What do we do with the water after we finished

[Daffiedolf]

When our tools are sharpened and we do not use our Tormek, do we have do get the water out of the reservoir so we prevent the stone getting oval?

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum. I always drain the water trough and clean/dry it after every session. In fact, I will change the water midsession if it starts to look nasty.

I don't know about warping the grinding wheel. In the old days (pre 2006) before stainless steel shafts, leaving the unused stone in water caused some nasty rust problems. Clean and dry helps prevent the grinding wheel from staining.

I believe it was forum member Sharpen a Dull Wit who first suggested using a turkey baster to help drain the water trough. I use the baster to put the mostly clear liquid into a plastic peanut butter jar (dither smooth or crunchy) and wipe out the gunk with a paper towel. Then just a quick rinse with clean water. Using the turkey baster also minimizes water spillage.

It is a good practice which should become a work routine habit.

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

Do you have to, no, you could drop the water tray down, so the stone is not sitting in water.

If I am working on something, or have other projects that would make me want to use the Tormek again that day, I tend to just drop the tray, without emptying it.
My father is getting me in the habit of putting the old water into water jugs, where the stuff settles in the bottom.  I can then use the turkey baster to get some of the water back, or for (as he does) grey water use like the planters outside.

[Ken S]

Good thoughts, SADW.

Ken

[Komitadjie]

I just drop the trough on my T8 until the stone is clear of the water, then top it up before the next use.  When I start to see it getting scuzzy, it gets tossed on the lawn where the stone mud and steel filings won't hurt anything, rinsed out in the garden hose, and refilled.

[Rem]

I can now, with great authority, highly recommend the turkey baster sold by Lee Valley Tools.   Known on the LV site as the Dripless Baster.  $27  Canadian ........  probably about a buck and a quarter American.   R

[jeffs55]

I can remove my water trough without spilling a drop on my Supergrind, if you should spill some just grab a paper towel.  Just dump the water into your grass. It is only rock and ground metal filings. The iron will enrich the soil, the water will wet it and the rock dust will just join with the other soil. The grindstone dust is not toxic in the small amounts that is used per session(s).

[grepper]

Whatever you do with the slurry in the water trough, don't dump in down the drain.  The sludge goop is heavy will accumulate in traps and low areas of the drain pipes. 

I like to dump and clean the trough when I'm done sharpening.  If the water dries up the remaining crud can be very cement like and difficult to clean.  Nothing like a clean machine. 

[Ken S]

These are all good thoughts. Two factors have changed my used water routine over the years:
1) The location of my shop. For many years my shop was in my unheated garage. I would just dump the water on my gravel driveway. This worked fine. When I moved, my shop moved to a much nicer basement and a concrete driveway. I switched to decanting the water down the basement sink and cleaning the grinding slurry with a paper towel.
2) SADW's forum idea of using a turkey baster. This was a game changer for me. I remove almost all of the water with the turkey baster and put it into a repurposed plastic peanut butter jar. As it is essentially clear water, I dump it down the drain. I follow the same procedure, wiping out the slurry with a paper towel and rinsing the trough.

Frankly, I think Rem's Lee Valley turkey baster is a good investment. I have two basters. My original one cost $4 US. I consider it a yeoman quality grocery store tool. It works well; drips are rare. The second is smaller. It fits nicely in my mobile bowling ball bag with my T4. Dripping is not bad, It does drip more than the larger baster. If the Lee Valley dripless baster were a tool product, I would label it Veritas, like their other top of the line tools. Google "lee valley/dripless baster". It costs $21US and seems a well dedigned, solid tool.

Starting with clean water in the trough reminds me of decades spent in my photographic darkroom. I always felt better beginning with fresh chemicals. Prints made this way and processed archivally always felt more important go me, demanding my best work. I want that demand for best work to carry over into my sharpening. Clean water; good light; a properly trued and graded grinding wheel; and my Tormek left clean and dry. I would suggest that your sharpening deserves this respect, also.

Ken

[RichColvin]

I work in my basement, so I have few options that don't involve more exercise than I care to do.

I use the turkey baster to get the level of the water down so that it doesn't spill when I remove the trough from the tabs holding it up at the wheel.  (I have an older T2000)

If I'm going to sharpen again soon, I'll leave the remaining stuff in the trough and let it sit.  NOTE :  the stone is NOT in the water !

It it is going to be a while, then, I have a bucket on the floor beneath the Tormek where I dump the water+.  I just let the sludge in the trough evaporate down to dust and then use a scraper to clean it out into a trash can.  As for the bucket, well if it doesn't evaporate in a few days then I haul it upstairs and dump in the flower beds.  Plants seem to love it :  they grow to darned fast now !!

Rich