HandyAndy Grinder

[Mike Hutchison]

Does anybody have any experience with this little grinder
HandyAndy No.1 by Pike Manufacturing out of Pike, NH
(there is an HA2 cast inside the housing)
I am wondering if the arbor thread is left hand thread;
sure don't want to break loose right hand/lefty loosey
Have had it totally apart, except for removing the wheel, and
can't find a flat to get another wrench on it or a hole in shaft
to insert a pin to hold it from spinning while trying to get broke loose

274567274568

In left hand pic you can see the beginning of a crude grind jig bracket;
any input appreciated
Mike H.

[george wilson]

The thread would be such that it would tend to tighten in the direction the wheel is used in. Just like on old cars: the driver's front wheel nut would be left hand,the passenger's would be right hand.

Once you determine the direction the wheel would be used in,hold onto the wheel with a good clamp and so loosen the nut. From the pictures I'd say it is a left hand nut. The crank has to hang off the bench to the operator's right hand,and the wheel has to be cranked forward toward the operator. That makes it a left hand thread. Clamp the grinder on the bench with the crank on your right and loosen the nut TOWARDS you.

The old wheel is pretty useless. You could just break it completely off the shaft(be careful to not bend the shaft!). Then,you could unscrew the nut.

[Mike Hutchison]

George, thanks for the advice
I'm curious as to how you arrived at the evaluation that the wheel is useless
I thought about a pic of the "width" view of the wheel to show the nice groove
in the middle of the wheel but was in a hurry this AM

[Zach Dillinger]

George, thanks for the advice
I'm curious as to how you arrived at the evaluation that the wheel is useless
I thought about a pic of the "width" view of the wheel to show the nice groove
in the middle of the wheel but was in a hurry this AM

Mike, that groove is pretty visible in the first photo you posted.

[george wilson]

Wheels get harder and harder as they age. You need a wheel that is "friable":I.E. it shatters on the cutting surface as you grind,revealing new,sharp crystals as you go,and grinding many times faster than the old,gray wheels I grew up with. Those were BAD! Once I got my first white wheel,I never went back. Especially with a hand cranked grinder,you need cutting efficiency.

[Hilton Ralphs]

The thread would be such that it would tend to tighten in the direction the wheel is used in. Just like on old cars: the driver's front wheel nut would be left hand,the passenger's would be right hand.


I was reading this and thought to myself that you have completely contradicted yourself. Then the penny dropped.

You guys drive on the other side of the road. :)

[george wilson]

I might contradict myself if it's early enough in the morning!!

[Mike Hutchison]

Well, after a fair amount of internet & yellow page searching locally for a wheel that matched even remotely the wheel that was on this unit, I finally caved and went into Harbor Freight and bought a aluminum oxide 3" diameter wheel which came with a fiber wheel. It doesn't say on the package what grit the wheel is. Looks pretty "tight/close-grained" visually. $7.48
Mr. George W. you were correct in your deductive analysis (as opposed to my guess that it is a left hand thread)
It was LH. Gave the grinder and shop-fab jig short test on a scraper I made out of unknown type steel.
That and a little effort on the sandpaper glass and had an edge that will slice 20lb bond paper. That is more than sharp enough for uses that implement is put to. It was time for supper anyway; will try it on something more exacting as time permits.

278195278196

[george wilson]

Had I that grinder(I HATE those,by the way. They were the only grinders I ever saw as a kid stuck on light houses. It was a royal pain to try holding something with 1 hand and crank with the other.),I would have put a coarse white Norton wheel on it. 36 grit if you could find one. Maybe I could do better as an adult with one,but as a young kid,it was hopeless. To each his own!! I'll continue to destroy electrons when it comes to grinding.

For many years,we had to rely on hand cranked sandstone wheels in the museum. They were so fine grained they would never get a plane iron sharpened. I spent most of a day one time,getting kids from the audience to turn the crank. Never even really got started on sharpening the plane iron. Mostly,the wheel took the tarnish off the bevel !!! I think the sandstone wheels we could get these days MUST be inferior to what they had available originally,when they were the available technology. Those,and leather covered wooden wheels smeared with emery.