Between uses

[Wdcarver55]

Finally got my T7 in.....WOW.....WOW.....😎

Do I need to drain the water from water tank between uses?

Greg

[brettgrant99]

I think that it depends upon the time between uses.  A couple of hours, no.  A couple of months in Arizona, no.  A couple of months where it freezes, yes.

That being said, I pretty much drain it after every time that I use, but that is because I don't have a dedicated work station for it, and I put it away when done.  I think that the stone may wick up water that can cause problems with the main shaft/bearings, but I have not had that issue, because I dump it and clean up the filings.  Others can comment on that.

Just my opinion,
Brett

[grepper]

Like Brett said, short periods are not a problem.  But for longer periods like overnight, etc., let the wheel dry out.  You could even just dump it into a bucket by the machine if that helps.

Additionally, clean water helps reduce the amount of metal in solution, and may reduce loading of the grinding wheel.  If you don't clean the tough every so often, eventually cement like goop forms in the bottom and it's more difficult to clean.  It's also easier to give the machine a quick wipe down while it's still wet rather than letting it dry out.

Just like any machine, regular maintenance and care goes a long way.

[brettgrant99]

I forgot about the goop (really spent grinding wheel).  Once when I was living in Tucson, I didn't dump the water and got distracted.  A couple of days later, I went out to my workshop, and all of the water had evaporated and left the hardened cement. 

Just remember, 110 degrees is hot, even when it is a dry heat.  Now I am in Seattle.  I would expect moss to grow if I left water in it.
Brett

[Ken S]

One of my photographic teachers, Fred Picker, preached the value of starting each printing session with fresh chemicals. I have carried this over to my Tormek sessions. Drain, rinse and dry your trough after each sharpening session. Dry off your Tormek.

Start the next sharpening with a clean Tormek and a quiet mind.

Ken

[grepper]

Start the next sharpening with a clean Tormek and a quiet mind.

An ancient pond.  A frog jumps in.  Plop!  Oh, the sound of water!

[Ken S]

Touche, Mark! (grepper). Your post gave me a good belly laugh.

Greg, (wdcarver), I am happy your Tormek finally arrived. I trust it will give you much happy service for many years. Don't forget to listen for the frogs.

Ken

[Wdcarver55]

Thank you for the comments and suggestions, I'm sure I'll have additional questions. But also hope with time and use I can be an asset to others especially in regards to woodcarving gouges.

Greg

I sent a short video of the an intermediate size #5/8mm gouge slicing through a scrap piece of wood, can honestly say no tool of mine has ever made that sweet sound. 😎

[Ken S]

Greg,

I hope you continue to have and post questions. When someone posts a question, many of us learn. I also hope and expect you will be posting solutions. Again, many will learn.
We can certainly use more carvers!

Keep up the good work!

Ken

[Wdcarver55]

Thanks again for all the useful info.
Another question I have is about the strop wheel. I've added the compound to the wheel but over night it becomes dusty, seems to be drying out. Will that change the more I use it or should I have prepared the wheel in some way before adding the compound?

Thanks
Greg

[grepper]

Put a little oil on a rag and spread a VERY LIGHT coating of oil evenly on the wheel.  Don't use very much.  A little goes a long way.  Just enough to slightly dampen the surface.

DO NOT soak the wheel in oil.  Just a VERY LIGHT coating.

The compound contains oil.  If you just keep doing it the way you are, it will eventually get enough oil into the wheel without adding the additional oil to start with.  You are not hurting anything without adding oil, it just gets dusty and takes a little longer.

Search the forum.  This has been covered many, many times.  Tormek does not do a good job of explaining it and hence the question comes up very often!

It's a little hard to explain just how much oil to use.  Less is more in this case.  Just start with a very, very light coating and see how it goes.  You will get the hang of it.  WAY better to use to little than too much.

A light machine oil works great, but really just about any will do.  You don't need to overthink this. 

[Ken S]

Wise and solid advice, Grepper. For the benefit of the knife sharpeners, would you please quantify the exact amount of oil needed in nano micro milli drops? 

As an old darkroom hand, I habitually keep an eye open for useful, inexpensive measuring graduates. I have found that cough medicine and liquid children's over the counter liquid medicine often comes with small plastic graduates. These are generally graduated in milliliters, ounces, and teaspoons. One of these might fill the precision gap between "a little" and the sub atomic knife measurement standards. 

In amicable fun,

Ken

[Wdcarver55]

Thanks once again for the useful information.

Greg

[brettgrant99]

... For the benefit of the knife sharpeners, would you please quantify the exact amount of oil needed in nano micro milli drops?  ...
In amicable fun,

Ken

Do you mean that you don't have a femto graduated cylinder.  I guess that you could borrow mine, but it is pretty pricey if you damage it. 

In all seriousness, I think I measured the oil in squirts, maybe 3.  For me, a squirt was accurate enough.  I'm not sure of why, but some people seem to think that they should apply oil every time.  Don't do that.  I used oil once when I first got it, and I never have had to since.

Brett

[Ken S]

Brrett,

My femto graduated cylinder is presently at the National Bureau of Standards for its annual calibration check. Thanks for the loan offer; it will hopefully be back soon.

I like your "squirts" measurement. I use "dribbles" but can convert dribbles to squirts.

For new readers, while most of our posts are very serious and have depth, we also enjoy some good natured fun. This reminds me of a photo Ansel Adams made for Life magazine. It was a picture of the Varian brothers, two men more known for their scientific brilliance than good looks. As a joke, they had concocted a nonsense "machine" from things like Dixie cups and were seriously pondering it in the photo. The photo was a joke, however, a number of members of the scientific community were incensed that they had not been informed of this project and hadn't a clue as to what it was!

Ken