Modifying the Universal Support

[Herman Trivilino]

I know you all probably have the "newer" Universal Support with Micro Adjust (US-105).  It replaced the old universal support way back in 2003 I think, which was just a year after I bought my Tormek. 

A long time ago I bought a die and the matching nut for the 12 mm shaft.  The nut substitutes for the micro adjuster.  It never worked as well as I'd like it to so this weekend I made some further modifications.  I used bondo to cement the nut into a two-inch diameter plastic screw cap and fill in the gap between the outside of the nut and the inside of the cap.  After the bondo set up I drilled a hole in the middle of the plastic cap and screwed it over the universal support.

It worked just great except for one thing.  I could no longer tighten the set screw that holds the universal support in place because the cap diameter is too wide.  So, I went to the hardware store and bought a dimmer knob and a threaded shaft.  The shaft fits nicely into the dimmer knob, but I glued it in place anyway.  The shaft is longer than the one on the original set screw so I can tighten it up without it touching the new homemade micro adjust.

What can I say, I'm cheap.  But it does the job!

Edit: I later ordered a replacement part called the "7050 Tightening Screw - knife & scissor jigs".  I pulled the threaded shaft out of this part and swapped it out for the threaded shaft in the universal support tightening screw.  It's now long enough to work again.

[Ken S]

I think "creative" would fit better than "cheap".  Clever, Herman.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Thanks, Ken.  It's called Yankee ingenuity.  (Uh oh, did I just say that?)

[Ken S]

How politically incorrect for a Texan!  Herman, I'm shocked.

Ken

[Rob]

If its fit for purpose and cost you almost nothing, plus you got to exercise your creative thinking the net result is...

it works = good
it was good value = good
you feel much more committed to supporting it in the future cos you made it and understand exactly how it works = good
we got to enjoy it second hand = good

Im strugling to see anything whatsoever wrong with what you did Herman....save a 21st century hang up on "you have to buy the proper part" myth :-)

Good for you I say
On the matter of going to war with different factions of America....I'll stay out of that one if you dont mind :-)  Suffice to say...we're allies now :-)

[Herman Trivilino]

How politically incorrect for a Texan!  Herman, I'm shocked.

Well, Ken, I'm a transplanted Texan.  Originally from upstate NY, near Canada.

[Herman Trivilino]

Im strugling to see anything whatsoever wrong with what you did Herman....save a 21st century hang up on "you have to buy the proper part" myth :-)

Some day I'll buy the official US-105 and then I'll have this one as a spare.  I'll have the option of mounting one on each side of the machine if ever there's an advantage in doing that.  I've alos got my eye on the BGM-100 so I can use my Tormek jigs with my dry grinder.

[Rob]

aye....that dry grinder conversion jig looks good doesnt it...all the control benefits but faster steel removal.....mmmmm

[Herman Trivilino]

You have to be more careful because the steel can get overheat.  And it's more dangerous to the operator because of the high speed of the grinding wheel.  The Tormek is very safe in that regard.

[Rob]

I tell you what would be a really useful mod to the T7....a universal support that somehow allowed you to take the jigged tool direct to the honing wheel.  But of course it could never compensate for the different (and always varying) diameters of the wheels.

The point being to avoid having to remount the US if you wanted to accurately hone rather than by hand. 

[Herman Trivilino]

You could do that it you had an extra universal support. But as you said, the wheels have different diameters so you have toreadjust things anyway.

But suppose you had several identical chisels, all new and of the same length.  You could probable rig up an indexing system so you could move back and forth between the grindstone and the honing wheel without have to readjust things every time.

I always free hand when I'm honing so it's not an issue for me.  Although some time I'd like to use the jig to hone a wood chisel and see if I can completely get rid of the scratch marks making a true mirror surface.

[Rob]

I freehand almost exclusively too. But I have a lie Nielsen block plane which gets used for various fine jobs including end grain. That I use the jig to hone so I can really get it perfect. It cuts like butter for the first few passes. It may sound weird but those first few strokes are exquisite

[Herman Trivilino]

I understand. There's nothing quite so nice as having just the right sharp tool for the job.

[Elden]

Herman,
I like you threaded my USB. Instead of a 12 mm Metric die, I used a 1/2 20 tpi die. It works real well and I am very pleased with it. I don't see how the new USB would be an improvement in my case. It definitely cost a lot less. I had to buy a hex die as mine was round.

[Herman Trivilino]

Herman,
I like you threaded my USB. Instead of a 12 mm Metric die, I used a 1/2 20 tpi die.

I thought about doing that, but since I didn't have a 1/2 inch die and had to buy one anyway, I just went with the 12 mm because that's the shaft diameter.  I had a hard time turning the die as that's quite a long length to have to turn.  It probably would have been a lot easier with a 0.5 inch die, as that's a 12.7 mm diameter.

It works real well and I am very pleased with it. I don't see how the new USB would be an improvement in my case. It definitely cost a lot less.

Yes, it was a lot cheaper, but what are you using as a substitute for the micro adjuster?  I had just a plain hex nut and it was hard to grip with my bare, usually wet, fingers.

I had to buy a hex die as mine was round.

Huhh?