionally wider cut slot so you get less side rubbing and friction heat etc. I know you're not from a tools using background James but it is good practice with a lot of saw tool processes.

[@slowsloth2519]

Abom would make this a 5 part series

[@mikebroom1866]

I have the sliding compound evolution saw. I've used that to cut a LOT bigger stuff than you should. As long as you don't burn out the speed controller, it gets the job done, even in steel.

[@somebodyelse6673]

Sounds like you DID burn out the controller? What did you do?

[@somebodyelse6673]

One day while doing something similar where I couldn't see the level from where I had to make the adjustment, I realized the cheap WiFi endoscope I use for so, so many things now had another use. Set it up, turn on the phone app, and I can see around corners while making adjustments.

[@Clough42]

Yet another excuse...er...reason to buy a new tool!

[@muntee33]

Surely its worth installing some beams along the walls so a girder can be attached to some end trucks to give you a small bridge crane. * run the beams perpendicular to the door and make a telescopic /detachable girder extension that gives you the ability to have the hoist protrude out through the door and onto the driveway. (a mobile ans/or collapsible A-frame or H-frame to support the extension can be used if necessary...) Oh, and make a plate to ease/delete the transition from gutter drain to driveway surface. (they're permissible, and common, in my country) This way the payload can be dropped under the extended girder and the bridge crane can hoist the payload from the driveway and drop to any location in the beams footprint. Ideally on a skate that has a hitch for a modified trailer caddy. (that's what they're called here... Essentially just a motorised set of wheels and a hitch for connecting to a heavy trailer and being able to move it into a desired position much easier than requiring the tail room, and larger turn radius at the hitch, of the tow vehicle to move it. A trolley jack is ok but a skate is a better option, lockable swivel castors on the front for rear steering and regular castors on the rear. As far as final positioning, take your pick. A simple triangular a-frame with demountable hoist would be my pick, twin hoists if a levelling bar won't cut it for payloads with a largely offset COM and inability to centre the mass with a levelling bar.... Wheel to position with the skate, set up the frame n hoist over the payload then hoist up off the skate, and lower into final resting position. Hey, if accessibility permits, dp everything in one step with the bridge crane....

[@vahpr]

I'm using 4x4 pt blocks under my 14-40 lathe for the same reason - much more comfortable working height. Been 4 years or so now, seems to be fine although I wonder if I'm turning tapers in the summer with the humidity - probably should check that:) Just an aside, I cut 6" round al bars on my 4" horizontal band saw routinely - just have to spin the stock.

[@Clough42]

My saw needs a tune-up and a coarser blade for big jobs like this. It's been complaining quite a bit lately. I need to tear it down and see.

[@zyeborm]

Alcohol is a great lube for Aluminium cutting. Some studies show 50% reduction in cutting force. BTW suggestion for your apron, if you cross the straps over, so right shoulder to left hip and vice versa it takes heaps of load off your neck vs having it around your neck and another around your waist. Soooo much more comfortable

[@Clough42]

I've never even noticed it when I'm working.

[@zyeborm]

@@Clough42 I had a heavy apron for doing chemical work with and was feeling quite uncomfortable after a while. It just looked like yours was sitting on your neck tightly and impacting your posture a little. Either way, thanks for the video and I hope you have a great day.

[@jonnymiskatonic]

slight taper on second cut could help hide the transition as well.

[@Lone-Wolf87]

Well done. An easy project well done. 👍👍👍

[@itsverygreen532]

Personally, I always put a bit of "something" under hard machine support, a bit of card, pig mat, old carpet on very rough floors ... just something to give good solid all round contact between the foot and the concrete.

[@CapnCrusty]

As Quinn says "Chamfers are what separate us from the animals".

