Some questions regarding the Supergrind 1200

[Pete Williams]

Hi all - new to these forums, and have a few questions about my ageing Supergrind 1200. Is it best to post them all in one thread, or should I do it seperately?

[Dakotapix]

Suggest you go ahead and post your questions right in this thread that you started. Along the way you might also search the various threads you see if your question might have already been addressed. I just came on this forum a couple weeks ago and that's what I did. I also have an older Tormek, the 2000.

[Pete Williams]

OK. As I said, I have a Supergrind 1200, which I 'inherited' from a carpenter friend. I want to use it for sharpening a range of knives (camping, machete, pocket folders, kitchen knives etc) and have the following questions:

• Is the Tormek the best tool for knives? or should I use bench stones?
• How do I get the grinding wheel to run smoothly - it seems to be 'off centre', and has a 'hump' when it rotates.
• Will the existing accessories, such as the knifes jig, fit my 1200?

Any help gratefully received.

[Herman Trivilino]

Is the Tormek the best tool for knives? or should I use bench stones?

The Tormek is faster than benchstones, and does a much better job as it keeps the grinding angle constant.

How do I get the grinding wheel to run smoothly - it seems to be 'off centre', and has a 'hump' when it rotates.

Does the center of the wheel wobble, or just the outer edge?  Does it wobble from side to side?  The reason I ask is because if it does either of these the mainshaft is probably bent.  It's easy to replace.

If the mainshaft is not bent, and the wheel is simply out of round, then it can be trued using the truing tool.

Will the existing accessories, such as the knifes jig, fit my 1200?

Yes, I think so.

[Jeff Farris]

Herman was spot on with his advice, except that the likelihood that the shaft is bent is very, very small.  It is much more likely that the stone has worn out of round. Use the truing tool on it, and it will be perfect again.

[Pete Williams]

Thanks guys.
I'll check the wheel as you suggested Herman. I'm guessing that the best way to check the wheel is to remove it and carefully measure it from the centre point. Unless you think there's a better way, I'll try this later and let you know. IN the meantime I guess I should order the Knife Jigs. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks again

[Herman Trivilino]

I think the best way is to look at the wheel as it's rotating.  Use the truing tool (TT-50) to get the stone back into a round shape.

[Pete Williams]

Thanks for the reply Herman.
My reasoning for removing the wheel and measuring it was incase it had been incorrectly mounted.
I've no reason to believe it has been, but I'm wondering if it's possible to fit the wheel so that it is not concentric.
If you know for sure that this is not possible, it'll save me the trouble of removing it.

[Dakotapix]

The Truing Tool is a pretty essential jig if you plan to do much sharpening with your Tormek. I agree with the others here that your shaft is probably not the problem.

[Herman Trivilino]

I've no reason to believe it has been, but I'm wondering if it's possible to fit the wheel so that it is not concentric.
If you know for sure that this is not possible, it'll save me the trouble of removing it.

The mainshaft goes through a hole in the center of the grindstone.  There's no way to mount it off center.

The mainshaft rides on nylon bearings.  If the bearings are worn they'll need to be replaced, but I can't imagine they'd be so worn that they would cause the grindstone to wobble.  If you hear a squealing, these bearings may need to be replaced or at least lubricated.

There's a newer stainless steel mainshaft that has a quick-release nut on it that makes it fast to change grindstones without any tools.  If you buy this kit, it comes with new bearings.  My original mainshaft had rusted onto the grindstone.  I broke the grindstone taking it off, and bent the mainshaft.  Had to get a new grindstone and mainshaft.