Given the ongoing skilled labor shortage, everyone knows the importance of machine tool technology training. That need will only grow as more manufacturing returns to the United States. And yet, many vocational-technical schools have outdated equipment. Updating manual lathes, mills,...

There are plenty of surface grinders for sale promos out there. However, before you pick up the phone or fire off an email, hold up. It’s a good idea to first separate the must-have machine features from those that are nice...

Most machinists with a few years under their belt have at least toyed with the idea of starting a machine shop. It’s a lot to think about. It’s also a bit scary. Where will you get the money? How about...

Ask anyone who does it for a living. Ceramic grinding is challenging work. Still, it's not rocket science. You'll need the right wheel and suitable operating parameters. An accurate, rigid grinder is a must. Oh, and don't forget your patience. That...

When I attended vocational-technical college, the instructors weren’t interested in teaching students how to operate the school’s tool and cutter grinder. Well, they might have been, but only those smarmy second-year Tool and Die students, which I was not. Fortunately...

Let me begin by stating I am not a machinist, nor have I ever operated a machine for a living. I’m that dirty guy who you hate to talk to, but love to call when there is a problem –...

Centerless Grinders: Much Safer Than They Once Were When I was a boy, my father told me about his time operating centerless grinders. He worked at a machine shop while attending art school, and later became a commercial artist. In...

Cylindrical Grinders: Production Ready My brother-in-law was responsible for the shops’ two cylindrical grinders. Both were Myford model MG12-HPs, built in 1975. He bragged that he could hold a tenth all day long, no sweat, and he usually did. I...

Cylindrical grinding is one of the oldest of all machining technologies. Though credit for its invention remains a bit fuzzy, most attribute development of the first production grinding machine to Charles Norton (ironically, not the same Norton of grinding wheel...

For grinding operations, surface grinding is the most common. The machine is used to produce a smooth accurate finish on either metallic or nonmetallic materials to give them a more refined look by removing the oxide layer and impurities on...