Hello

[Nosetotail]

Hi all. I am new to the Tormek community.  I bought a very good condition used T4 last month for 300.  It included a grindstone that measured out at about 188 mm. Also included was the standard knife jig and stone grader along with the honing oil and compound. The unit is about a year old and I have the original receipt.

All I can say is WOW! I should have tried this years ago. Now it seems I have jumped down the rabbit hole head first.  In a month I have acquired a new original stone, diamond truing tool, Angle Tool, an XB 100 horizontal base, and have fabricated a frontal vertical base.  I thought I would share my simple design.

I didn't have access to a drill press, so I opted for a design I could build with just a jigsaw and battery drill.  I used 2" by 1/8" flat bar aluminum and 1/2" all thread.  I managed to find a piece of all thread that was slightly smaller in diameter than the rest of the 1/2" pieces.  This allowed me a very strick tolerance fit that is tighter than the fit with the fsctory guide bar rods that I assume are 12mm.

I cut 3 pieces of flat bar a little wider than the horizontal base piece.  I drilled two 1/2" holes into two of these to a tight fit with the guide bar.  My holes were just a tad too close so I had to make them a little bigger.  The result was just right. The guide rods slid into the plates with absolutely no play. 

The crux of my design was to use narrow jam nuts to mount the 1/2" guide bars by bolting these two plates together.  With my holes just right, the jam nuts trued the all thread to another perfect no tolerance fit with the horizontal base that is built into the T4.  I mounted the XB-100 base to the third plate and after leveling it, pulled it all together with #10 bolts.  This part was harder than I thought, but I got it right.  The guide rod is just a schoche out of parallel with the machine.  You have to magnify the level bubble to tell the difference. It wont matter much as I plan on using the front base for honing and perhaps some larger knives edge trailing.

I am a busy father of three, so I ask for forgiveness in advanced for bypassing the search method.

I am seeking the best threads on alternative aftermarket grind stones.  I would like to go to coated CBN or Diamond wheels to forego the grading and truing of the grindstones.  I bought the new grindstone to use solely as a 220 grit and have the older one to keep smooth.  This is working, but it is a bit of a pain calculating and adjusting the guide bar everytime I change my stone. 

My other goal is to use a series of 8 inch honing wheels for a progression of honing grits. I caught a glimpse of a thread on using paper wheels and would like to figure out the best way to fit them to the machine. 

My other idea is to glue velcro to one honing wheel and make a series of velcro backed leather strips for the progression.

I know I shouldn't fit too many subjects into one thread but here goes.  The unit is already registered and had been sent back by the original owner to deal with out of balance stone rotation.  Will Tormek honor the warranty even if I am not the original owner? If so, how do I get it transferred?

Thank you in advance for any help offered.

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Nosetotail.

You should contact Tormek about transferring your warranty. Support (support@tormek.se) is a good starting point.Support can either handle it or forward it to the correct department.

All grinding wheels, including diamond and CBN are long term consumibles, just like brake parts on a vehicle.
I believe you will find that careful use of the stone grader is more efficient than changing wheels with different diameters. Also, I would not consider writing off the traditional Tormek 220 and 1000 grit grinding followed by the leather honing wheel with PA-70 until you have mastered it.

Keep us posted.

Ken

[cbwx34]

...
I am seeking the best threads on alternative aftermarket grind stones.  I would like to go to coated CBN or Diamond wheels to forego the grading and truing of the grindstones.  I bought the new grindstone to use solely as a 220 grit and have the older one to keep smooth.  This is working, but it is a bit of a pain calculating and adjusting the guide bar everytime I change my stone. 

My other goal is to use a series of 8 inch honing wheels for a progression of honing grits. I caught a glimpse of a thread on using paper wheels and would like to figure out the best way to fit them to the machine. 

My other idea is to glue velcro to one honing wheel and make a series of velcro backed leather strips for the progression.
...

Congrats on the homemade FVB.

You might find this thread of interest...
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3509
...Not sure if kwakster got further with his project... you may ask him if that interests you.

FWIW, I mounted a paper wheel on the Tormek (there's a picture in that same thread).  It worked OK, but, I don't think it worked that well... maybe it's what I'm used to, but I think they work better at the higher speeds of a bench grinder.

[Nosetotail]

Thanks guys.  I will get my Tormek registered. 

Ken, I have a pretty good grasp on sharpening knives on the Tormek.  I,ve sharpened everything in my house and my sister in law's house.  I also bought a hodgepodge box of knives for 8 dollars.  I even went back and fixed uneven grinds in the first few knives I learned with.  I have put a scary edge on about 25 knives with no wavy bevels. 

My immediate goal is to get a coarse 8 inch diamond or CBN wheel and then use the new AO wheel strictly at 1000 grit. I wouldnt have to recalculate the angle because the wheels will be almost the same diameter.  I believe the stone grading is the primary reason the wheels wear untrue.  I can grade my stone to 1000 grit.  I have found that maintaining with fine wet dry sand paper is effected and gives me a silky smooth surface.  I would give the center a little more attention since it would usually be the edges that wear uneven.  After grading to 1000 Try the sand paper out.  You can feel all kinds of tiny bumps and roughness go perfectly smooth underneath the weight of your thumbs.

CBWX, I think I will try to make changeable leather strips with velcro.  I could see myself in the future using a 1750 rpm grinder with the paper wheels.

I wonder if wide rubber bands would work as a decent strop?  I think I could dress the rubber with wax and then press diamond powder into the rubber.  I could melt wax and then paint it on. If it gets too thick, I could use a razor blade to squeegee the excess off.  What do you think?