Flat tool holder plastic bearings

[topconker]

Hi Guys, I'm now the proud owner of a 2000, 9pressie from te wife), and have spent the afternoon playing.
The machine is second hand but looks in pristine condition but after a while I noticed the grind pattern on a chisel looked one sided. After a closer look it seems the plastic bearings in the flat tool holder are worn to one side.
I've spent the best part of an hour lookinbg to find a supplier here in the UK but to no avail, can anyone help?
Cheers,
Phil.

[jeffs55]

A quick Google search shows these people. I am sure there are others. Just type Tormek UK into your search bar and see what pops up.
http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/brand.php/show/Tormek

[topconker]

Thanksd jeff,
Had a look and cant see them on theor site, I'll keep looking. Surely these should be relativealy easy to get hold of?

TC

[Ken S]

Phil,

Welcome to the forum. I believe what you want is the bushing #3120. These cost $1.25 US each. If you go on the tormek.com website and click on where to buy. Brimark is the UK agent. They should be able to help you.

Check sharptoolsusa.com , tormek , replacement parts , parts finder to see good drawings of the parts.

Good luck, and do keep us posted.

Ken

[topconker]

Thanks Ken, I'm on it now.

TC

[topconker]

Whilst I'm here, my Tormek does seem a tad noisy which surprises me, should I be looking at the shaft as when I put some pressure on a tool last night I was able to stop the wheel turning?

TC

[jeffs55]

The Tormek motor drives the wheel through contact pressure of the drive shaft on a rubber wheel. Therefore the shaft must have maximum grip on the wheel. Since your machine is older, it may be possible that oxidation and or hardening of the surface of the rubber wheel has occurred. Some light sanding of the rubber wheel may be in order to give the surface of the wheel more traction. So get some fine sandpaper and give it a try. Conversely, make sure the rubber wheel is dry and tacky and does not have oily contamination. I do not know the amount of pressure you put on it but we all put significant pressure on the grinding wheel when changing its "grit" texture so it is doubtful you are leaning on it that much.

[Herman Trivilino]

The machine is second hand but looks in pristine condition but after a while I noticed the grind pattern on a chisel looked one sided. After a closer look it seems the plastic bearings in the flat tool holder are worn to one side.

That indicates the machine got a lot of use, at least with that jig. Is it the newer S-76 Square Edge jig, or the older SVH-60 Straight Edge jig?

I recommend you remove the grindstone with main shaft attached. This is done by first removing the honing wheel and drive wheel from the opposite end of the main shaft. Once you have it on the bench you can remove the main shaft from grindstone. Clean the main shaft and lubricate nylon bearings. If the nylon bearings are also worn you can replace them for a small price, too.

After re-assembly true the grindstone. If you don't have the truing tool buy one, it's a must-have.

A freshly-trued grindstone will be in a very coarse state, so grind away on a tool that needs re-shaping before you try sharpening a knife.
 

[topconker]

I've taken a look at the bearings after I removed the drive and yes there is decernable movement in the bearings. I can't see any rust on the shaft and to be honest don't know how to check if it is stainless or mild steel.
I tried the motor without the drive wheel and it is silent and after looking closely at it can see "flat" spots on it that corresponge with the rotational noise so looks like I may have to replace that as well!
The serial number is:296528 but I can't find anywhere that I can check to see the date of manufacture.
How do I check to see which between the S-76 and the SVH-60 straight Edge jigs?

TC

[Ken S]

Phil,

The SE-76 (square edge jig) has a shoulder to mate with the side of a chisel. It also uses the back of the chisel as the reference surface. In this case, the back of the chisel is the edge away from the grinding wheel.

The SVH-60 has the chisel sitting on top of the main jig and uses the top of the chisel as the reference surface. Both jigs use the same bushings.

Tormek support in Sweden is on holiday until next week. If you email them the serial number of your Tormek after that, they should be able to tell you the date of manufacture. The email address is support@tormek.se  . they should also be able to tell you if the unit was shipped with a stainless or regular steel shaft (assuming you have the original shaft).

If you don't have any rust on the shaft, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure to dump the water and wipe your Tormek after each sharpening session and clean/regrease the shaft a couple times a year.

Jeff and Herman have given you good advice about the rubber drive wheel.

If your truing tool is not the newer design (TT-50) which works with the new micro adjust universal support, they are worth replacing.

Do keep us posted.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

I can't see any rust on the shaft and to be honest don't know how to check if it is stainless or mild steel.

The newer stainless shaft has the EzyLock feature that allows you to remove the grindstone without any tools. The older steel shaft has a hex nut that requires a wrench for grindstone removal.

How do I check to see which between the S-76 and the SVH-60 straight Edge jigs?

It should be stamped on the jig. Spend a few minutes looking at www.tormek.com. All of these differences are explained and illustrated there quite well.

[Ken S]

Herman,

My 2009 vintage T7 came with a "regular" ( right hand thread) stainless shaft with a hex nut. I believe the shafts were made this way for several years.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Ahhh... So the stainless steel main shaft came out before the EzyLock feature came out. I didn't know that. I guess, then, one way to tell the stainless from the plain steel shaft would be appearance. Regular steel gets a patina that's familiar to most knife sharpeners. I can spot it quite easily. Also, I just checked and my stainless main shaft is nonmagnetic.

[grepper]

Well..., huh.  Thanks Herman.  Good info.  I had no idea that some stainless steel could be nonmagnetic.  I've never run across that.  Interesting.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-dont-magnets-work-on/

[topconker]

Just checked and my shaft is magnetic with a hex nut.
The jig is a SVH-60.
Not sure whether to buy a new stainless shaft or just the nylon bearings, (once I can find them), buy the way which grease should I use?
TC