DBS-22 Base Plate Mod

[Ken S]

Since I had my plate modified to Rick's specs, I obviously think it is a good idea.
What puzzles me is not knowing if the Tormek engineers were not aware of the modification , or whether they considered that possibility and felt they had a good reason for not doing it. I wish we had better communication with Tormek. This kind of question comes up infrequently. It would be nice to have authoritative answers from the factory team. I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask several staff members to include the forum with their Internet favorites. One click once a day would show if there was any forum activity. On days with no activity (about half the days) a staffer could be in and out in only a few seconds. Even on the occasional post needing an answer, the time involved would be minimal.

Ken

[OneRogueWave]

 After working on a different project and completing it I got to focus on this, I don't have a milling machine but I have a Number 10 Dumore Die grinder. Sharpie layout, a few drill holes to remove some bulk and lubricant for a 1/2 inch burr and some elbow grease. One modification not shown is this T8 can run off a foot switch when needed.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hbi1lyc33r3h5k6/DBS22%20Mod.jpg?dl=0

[Ken S]

Nicely done! Clever.

Ken

[courierdog]

At first I could not understand the why for the mod. At first I thought Tormek may have changed the dimensions of the base plate. I was wrong. I looked again carefully as to the reason for the mod. Before the mod the movable portion of the Jig over runs to base plate. With the mod the movable portion of the Jig is more balanced on the base plate. So it looks like I will have to do this modification to balance to movable portion on the static baseplate.
This is just a wonderful piece of kit and while it works very well the way it is, this mod should make the overall balance and the resulting grind a much more smooth operation and keep more of the movable portion operating on the centre of the baseplate.
Thanks again to everyone who share their experience to make our lives easier.
How ever My thought is why does Tormek not make the base plate a little wider and modify the mount to allow for the shifting of the baseplate so the grinding operation stays dead centre on the baseplate centred on the Grinding wheel.
Thanks for Listening.

[ega]

I, too, have noticed the tendency to tilt; the amount of this depends on the point angle of the drill but I have only used 118 degrees so far.

To remove as much 32 mm seems at first sight a bit drastic but I assume that those who have done this have experienced no problem; the Tormek wedging arrangement is, of course, very stable.

Looking at my old SG 2000 with this in mind, it occurred to me that the screwed-on horizontal base could be shifted a few mm to the left to achieve something of the same effect.

With a BGM-type arrangement, of course, the support can be as far from the wheel as the user chooses to make it.

[Ken S]

Based on Rick's suggestion, I took my DBS-22 to my local machine shop for modification. I think it is an improvement and I have had no problems with my modified jig.

I have also ground off a small area of my SVM-45 knife jig to allow it to clear the support bar when used in the horizontal position. (No criticism of Tormek intended; they recommend using the vertical position which works fine as is.)

The Tormek is a fine, versatile machine which can sometimes benefit from some tweaking.

Ken

[Bomb49]

...snip...
On the T8, the platform is a little over 45mm away from the left edge of the grinding wheel.  I think this is too close as the DBS sliding platform tends to tilt as it extends out over thin air on the left side of the fixed platform.  I find that I have to pay special attention to preventing this tilting as it can mess up the facet grinds. 

...snip... 
Rick

I commented previously about the position of the DBS-22 Base Plate being too far to the right on the USB, allowing for tilting of the drill bit holder at the left extreme of travel during grinding.  Even being aware of it and trying to not allow it to tilt, the pressure of trying to hold the bit holder firmly down while sliding inevitably led to tilting.  I decided to take care of that today.  I cut and milled out a section of the left side of the USB sleeve from the Base Plate.




It allows the Base Plate to be positioned about 32mm further to the left.


Providing full support for the drill bit holder when the drill point has reached the left edge of the grinding wheel.  I haven't used it yet, but feel confident that I'll be able to slide comfortably without risk of tilting any more. 

I did the same with mine today Rick, just using a hacksaw and file to smooth the saw marks. Took 20-30 minutes and I can say it improved the stability if the slider in the base plate 100%! Rather than removing a piece of the base plate sleeve, Tormek should leave the sleeve the same length and modify the position the base plate sits, relative to the stone. With larger drill bits that require more grinding pressure, this modification is almost mandatory! Well done Rick!

[RickKrung]

I did the same with mine today Rick, just using a hacksaw and file to smooth the saw marks. Took 20-30 minutes and I can say it improved the stability if the slider in the base plate 100%! Rather than removing a piece of the base plate sleeve, Tormek should leave the sleeve the same length and modify the position the base plate sits, relative to the stone. With larger drill bits that require more grinding pressure, this modification is almost mandatory! Well done Rick!

Very glad it works for you and I am glad it's been done with just a hacksaw and file.  Please post a photo(s).  Even though it may not be as pretty as machined mods, it would still be interesting and supportive of those who might want to do the mod but are dissuaded by the idea of using these simple but highly functional tools.  Remember that in the "old days", apprentice machinists were required to demonstrate high levels of skill with files before they could progress to mechanized machining.

Rick

[Chiefwebb]

I just wanted to chime in on these old posts about modifying the DBS-22 Base Plate. After sharpening over 100 drill bits and having issues with the left side tipping I read about this modification. I cut off 1" using a hacksaw and finishing it with a die grinder and wish I had done this long time ago.  I am now really happy with the DBS-22.  If you haven't done it yet, I do recommend this mod.