Lets fix up and restore a magnetic chuck
The mechanism was completely seized and needed attention
This isn't a repaint restoration, or a pristine perfect restoration. I just want to get this functional and use it.
The chuck has been sitting on the floor of my shed for 6 months due to it not working. It was still wet inside when I opened it up. I would say the bacteria / corrosion has been happening for 10+ years
The pin material was 1214 steel supplied by Tyne Valley Metals. They have a variety of engineering metals including 4140, bearing bronze, D2 tool steel and more.
www.ebay.com.au/str/tynevalle...
/ tynevalleyenterprises
I have a patreon account if you wish to help support the channel. Through this you can get early access and more
/ tommygmachining
I've bought and sold a tonne of mag chucks recently, people advertise them as "it's just lost its magnatism" but in reality it's just something worn or seized and it's usually an easy fix, great video 👍
Yep it's all about the alignment I need to make a handle and mark the full on and off positions Thanks for watching and commenting :)
Magnautism is written with a U.
"it's just lost its magnatism" :D lol
Coolant got inside , rusted up
Nice one, Tom. Thanks for the explanation on the mechanism. I figured the on/off was mechanical but hadn't figured out (or looked up!) the details.
Cheers! Yeah I thought the magnets either rotated to cancel the magnetic fields, or they pulled away from the top. I learnt something too! Thanks for watching and commenting :)
I just rebuilt one too. You left a lot of crud inside, you really need to remove the magnet and clean the surface that contacts the top. I did mine and applied a film of synth grease. The trick is to remove the magnet when it's in the "off" position. Slide the magnet off the side. If you can, spin at an angle relative to the base. Getting it back on is a bit more tricky. Put a piece of HDPE or something similar that is about 1/ -1/4" thick ( I used a small cutting board from the dollar store) on the top, then put the magnet on top of that. This provides enough separation so you can still align them. Once it's where you want it, carefully slide the plastic separator out. The reason so many of these get so dirty internally is they are mostly used on surface grinders that use flood cooling. As we all know, coolant can and does get pretty funky with all sorts of nastys growing it it. Mine was a mess inside too.
Cool I might give that a go. I was worried about finger crushing lol. and yeah it's a wet grinder, the tank was festy too. I mainly wanted to get this magnet working for an experiment. It will probably end up sitting on the floor for a few years when I'm done lol
@@TomMakeHere Do be careful, these buggers are strong and will bite. Probably not crush but they are strong enough to "leave a mark". Yours looks to be a bit easier than mine was. My case was two pieces, not three. There was a top section much like yours but my bottom section was one piece so you had to stick the magnet to the top and get everything lined up perfectly so you could get it to slide into the base. I use mine to hold small plasma cut outs while deburring them. I use a piece of 22g sheet metal as a protector sheet on the face of the mag chuck so the wire cup wheel doesn't mar the surface. The cut pieces stick with no problem. Great little addition to the shop. I've used it way more than I thought I would.
You do good work. Thanks for showing the innards of the chuck.
Cheers! I learnt something and hopefully other people did too!
So that’s how they work. Amazing the amount of crud inside. Cheers Peter
Yeah amazingly filthy! Are you entering the toolmaking competition again this year?
G’day Tommy. I probably will enter, I’m just working out what I will choose, one I’ve started that will feature as a future project but another came to mind today that will be quicker and could feature after the one I’m doing at present, it’s not the dividing head as it’s just finished. Must go and make a note of it before I forget. Cheers, Peter
Sweet editing Tom, and good job making the new pin and making that chuck work again. Looking forward to the bandsaw table build (assuming that's what its for?). Cheers! Craig
Cheers Craig Yes it's for the bandsaw table. It's probably more experimental than anything
That's a wonderful video Tom, thanks, it answered all my questions in one go.
Great to hear!
Couldn't believe the s--- inside. Good to see how mag chucks work. Thanks for explaining Tommy......
I know. I was shocked And yeah I learnt something as well. I assumed the magnets rotated or something before taking it apart. Thanks for watching Kevin
Siempre había querido saber cómo son estos imanes por dentro, gracias por enseñarlo tan detallado. 👌🏻
Gracias por ver. ¡Estoy feliz de que hayas aprendido algo!
very good video..thanks for your time
Wow~ That mag chuck is over 50 years!
Yeah not sure on the mag chuck age to be honest. I know the surface grinder is about 40 years old
Nicely done!
Cheers!
It's incredible that you can find a machine like that in such bad shape.
Ha ha yeah seems to happen a fair bit. It had been sitting out in an open shed for years unused
Hi, thank you for explaining how these work. I’m hoping to build my own. One question, please. Does the top plate have the same magnet arrangement that you see on the bottom? And when you turn the handle, they offset thereby turning off the magnetic force? Thanks. Love the video.
