Waterballet

[WimSpi]

I'm new to this forum and hope to learn a lot and maybe answer questions in due course.
I come from the Netherlands and hope the translation goes well.

50 years ago, as an carpenter in education, I learned to grind on a large sandstone rotating in water. Slow, slow, but sharp. And that, honing the chisel with a famous Belgian honingstone.

Since a week I now have a Tormek T8 with a lot of accessories. I could take it over and the T8 was less than a year old.

This week I performed the first grinding operations.  The results are encouraging, but not yet optimal.
It also reminds me a bit of 50 years ago......

My first question is of a more general.
I find the water tank spills quite a lot of water. Especially because the side almost touches the stone. There is only 3mm space between it and the water sometimes flows over it. (See drawing)

Am I doing something wrong?

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Wim.

Several years ago, I drove three hours to Hartville, Ohio for the woodworking show. I wanted to spend the day observing and conversing with the Tormek representatives. I arrived early in the morning and found Steve Bottorff working alone until the rest of the crew arrived at noon. It was a most productive day. I immediately recognized Steve; I had previously purchased his book, Sharpening Made Easy.

Steve had set up a T7 and a T4 on a new Sjöberg workbench. Only one layer of thick cardboard protected the workbench. Both Tormeks were running continuously. Steve wisely noted that people will walk right by a machine which is not running, paying no attention; whereas, the same people will stop and look at a running Tormek with water flowing over the grinding wheel.

Throughout the day, I checked for water spillage. There was some; however, it was only a very small amount, perhaps a few drops. I attributed that to rotating the Tormeks to change direction for honing.
I believe the secret of this minimal spillage was using only enough water. Ever since then, I fill the trough by turning the machine on and only pouring enough water to start the flow over the top of the grinding wheel. With the regular wheels, some of this water is quickly absorbed. I then add just enough water to begin the flow again.I don't turn the machine off during filling. I repeat this until the grinding wheel stops absorbing water. I find this careful filling reduces spillage.

Controlled rotation helps, either with the RB-180 or a plastic cafeteria tray.

My favorite tip, submitted by another forum member, is to evacuate the trough water using an inexpensive turkey baster from the grocery store. After sharpening, I remove almost all of the water with the baster before moving my Tormek. I use an empty plastic jar as a bucket.  With the water almost all removed, I dismount the trough and wipe out the sludge with a paper towel. This keeps my drain clean. Then a quick water wash and the trough is clean.

The T8 has the Advanced Water Trough, which has a nice wide lip on the side to hold the draining piece. I am surprised that Tormek didn't increase the size of the front and back lips. The idea just came to me of using two pieces of credit card like plastic. Glue them together, placing the glue only on one end. This would allow the other end to spring slightly. Slip these two glued pieces over the inflow end of the trough. This should divert the water into the trough.

Please keep us posted.

Ken

PS I purchased a separate turkey baster and labeled it "Tormek". I keep it away from the kitchen. This helps maintain domestic harmony.   

[cbwx34]

I'm new to this forum and hope to learn a lot and maybe answer questions in due course.
I come from the Netherlands and hope the translation goes well.

50 years ago, as an carpenter in education, I learned to grind on a large sandstone rotating in water. Slow, slow, but sharp. And that, honing the chisel with a famous Belgian honingstone.

Since a week I now have a Tormek T8 with a lot of accessories. I could take it over and the T8 was less than a year old.

This week I performed the first grinding operations.  The results are encouraging, but not yet optimal.
It also reminds me a bit of 50 years ago......

My first question is of a more general.
I find the water tank spills quite a lot of water. Especially because the side almost touches the stone. There is only 3mm space between it and the water sometimes flows over it. (See drawing)

Am I doing something wrong?

Based on your drawing... I think you're raising the water trough too high.  Just lower it a notch.

[WimSpi]

Thank you very much.  Less water may be the cause. I made a comparison with an old sandstone grinder, and Ken S indicates that the standard stone absorbs water.

But I use the diamond stone and it doesn't absorb water.
So don't add more water than the stone is just wet and lower the water basin as cbwx34 writes.Then the distance between the water basin and the stone disc becomes a little more than 3mm.

Thank you very much. As soon as I have a result, I'll report it.

[Ken S]

Wim,

I find the most efficient way to fill the T8 water trough for diamond wheels is to premeasure the water and ACC. I use graduates from my old darkroom, although a kitchen measuring cup is fine for the water and a child's medicine graduated spoon from the grocery store or pharmacy for the ACC. Start with a known amount of water in the graduate. While the motor is running, gradually pour in water until the water starts to flow over the top of the grinding wheel. Note the amount of water remaining in the graduate. Subtract this amount from the original amount. This is the amount of water you need.

As a check, I would dump the water and refill the graduate to the amount used. Pour 1/25th of the water amount of ACC into the child's graduated medicine spoon and combine it with the water. Write these numbers down for future reference. Many of the procedures I use require more time for the initial use; however, all future use goes fast.

You should run your own test. For the purpose only of offering a comparison, I will share my results: 125ml of water and 5ml of ACC work for me. I don't use the Tormek recommended minimum fill lines. Run your own tests and you will know.

Ken

[WimSpi]

Thank you Ken,

This way I will fill my water tank with water and ACC. I start with the ratio as indicated by Tormek, because I cannot substantiate why a different ratio is just as good. 
But you consume a lot of ACC I notice, unless you leave the water longer (under the stone).

Wim

[Ken S]

Wim,
I generally reuse my diluted ACC solution water. I put it in a lidded plastic jar until I need it again.

Ken

[WimSpi]

Good tip