Rusted Shafts

[Ken S]

The problem of a shaft rusted onto the grinding wheel comes up from time to time. In most cases, this seems to be a preventable problem.

For the last several years, new Tormek units have shipped with stainless steel shafts. My first Tormek came with a stainless pre EZYLock shaft. At this point, any rusted shaft problems already have at least several years' head start.

I suggest a several point program to eliminate this problem:

1) Make it part of your sharpening routine to dump the dirty water when through sharpening. I suspect most of the rust problem originates while the Tormek is NOT being used. 

2) Jeff Farris has posted that when he was traveling around the country demonstrating the Tormek, he routinely removed the grinding wheels from his demo units before traveling. I don't recall Jeff ever having a rusted shaft.  Removing the wheel after each day's sharpening seems like overkill.  Removing the wheel periodically and making sure the shaft is clean seems prudent.

3) For those of us who start with a Tormek which has seen previous service, I suggest removing the stone and cleaning/lubing the shaft should be done before using your Tormek, or at the very least, very soon. This procedure is covered in the handbook. A stick on address label on the housing is a good way to record the service dates, just like the door stickers for auto oil changes.

If the wheel is already rusted to the shaft, proceed with Stig's advised slow and careful WD 40 routine. Be very patient.  A new replacement wheel currently costs $184.  If you are lucky and can remove the rusted shaft, consider a replacement/upgrade EZYLock shaft.  The cost is $66, about a third of the cost of a new wheel.  Not only are the new shafts stainless, they are a real improvement.

If removing the wheel and cleaning/lubing your Tormek seems like a lot of work, estimate the value of your time. If you time is more valuable than the cost of a new shaft and wheel, have your butler return your Tormek to a repair station.  If, like the rest of us, the cost of a replacement shaft and wheel seems expensive, your time will be well spent.

Moderator: I would like to see a sticky of this problem placed at the top of this forum. My idea for the chisel question became too large and clumsy to be very useful.  Top stickies should be short and direct.  Comments and suggestions should be separate but related new topics.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Good points, Ken. I would add a couple of things.

2) Jeff Farris has posted that when he was traveling around the country demonstrating the Tormek, he routinely removed the grinding wheels from his demo units before traveling. I don't recall Jeff ever having a rusted shaft.  Removing the wheel after each day's sharpening seems like overkill.  Removing the wheel periodically and making sure the shaft is clean seems prudent.

Take that opportunity to clean and lube the nylon bearings.

If the wheel is already rusted to the shaft, proceed with Stig's advised slow and careful WD 40 routine.

[/quote]

Try to remove the main shaft while it's still attached to the grindstone. When I broke my grindstone I was trying to remove it from the main shaft while the main shaft was still in place. A chemical reaction occurs with the steel of the main shaft and the grindstone, and they meld together into a rusty crust, wrapping around the nylon bearings and trapping the main shaft in place.