Muy buen video, y que potencia o que atracción deben de tener los imanes o llevan alguna orden los imanes
1:15 don't strike magnets with iron. it can weaken them. maybe a nylon headed hammer? deadblow? nice job on the threaded pin! I just watched a video on how magnetic chucks are made - they said they fill them with grease and graphite before they close them up.
Good advice. I filled with a thick oil before closing up. But I agree that a grease is a better choice
So I sat down with my breakfast and this was the first video I pulled up to watch, looks like I made the right choice. By chance did you put down some graphite grease or create a seal between the bottom plate and the housing? Looks like it works well though good job, mag chucks are great tools.
No I didn't. I don't intend to do any wet grinding though. After this and needing to empty a new coolant tank because it was getting festy, I can't justify it
Nice repairs on that unit - bet you got a sweet deal on it, a bit of elbow grease is worth it
Cheers. I learnt a bit while doing it too. So there's a plus
You clever old stick, good vid that.
Thanks for watching!
I'm saving to get myself the crappy Chineseium hazard fraught lathe and milling machine. I know it's not the best, but we've all got to start somewhere. My dream is to have a full workshop. Still have so much to get. Looking forward to it though. It'll be gawd damn lovely to not have to pop a hernia for every project from using hand tools. Thanks for the video. It's really inspiring to see an Australian accomplishing some cool metalworking. We don't seem to have a huge market of second hand machines like the US. I don't have $20,000 - $50,000 to blow on a semi working machine. Hoping that China puts out an entry level surface grinder and shaper too.
Yep I started the same way. I'm still missing a lot of small tools, ive mainly focused on the major machines to get stuff done I'm currently boycotting all chinese purchases where I can lol. Even if it costs more
There are still plenty of second hand machines. I check gumtree daily, also machinesforu is another one but pricier. Greys online sometimes has ma hine auctions, but be prepared to quickly organise pick up and mess around with paperwork if someone is collecting on your behalf
@@TomMakeHere I wish it was that easy. I can't drive unfortunately (epilepsy) so any type of machine movement is a nightmare or unaffordable. If it can't be delivered, I can't get it. Though I have looked at machines4u a few times. Seen a couple things I might prefer over the craptacular imports. I change my mind back and forth almost daily.
Yeah that makes it more difficult. Where are you based? A transport company could be a possible option maybe. It took me a year before I talked myself into a minimill and minilathe lol. The surface grinder is more a luxury tool to achieve the final 1%, where a mill and a lathe can do a lot more
@@TomMakeHere I'm living in Ballarat right now, got relocated for work. I love the area, there's a scrap buyer on every couple blocks. So we're all fighting for raw material here. Tools tend to be a bit cheaper overall though so it's worth it. I'll be getting my mini machines in September. Many excited.
Great job, amazing that bacteria can thrive in such inhospitable conditions. Thanks for sharing and stay safe all.
Cheers! Yeah anaerobic bacteria find a way some how
@@TomMakeHere You should be careful just wading in there destroying bacteria like that, what if they were an advanced civilisation (eg Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy style lol). I loved your cleanup and appreciate it was to get it functioning again, would you consider a "proper" restoration eg pressure wash / degrease of the mag chuck insides etc? Or just not worth it with everything else you are doing?
@@ApprenticeGM At this stage no. But I won't rule it out either. I am actually planning a bit of an offshoot channel where I do full *proper* restorations
Wait, you've got TWO mag chucks!!!, that's hardly fair in a place the size of Tas:), I use a small mag chuck on my mini mill, to flycut the scale off new blade steel, it's surprisingly effective, well, except when a blade comes unstuck...
I think even having a surface grinder is unfair in Tas let alone one this size lol Geez that sounds terrifying holding a blade on a magnet
Olá, não entendi muito bem como funciona o sistema de ligar e desligar a placa. Você poderia me explicar outra vez? Muito obrigado.
Man I swear I saw life forms in that mag chuck
Yeah I could feel it looking back at me lol
TommyGun Machining Lol time for the fly spray
Maybe hold a lighter in front of the spray too!
Will be interesting to see it used on a mill
Hey Yuchol. Yep I think it's going to be useful Thanks for watching
Does chips stick to plate?
@craftzars yes, but they can be swept aside reasonably easily
I cannot find this information wherever I'm looking and it may be stupidly simple but I need to ask- the magnetic side is what holds the material you're currently working on but how is the chuk itself mounted to surface? By screwing it onto base surface or is it something like engaging magnet works both ways?