[@davidfarmer]

Just be careful with the lathe that high. The advantage the factory height has, is if it falls off the foot, the machine will touch the ground before tipping over. Now there's a good 3in, and with the right amount of momentum, that's enough to tip it over. The guys at work tipped the lathe over in the shop one time, fun stuff. I've even had some things tip over on me. I bought a surface grinder a few years ago, which was delivered on a pallet that was falling apart. I had half of the surface grinder on some skates, the other half on the pallet still. the "solid" wood of the pallet broke and it tipped over, almost on to me. It happened really slowly, and at first I tried to push against it, to stop the "leaning". I quickly realized it wasn't leaning and moved out of the way quickly. Other than almost dying, I now had to figure out a way to tip this 2500lb surface grinder back over. I ended up welding a frame out of some scrap and making another frame and bolted that to the concrete. I made a hinge between the two frames using some tubes. This gave me a way to control the orientation of the grinder while righting it. I then used a winch and a high lift jack to lower it back down. When it fell it also spilled a lot of oil, which pig mats did a fine job cleaning up. Anyways, the safest thing you can do is build a little cradle around the base, so if it does tip, it will stop on the cradle, before it hits the floor.

[@vincei4252]

I did a double take with the chop saw cutting thru the bar of aluminium.

[@mattmanyam]

That's a cold saw, specifically for cutting metal... although normal "woodworking" saws will cut aluminum quite easily (be wary of where the hot chips are going, if your environment also contains sawdust).

[@mikefrachel8292]

I have that same saw, I was shocked at how well it works.

[@keithkrueger1609]

i will be making risers for my milltronics mb16 so i can move it with pallet jack. nice job

[@ziadbou-fakhreddine1986]

Murphy oil is a good lubricant to cut aluminum.

[@RNMSC]

I realize it's not a significant need for you, at least I hope you don't have to relevel equipment all that often, but I've run into situations where I really want a camera on something that I can see on my phone where I'm working on something related. I htink the picams with the webcam software is petty much a shoe in for setting that up. But there are other solutions as well, including just using a bore-cam with wifi to a phone. I presume that the drone cam would be a workable solution as well. Worst case, borrow someon'e phone and face-chat or duo or skyp their camera view, with one of the phones straddling a pair of 1-2-3 blocks or so to get a decent field of view of what you're monitoring. Great episode as always.

[@75keg75]

17:54 could you have made a point? Like speaker mounts for carpet.

[@Chromevulcan]

Someone once asked me what I would do if the Earth really was flat. I told them I would chamfer both end!

[@woodscreekworkshop9939]

If the earth was really flat, you wouldn't have edges to chamfer, would you? And if you happen to chamfered, there wouldn't be 2 edges (you implied by saying "both ends"), also by chamfering, the earth would no longer be flat. So based on science, your desire to chamfer "both ends" would prove to be futile.

[@oldfarthacks]

The nice thing is that there is hard evidence that the Earth is not flat. Were it flat, by now, the cats of the world wold have shoved everything over the edge.

[@Chromevulcan]

@@woodscreekworkshop9939 Yuchol, you of all people should know that there would be 2 edges to chamfer. A flat Earth would look like a cutoff of any piece of round stock, flat to and bottom with a given circumference. Cylindrical, not spherical. CHAMFER THE WORLD!

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

I think you may be a bit taller than average. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

[@JaapGrootveld]

What brand of brush do you use to wipe away the chips?

[@Clough42]

No idea. It's garbage and it's falling apart.

[@75keg75]

14:56 could sand paper fix the issue?

[@WillemvanLonden]

I have cut pieces of mild steel on my Evolution that size. They will cut it.

[@dirtdart81]

I wanna see that deadlift 🤣

[@Clough42]

I might have been exaggerating a little. I actually had a meet today and pulled 210kg.

[@haydenc2742]

I wonder if you could chemical anodize the feet so they don't corrode up?

[@Clough42]

I've never seen aluminum corrode in the shop. Maybe this is a concern in some places?

[@oldfarthacks]

There are lots of compounds for that. Brownells sells a compound that they call aluminum black.

[@gofastwclass]

Because... Yuchol. Haha! Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks he's a bad influence. 🤣

[@marclevitt8191]

Can you explain that joke? I’m afraid I did not understand it.

