Stone Out Of Square

[Larry Norton]

I bought my Tormek at the woodworking show in Baltimore on Jan. 6. I finally got to use it on Thursday. I couldn't get a square edge on either chisel I tried to sharpen. Then last night I took a square and measured the squareness of the stone. Across the top, it's about a sixteenth lower on one side. Since I have less than a half hour total using it, I can't believe that is normal. Since I don't have the tool to square it yet, it's now of no use to me. I have used the regrading stone very little.

Any help would be appreciated.

Larry

[epw314]

You are going to have to  grade the stone with the diamond cutter.With  the wheel right out of the box, it is not set up to your Tormek. If you don't have the diamond cutter yet,try the stone grader on 220 grit. Press as hard as you can.A 1/16 inch is a lot to ask the stone grader to do but give it a try.
Ed

[Jeff Farris]

Ed, you're wrong.  The stone is always true when new.  It is not unusual, however, for a new user to wear a stone quite a bit in his first few tools.

Larry, the alignment is not likely to be the problem.  Please read the tech bulletin at http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/squareedgeweb.pdf -- there should have been a copy in you accessory bag, too, but just in case, download the pdf.

[gbborders]

I have had a similar problem with grinding chisels out of square.  I agree it is not because of my stone - it is square.   Based on the counsel of my machinist neighbor, we noticed one of the bearings of the SVH-60 does not have the hole in it's center.   There is some play in the unit due to this bearing, but it is far enough off center in the jig, it is most likely not due to wear - and I have used the unit sparingly.      I had thought the SVH-60 registration was off, but it is dead on parallel with the side of the stone.     I am planning to purchase replacement bearings for the SVH-60 before attempting any other remedies.    Other suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jeff Farris]

Once again I will point out that the answer is in the linked PDF file.

http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/squareedgeweb.pdf

[Petrovich]

I am probably wrong, but it seemed to me that the stone was a bit softer when new.  Now that it has worn a bit (just slightly under the 250 mark) it seems to be more stable.

On the other hand....it may have nothing to do at all with stone hardness and everything to do with new user inexperience.