The table is normally surface ground by the machine. The mag chuck then bolts on with 2 hold down clamps. The magnets are on the top surface to secure the workpiece and they only 'conduct' the magnetism to the workpiece when everything is aligned with the switch
Hey Tommy got a question for you. I want to use the mag chuck to surface my steel to make knifes but I only need the width to be 3”x18” instead of 6”x18” , with your knowledge of what’s inside is it possible to cut the guts to that width safely? I’ve looked everywhere to find a narrow mag chuck. Anyway let me know what you think. Thanks
Hmm you would need to rebuild the housing as one side would be open which wouldn't be ideal. The magnets are crazy strong and you would want to be very careful trying to pull things apart. Out of interest, does it matter if it is extra wide? The knife would just take up half of the chuck
Yeah I guess it would be too dangerous. I wanted to mount it on a 2x72 belt grinder and 6” wide is just to wide for that application. The knife maker’s are building there own but I don’t have a mill to cut grooves to hold these magnets and they don’t have the off and on switch either. I saw a set up at the Rockller web site (wood working) they have a handheld lockable magnet. Anyway I’ll change course but thanks for the reply, and keep up the good work!
@@stevegarland7075 Email me I have very reasonable solution.....CHEAP.....
Actually... maybe you should consider pulling the mag pack off the top plate. Mine has 2 stainless strips that were worn down and hence wouldnt allow the mag pack to move freely. I cut new strips of brass of the same thickness and greased the strips with EP grease. If youd like pictures let me know. Mine was a kanetsu mag chuck. Gluck
I'd be interested in how you got the magnets off the top plate. I tried levering and wedging and then thought I'm probably asking for trouble Flick me an email tommygmachining@gmail.com
Bravo.
Thank you
Hiya. Have you put any oil in the chuck? Should have some single weight machine oil in it. Might not seize up again.
I coated everything with way oil to prevent corrosion and help it slide
Should be a good chuck . Did you remember to leave one end just nipped when you ground it !
Ha no lol. But also my clamping arrangement is different (mag chuck vs bolted down) it didn't come out in the video very well, but there was a 0.02 mm variation over the surface. This will be more experimental work holding
Bro, I was eating! Not any more. Hahah.
Ha ha sorry
I would take off the aluminium labels and put the rest in hot sodium hydroxide for 24 hours and it would be clean and paint removed .Gloves - I opened a lathe gearbox and got a problem with bacteria on my hands
grinder-cam!
Ha ha
🔧😊👍
Cheers
so they are not waterproofed? why?
just 2 flat surfaces that would mostly keep it sealed. If I was to do more wet grinding, I'd probably consider a bead of silicone or a gasket
Nice to see how it works but my understanding of restoration is quite different than what i've seen in this video. Still thank you.
Yes, this was more of a functional 'fix it', rather than full make it look brand new restoration. I do that type of work on my second channel
How did it get so filthy ? It looked like someone fried eggs in there :)))
I know right?! Decades? of anaerobic bacteria growth. It was pretty foul
@@TomMakeHere hope you filled it with oil.
@@lennym1273 Yes I did, both to help it slide, and to reduce corrosion / ingress of water
I need
That's a sticky project.
*Stinky :) I should make a new perfume 'Essence of mag chuck'
Putting it back together without completely cleaning the inside is not a real restoration.
I didn't repaint it either
@@TomMakeHere Yeah painting isn't a big deal, I kinda like the used look but a little lacquer thinner and brushing on the insides would go a long way toward cleaning up the inside,
Really difficult though, the residue inside is basically iron filings on a magnet. I cleaned what I could, sprayed solvents, poked and scraped etc
That was cool, but it was hard for me to watch you put that back together while still looking like Sh** inside.
I know, I would have loved to clean it fully, but the focus was just to get it working for the next project. The material stuck to the magnet does not interfere with operation
@@TomMakeHere Trust me, I know how projects get I just look forward to the 2nd video where you do the deep dive and really clean it out.
DONT USE THE MAG CHUCK ON A MILL IT WILL MAGNITIZE THE WHOLE MACHINE AND RUIN EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN IN PERSON AT A LARGE SHOP
All good, I used it once and decided it wan't a great solution. Not magnetism in the machine that I can see thankfully
@@TomMakeHere Thats great to hear... It does sound like a good idea at first to use it on the mill but the metal chips that come off it will be magnetized and stick to everything and eventually magnetize the entire machine......
That's gross. Do people just not take care of their stuff? 🤷♂️
Yeah I was a bit shocked when I squelched the cover off 🤣
ewwwwww
I made sure to capture the audio when I scooped the really gooey part. For the audience lol
@@TomMakeHere ASMR