[@woodscreekworkshop9939]

@@marclevitt8191 I am guilty of peer-pressuring friends into buying things they don't need. Hence James has a lot of aluminum left over from this project.

[@jesseskellington9427]

Anybody have a link to the material uses to you soak up oil? :-)

[@brownell10]

James - be still... there's a russian hamster hitting a vape box on your apron... I'ma smack it, don't move. No, seriously - your content is top shelf stuff (ELS series sucked me in for good), thank you and keep it up!

[@spencerr505]

I think I would have just put a 1/4" steel plate on top of the wood blocks and see if that fixed it, although the aluminum ones do look nice.

[@dog2bert]

Maybe try using the block with the end grain towards the load

[@glfarwell]

Your assuming the floor will never get wet and those wood block won't swell, thus there goes level.

[@oldfarthacks]

@@glfarwell Well you could put the wood blocks in some more of those aluminum pans that he is using to catch the drips. Then add two swallows and a bit of twine and you are all set.

[@Pest789]

6:40 Uchill? I can't tell what you're saying.

[@DeserdiVerimas]

Might be talking about Yuchol at Woods Creek Workshop -- they're friends, maybe he wants the remains of that bar?

[@Clough42]

Yuchol Kim talked me into buying more than I needed for this project.

[@artjensen4061]

So what did you make for your 935VT? I suspect it has been raised. Can you show us in your next video?

[@Clough42]

I did. I cut two lengths of 4x6" 3/8" wall rectangular tube. Those are bolted under the base, across the front and across the back, with the leveling feet under the ends of the tubes. I used a new steel yard, and it ended up being WAY more expensive than I anticipated because I think they were padding for the small cut job. I think it was $250 for a five foot stick.

[@artjensen4061]

@@Clough42 Thanks for the reply and I agree that’s a bit expensive. In the years to come I’m sure the added height will be welcomed.

[@JimWhitaker]

It is usually me that needs the riser blocks.

[@bigmuz_pilot]

Did you consider cast iron for these feet? Excellent vibration damping characteristics.

[@Clough42]

I did not. If the surface grinder is vibrating enough for that to matter, something is very, very wrong.

[@bigmuz_pilot]

@Clough42 haha yeah fair enough mate. Appreciate your amazing videos, thank you 😊

[@wilcojuffer5940]

You know what Quinn say champer ...... 😉😉

[@prototype3a]

You could have plunged a tool in to make a ring near the top and hide the diameter blend line.

[@oldfarthacks]

He could have also knurled the feet to hide the blend line and explained that away as a feature to help with handling the somewhat heavy blocks.

[@billdoodson4232]

Some snide comments today. I'd ignore them, they are like me green about the kit you have, I'm just working on what I can get hold of, but it won't be new. Having said that, the Evolution UK importer is only 30 miles from me and I keep looking at the new metal mitre saw. A road trip maybe needed.

[@Clough42]

I would prefer the blade turn slower for my use, but otherwise it's a nice little saw.

[@geneard639]

To hide the transition from turning from the edges to towards the center? Just turn a broad line at the transition and chamfer it, and do it for all the units being produced and call it an 'artistic flourish'. Is it needed? No. Can it hide a bad transition? Yeah. Just an idea.

[@DavidKutzler]

3:24 Ummmmm.... You have a screw loose (Lower right corner).

[@waikanaebeach]

Try paraffin candle wax (you might call it something different in the US) this can pressed lightly on the blade…

[@Clough42]

I have a stick of beeswax to load grinding wheels. That would probably work well.

[@IvanGOrtolan]

I hate this channel because I keep seeing amazing machines I cannot afford to buy and/or store somewhere :(. Anyway I had to subscribe..

[@MASI_forging]

Well done. So meticulous.

[@TheSpud1129]

Are you worried about the Aluminum contacting the cement floor with no isolation pad? Was always taught to put a thin piece or rubber or UHMW under, so there is a slight tendency for the Aluminum to react with the cement alkalis - and producing hydrogen gas. It's probably not worth it, but I'd tend to be cautious.

