The outside metal edge was easy enough. I just clamped the inside reference face to a 2-4-6 block and ran the grinder along the edge. I clamped a 1-2-3 block to the blade for some additional stability.

I have to admit I was a bit curious about just how square those 2-4-6 blocks were, since they weren't particularly expensive. So out came the surface plate, the cylinder square, and the tenths indicator.

I wasn't particularly surprised to discover that the blocks were out by a fair amount - around 0.002" if I remember correctly. Not great by machining standards, but I decided to ignore it for this project.

The inside edge of the square was harder. The surface grinder doesn't have enough clearance to reach past the blade when it is flipped around, and I don't have a cup wheel for it. I decided to run it on the mill instead.

Here's what that looks like in action, with the cup wheel taking light passes along the edge:

It's not awesome to run abrasive stuff on the mill, since the grit can get into the ways and speed up wear. I covered the ways as best I could, but hopefully this isn't something I'll do very often. I should just get a cup wheel for the surface grinder.

The squares have already gone back to my friend, and he reports them as "more than accurate enough for anything I'll ever use them for". Nice.

Here's a new one next to the old, cracked and torn original.

It was easy to make some new ones, using a punch set I picked up. And here they are installed on the grinder. Much better now.

August 1, 2026: look what followed me home. It's a surface grinder. I've wanted to add one to the shop for quite a while, and when one came up on Facebook Marketplace not too far away for a decent price, I went and grabbed it. It has a hydraulic feed, which is the main feature I wanted beyond the basic functionality.

The next morning, unloading, with ramps.

Unloaded onto the driveway, on plywood and pipes.

And in the garage.

August 5: made it inside. Much cleaning and assembly remains.

The shaper sold within about an hour of me listing it, and the buyer was coming on Saturday, so it was time to move it again. This is where the surface grinder will go.

August 9: still not up and running, but much cleaner than it used to be. Next up are electrical and hydraulics, and then I can start getting it adjusted and using it.

It was alive on August 23. Getting it ready to use took a while:

Spot the difference? I didn't. I put bar-and-chain oil into the hydraulic reservoir instead of hydraulic oil. I replaced the hydraulic oil I contaminated, and she runs!

And the wiring inside the dust extractor motor, which was in need of attention.

The way covers are on Surface Grinder Way Covers, and some of what I ground with it is on Squaring Squares.