Rusted shaft

[jeffs55]

Ken, in an attempt to "cheap out" on buying the new stainless shaft I bought two of what the advertiser claimed were 12mm washers in stainless. When I got them they were 13mm and slid right over the threaded part of the shaft and abutted the unthreaded part of the shaft. I got out the digital caliper and indeed, the threads are 12mm but the shaft is 13mm. The seller indicated there was no such thing as OTC 12mm washers, it would have to be custom made like for the Tormek. My goal is to replace the original washer that had rusted with these stainless washers and see if that will save me about $50 on two for $100 in total. In my search for equivalent 12mm washers already here at my house I found none of course. However, I search through my drill bits and discovered that a 15/32 bit is within a paper thichness of 12mm and it is that much oversize. I bought some stainless washers and am going to drill those out and see what happens. I can always go the factory replacement route if necessary.

[RichColvin]

I agree with Ken.  My SuperGrind 2000 is 16 yrs old this month.  I replaced the shaft 2.5 yrs ago, and it was needed, but is also nice to have the ez on and off when I do change grindstones.

Kind regards,
Rich

[cbwx34]

CB,
Interesting post.
I contacted support. Here is their rely:

"There is no variation on the shaft regarding diameter. There was  3 centre bushings in the older super grind stones, after that it was one and now it is moulded.

The diameter of the shaft has always been 12mm."

I think the bushings may have originally been part of the bore of the grinding wheel. If they slide off the shaft easily, I might consider exopying them back into the bore of the grinding wheel.

Ken

Thanks. That's what I suspected.  From the looks of other pictures... it's a really old machine... pre Supergrind 2000 I believe.

[Ken S]

Ken, in an attempt to "cheap out" on buying the new stainless shaft I bought two of what the advertiser claimed were 12mm washers in stainless. When I got them they were 13mm and slid right over the threaded part of the shaft and abutted the unthreaded part of the shaft. I got out the digital caliper and indeed, the threads are 12mm but the shaft is 13mm. The seller indicated there was no such thing as OTC 12mm washers, it would have to be custom made like for the Tormek. My goal is to replace the original washer that had rusted with these stainless washers and see if that will save me about $50 on two for $100 in total. In my search for equivalent 12mm washers already here at my house I found none of course. However, I search through my drill bits and discovered that a 15/32 bit is within a paper thichness of 12mm and it is that much oversize. I bought some stainless washers and am going to drill those out and see what happens. I can always go the factory replacement route if necessary.

Jeff,

Over the years, I have "cobbled together" numerous combinations, the most extreme being adapting Norton 3X (eight inch diameter) wheels to work with both the T4 and T ten inch Tormeks. I have used two different kinds of washers: 1) I borrow a washer or two from other Tormeks or 2) Lowe's sells 12mmx38mm fender washers. I'm presently away from my shop. I think these fender washers were stainless. I found a link to zinc plated washers which should get you through:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-3-Count-12mm-x-37mm-Zinc-Plated-Metric-Fender-Washer/3864699

You might check other sources for stainless.

Incidentally, the EZYlock kit includes a new stainless washer and two bushings. (It does not include the "dry side" washer on the thinking that the dry side doesn't rust.)  Frankly, when you add in the separate cost of the stainless washer, the kit price looks better.

Jeff,
If your machine is a pre SuperGrind 2000, I think it has earned a new shaft  from years of service. 

Ken

[cbwx34]

Ken, in an attempt to "cheap out" on buying the new stainless shaft I bought two of what the advertiser claimed were 12mm washers in stainless. When I got them they were 13mm and slid right over the threaded part of the shaft and abutted the unthreaded part of the shaft. I got out the digital caliper and indeed, the threads are 12mm but the shaft is 13mm. The seller indicated there was no such thing as OTC 12mm washers, it would have to be custom made like for the Tormek. My goal is to replace the original washer that had rusted with these stainless washers and see if that will save me about $50 on two for $100 in total. In my search for equivalent 12mm washers already here at my house I found none of course. However, I search through my drill bits and discovered that a 15/32 bit is within a paper thichness of 12mm and it is that much oversize. I bought some stainless washers and am going to drill those out and see what happens. I can always go the factory replacement route if necessary.

Advanced Machinery?

Washer for Stone

[Ken S]

For those who may not know about how Advanced Machinery became "the" parts supplier for Tormek in North America, here is the story.

When Jeff Farris and Tormek went separate ways, He sold his business, Sharptoolsusa, to Advanced Machinery. The well done parts diagrams on the Advanced Machinery site were originally on the Sharptoolsusa website. Sharptoolsusa did the repair and warranty work for Tormek in the US. They may have also been the importer..

My experiences with buying parts through Advanced Machinery have all been positive. No complaints.

Ken

[cbwx34]

A sort of related question... was there a version of Tormek that had  plastic (or nylon) sleeves on the shaft?  There's an Instagram post where a shaft is being replaced, but the old shaft has these (3) plastic "sleeves" on them...
          ....
I thought maybe he pulled an insert out of the wheel, but another poster said his also had them (3 of them)... so it sparked my curiosity.

Bit of an update...

So if any of you good people have a Neanderthal Tormek like mine (circa 1997), and it has a very rusty shaft and you want to upgrade to the #msk250 stainless steel shaft, then our Swedish 🇸🇪 friends at Tormek do still have a few replacement plastic sleeves in stock! These three sleeves go between the old style stone that I have and the steel shaft where the stone is mounted. I couldn't get the old ones off the old shaft, they were attached for good. I have to say that Tormek customer service is absolutely fantastic, thank you!

(Old vs. New Shaft)...

[RichColvin]

Looks like it needed to be replaced!

Rich