[@4GSR]

It has to come in contact with an acid to create hydrogen gas. Nothing happens with contact with alkaline. Water will only create a oxide surface skin deep. Might get a trace of hydrogen off of that reaction if it does react. I'd be worried about hydrogen gas from other sources before something like this. No caution needed here.

[@TheSpud1129]

Whomever replied to this - it freezes when I try to read it. Can you kindly re-reply? Thanks!

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

As long as your legs fit well between your hips and feet you are the right height

[@woodscreekworkshop9939]

You will thank me for the extra left over material later. 😏

[@Clough42]

The last time I bought double what I needed, an opportunity came up later to help out a friend. It's usually a good investment unless it's something really odd.

[@lt1376]

I did this to my evolution, 80mm steel... the blade deformed and got wobbly... scary.

[@anmafab]

Hey James, what's your first surface grinder project going to be? You need to get cracking to justify that purchase 😅

[@JohannSwart_JWS]

Well, there's more than one piece of equipment to be justified. He's got a recent knifemakers belt grinder, and now the surface grinder, so it stands to reason it should be a over-engineered folding pocket knife...

[@oldfarthacks]

@@JohannSwart_JWS With a built in set of gauge blocks.

[@Cjarka_]

If they sink thought he aluminium you'll have to get a big chunk of carbide. Ain't no way it's gonna sink through that

[@jort93z]

or just, you know... concrete. can just cast concrete blocks.

[@patrickfrantz2466]

.....Are what separate us from the animals 😂

[@kjbenner]

"in case it's not totally clear, 5 inches is more than 4 inches"... hey man, I don't come here for math lessons!

[@stevesloan6775]

I feel the deviation between Subscribe and Subscribed is within deviation. Just kidding

[@dcviper985]

Youchal?

[@mattmanyam]

I'm also here in hopes someone explains the joke for me...

[@car9167]

@@mattmanyam The owner of Woods Creek Workshop youtube channel

[@ACE-gk5gi]

. WOW' what is it' what does it do' LOL Naaaaaaaa it's great 👍 Lol ya goofy m8te from Australia 😆

[@joell439]

👍👍😎👍👍

[@notsonominal]

lol, yeah, those valves are probably made by Heinz...

[@Blue.4D2]

⭐🙂👍

[@jacquesperry1156]

grab some bricks of candle makers wax and rub it on the blade before cutting

[@ninthm00n]

Because Yuchol lol

[@jerrylondon2388]

That's a job for a specialist like Abom79! I wouldn't attempt an advanced job like that myself, leave it to the professionals. He appears to only make riser feet, so I would defer to him.

[@randy-yk1yk]

Actually, he also makes ads. Multi talented.

[@jerrylondon2388]

@randy-yk1yk They are actually not ads. KZbin requires content creators to highlight ads in their content as such. Abom79 has never acknowledged any product placement, ergo no ads!

[@zorbakaput8537]

It is a wise man who knows his limitations, well done you.

[@jerrylondon2388]

@@zorbakaput8537 Yeah, not a riser feet specialist like Abom79! He buys new equipment just to make new riser feet videos!

[@stuartkorte1642]

Guess I’m watching a different Abom

[@marcosmota1094]

Heh, you're 183cm tall; whereas I'm 174ish/5'8ish"...

[@b0rd3n]

You drew theses? Geeee...

[@DolezalPetr]

Yeah LMAO he must be joking right?

[@stuartkorte1642]

You watched the video? Geee

[@Clough42]

I spent a couple minutes drawing them after the fact because people always ask.

[@oldfarthacks]

@@Clough42 Clearly you did the full Fusion 360 model and ran it through the FFT analysis to ensure that there are no long term stresses that will cause problems. I can actually see some stress riser problems from where the pointy bits on the feet hit the aluminum. 😁

[@vi683a]

lube That Metal cutter with paraffin wax.