Rusted shaft cracks stone

[daniel.farrier]

Tormek is a premium product with a premium price.  But my SuperGrind 2000 came with a shaft that rusted, expanded and broke my stone after only a few years of use.  $75 for a new stainless steel shaft and $210 for a new stone and I'm finally back up and running this week.  Tormek should have provided a SS shaft originally...instead I'm out over $300!

Has anyone else had this experience with a rusting shaft cracking their stone?

[Ken S]

Daniel,

Welcome to the forum. Actually, Tormek switched to stainless steel shafts in 2006. The original stainless shafts were straight, like the earlier non stainless shafts. within a very few years, all shafts were the EZYlock design. (My first T7, purchased in August of 2009 had the straight, stainless shaft. It was stolen. The replacement T7 I purchased had the EZYlock.)

I have read several posts about rusted shafts. Generally these involved the grinding wheel being left in the water trough wet. Performing the recommended annual maintenance of removing the shaft, cleaning, and regreasing the nylon bushings should have given early warning about the rust.

Often liberal use of penetrating oil can help break the shaft and nut loose.

I suggest you email Tormek support (support@tormek.se).

Keep us posted.

Ken

[RichColvin]

Daniel,

It is very important to be sure you are not leaving the grindstone stone in the water bath once you are done.

Leaving the grindstone in the bath keeps water on the shaft and really contributes to the shaft rusting.  It also keeps the grindstone from drying and if it freezes, the retrained water will certainly cause cracks.

Kind regards,
Rich

[cbwx34]

Tormek is a premium product with a premium price.  But my SuperGrind 2000 came with a shaft that rusted, expanded and broke my stone after only a few years of use.  $75 for a new stainless steel shaft and $210 for a new stone and I'm finally back up and running this week.  Tormek should have provided a SS shaft originally...instead I'm out over $300!

Has anyone else had this experience with a rusting shaft cracking their stone?

Have had a bit of rust... not enough to crack the stone though.

I looked in the oldest manual I could find, just to see what it said about maintenance.  IMO, it doesn't really warn that this could happen, in fact the only section I could find is pretty vague...

Bearings
The main shaft runs in special nylon bearings. They are designed to have a radial play of 0,1 - 0,2 mm (0,004 - 0,008"). This has no influence on the running of the stone, as the
load is always downwards. The lifetime is some 1000 hrs and normally they need no re-greasing. Should however a sound arise, this is cured by regreasing the bearings.
Remove the stone and pull out the main shaft with the honing wheel and apply grease on the shaft and in the bearings.

... basically saying little maintenance is needed.  Only the newer manual says to regrease "every year or so".

My .02... especially if sharpening knives, you can get enough runoff to get water on the shaft... I'm not sure leaving the stone in water is the only reason.

[Ken S]

Interesting thoughts, CB.

As a relative newcomer to Tormek (2009), I have no direct experience with non stainless steel shafts. According to the online class discussing the history of the Tormek, the early natural grinding wheels could swell if left wet. This was from a question about leaving the SG wet. While the SGs don't swell, that would not preclude rusting.

I would still recommend emailing support.

Ken