New member, old owner

[Dakotapix]

I watched Jeff Farris demonstrate the original SuperGrind 2000 Tormek at a woodworking show in St. Paul in about the year 2000 and had to come home with one. Used it for several years on plane irons, chisels and knives but became frustrated with losing the 90 degree angles on plane irons. I developed an interest in Woodturning but turned to other sharpening methods for those tools. The Tormek was set on a shelf and there it remained unused.

Fast forward to about fives days ago and I took the cover off the green beast, filled the container with water and tried it again. Still losing the angle on plane irons so I tried resurfacing with the original diamond truing tool I'd bought. A bit better results but still not satisfactory.

It was then I found this web site and saw that there had been several jig upgrades that might solve my problem. I picked up the SE-76 Square Edge jig, the US-105 truing jig and the newer micro adjust tool rest. What a difference!

So I signed on here to get myself together with other Tormek fans. I was also told in a phone call that Jeff no longer is the owner of Sharp Tools USA although he's the moderator here.

[Mike Fairleigh]

Well, glad you finally got your mind right. 

It's great to have another member here.  It's a pretty quiet forum.

[Dakotapix]

In browsing through older threads here I became aware also of the shaft upgrade called the E-Z Lock. I don't really need that to make changing grinding wheels easier but I also read that the original shaft is prone to corrosion if water is left in the trough. I haven't pull the shaft yet to inspect it but I guess if would prefer not to dump the water after every use. Does the shaft upgrade allow for not changing water all the time because the new part is stainless?

[Herman Trivilino]

You can do a search for my thread here concerning the Rusty Mainshaft.  When the bearings start to squeak, you'll need to lubricate them, which will requie removing the mainshaft.

The new mainshaft is stainless steel, which will help prevent the rusting.  I do think you'll still need to remove the water from the tray after each use, but there's really only one way to find out for sure. ;-)

[Mike Fairleigh]

I don't dump my water at all, it completely evaporates in a few days.  I think that process is greatly accelerated by the wheel constantly wicking the water up and then exposing it to the air over a large surface.

[Dakotapix]

I went ahead and ordered the replacement shaft today even though I haven't used the machine in several years. Also ordered the revolving tray after wrenching my shoulder lifting the machine to use the honing wheel. It's an old nagging injury, not the complete fault of turning the unit. Just time to make sure it won't happen again. That's quite enough spending now.

[Ken S]

Welcome, Dakotapix. 

My original Tormek unit came with the regular shaft.  (Mine was a recent T-7; the shaft was stainless.)  I ordered and installed a replacement EZYlock shaft.  I really like it.  My only grumble is the lack of good written instructions.  Installation is almost intuitive.  Make a simple drawing of how your old shaft comes off and you will do fine.

Following Jeff''s advice, I removed the wheel before moving the machine.  ( I moved very recently.)  The EZYlock shaft makes removing and replacing the wheel quick an easy.  There have been recent postings on this forum about the pros and cons of removing the wheel between uses.  My unscientific gut feeling is for sporadic use, removing the wheel may not be a bad idea.  It can't hurt, and it might help.

With no more scientific evidence to substantiate the practice, I regularly dump and clean the water trough at the end of each session.  I happen to have easy access to running water in my shop now.  Before, when I worked out of my old garage, I just "recycled" a couple plastic bottles and filled them with water.  I dumped the old water on my gravel driveway and wiped out the trough out with a paper towel.  It isn't rocket science or tedious.  I believe working this way helps me sharpen better.  No science, just my gut.

My present Tormek came with the special sale free RB-180 revolving base.  (My original Tormek was stolen.)  I have not used it yet.  It looks like a useful device. My original motivation for purchasing a Tormek was my aching hands after flattening the backs on a set of chisels for a hand dovetailing class.  The Tormek does the hard grinding of sharpening.  In that spirit, I thing the revolving base will be beneficial for those of us who are no longer young.

I hope you will continue posting.  There is much we can learn through combining our experiences.

Ken

[Dakotapix]

Thanks for the welcome. There's a good You Tube video that describes replacing the shaft and I will use that as my guide. I believe it can be accessed right here from the upgrades section from the Home Page.

Wish I had a water supply in my shop but my laundry area is not too far away. I choose not to dump the grinding water down the drain, however. Seems to me that's asking for plumbing problems over time. I'll probably dump the water on a regular basis but not necessarily after every sharpening session.

[Herman Trivilino]

Sludge builds up in the water and this interferes with the sharpening process.  You'll want to regularly change the water and clean the sludge deposit out of the bottom of the water tray if for no other reason than this.

[Ken S]

Dakotapix, you bring up an interesting point about not wanting to dump the sludge water down your home drain.  I am in the same situation where I now live.  I agree with Herman about keeping the water changed.

Two ideas have come to mind.  For more than twenty years I have made my daily coffee using a small (#2) Melitta coffee filter.  It works well for one cup.  Melitta makes two larger filter sizes.  The larger, #6, might be large enough to efficiently handle the waste water from a Tormek.  I have a glass coffee pot with a plastic #6 filter.  I use it when we have company for coffee, which is rare.  I should try using it with the Tormek.

The second idea is to use paint filters, available from a paint store.  I recently purchased several with the intention of trying them with the Tormek.  I bought both fine and medium.  One filter might last through several Tormek sessions.

I hope we can get others to post on this. This is not a new situation.

Ken

[Mike Fairleigh]

Let me clarify my last post, as I realize it was not worded well.  What I meant was, I don't dump the water after every single sharpening session - and if I don't use the machine again for a few days, by that time the water is pretty much all evaporated out.  I do take the trough off, take it upstairs to the kitchen, and clean it thoroughly after every 2-3 sessions; by then, there's definitely enough sludge in there to justify a good cleaning.

As to plumbing problems, I can see how that might become an issue if you're dumping it down a drain line that never has any other water running through it.  But as long as something flows through there on a semi-regular basis, I wouldn't think that would ever become a problem.  My basement is stubbed out for a bathroom which I've never finished.  If I ever do, I'll dump the trough in that sink, run enough water to move the sludge into the (nearby) main house drain line, and not worry about it.

[Dakotapix]

I think I'll be in the school that will dump the trough every few days or if I don't plan to sharpen for a while. My comments about plumbing are based on prior experience in which I found that dumping material such as coffee grounds can have a long term bad effect on drains. The metal material along with residue from the stone grading seems to me to be heavier than water and might tend to remain in a sink trap over time. Just being cautious.

Meanwhile I'm gradually getting my sharpening station set up. But I use a lot of different tools including diamond stones and water stones. Plane irons and chisels are usually finished on water stones. I really like the Tormek for establishing the original bevel on these tools but prefer to take them a few steps further on water stones.

[Ken S]

At the risk of being branded a heretic, I happen to agree with you about using water stones for final polishing.  The Tormek certainly does a nice job of the heavy lifting.  I should make becoming skilled with the Tormek honing wheel a priority.  The problem may be operator inexperience, or the water stones may just work better.  The jury is still out for me.

In the meantime, the Tormek has made life more pleasant for my hands during the initial sharpening operations.

Ken

[Mike Fairleigh]

Same here.

1) Bevel shaping on the Tormek
2) Sharpening on Shapton Glass Stones, 1K/4K/8K
3) Honing on the Tormek (but I need to get better at that part)

[Ken S]

In my case:

1) is identical, Tormek to grind the bevel

2) should be Tormek for honing, however, my old Norton water stones are more often used

3) I agree, more practice honing with the Tormek is in order.

Ken