Tormek drive wheel

[Woodworker88]

So I got the T-8 black. Turned it on and sharpened a couple things and noticed the honing wheel had a slight wobble. I read several other forum posts about bent drive wheels out of the box. So I contacted customer support. Being a weekend I probably won't hear from them until start of next week.
   My question is how do you even get the drive wheel off? I read a couple people got new wheels through warranty. So I thought that I might take mine off and inspect the main shaft for bending/test the drive wheel on a flat surface. Well I took the bolt off and the wheel still doesn't come off. I haven't seen any advice anywhere as to how to remove the drive wheel. I would prefer not to send the machine back unless I have to. I was hoping they would send me a new drive wheel and that would solve the problem. It's not a terrible wobble, I sharpened a couple chisels on it,  but the machine is also brand new.

[John Hancock Sr]

The drive wheel should simply pull off with not too much force. If it is stuck then it may be damaged.

[Woodworker88]

Yeah it will not come off, I took the bolt off and tried to take it off with my hands and it would not budge. I have pretty strong hands being a 20 year tradesman. Should I be able to pull it off like that with my hands? Not a whole lot to grip with the body being so close.

[Woodworker88]

So I got the drive wheel off, had to get the weight of the motor/ drive pin off it then I got it to come off. The shaft/axle doesn't look bent, so fingers crossed they just send me a new drive wheel. Thanks for responding gave me the gumption to dig deeper in my problem solving.

[Crabnbass]

My drive wheel will wobble a bit if everything is not lined up perfectly when I put it back on. I would take it off and put it back on a time or two, and make sure everything is flat and tight. If your grinding wheel doesn't wobble I would say the shaft is most likely not the problem.

[John Hancock Sr]

There are drive pins in the honing wheel. Make sure that they are sitting into the drive wheel or it will wobble..

[Ken S]

I have corresponded with many members of Tormek's support team for several years.
A month ago, I also had the enjoyable opportunity of meeting them in person. They are dedicated, hardworking people who believe in providing excellent customer service. They are also, like most of us, dedicated family people who work Monday through Friday and enjoy being with their families on the weekends. Please be patient; the quality of the service is well worth the wait.

I am no expert on possible shaft and drive wheel difficulties. That said, the main shaft is 12 mm in diameter. That's half an inch in non metric lands. I have read several bent shaft guesses. While I suppose that is possible, i cannot imagine itbeing a common problem.

Ken

[Woodworker88]

Ok so I sharpened all of my/my employee's chisels and plane blades today. After lots of time on the machine, I don't think my shaft is 100 percent straight. The diamond stone has a very very small wobble. It's really not enough to make a difference but you can hear it correspond with the wobble of the honing/ drive wheel.  I have everything installed/sitting right and flat as far as the drive wheel goes. I am very impressed with the machine and it's attachments I was able to get razor sharp and square edges pretty fast with the 600 diamond and composite honing wheels. The ones that needed shaping took a while, but still faster than by hand. Considering purchasing the 360 diamond or the multi grade wet stone for reshaping. Let me know your thoughts on this.
  The blades that just needed some touching up went back to sharp in minutes. I'm not displeased even with a potentially bent shaft/drive wheel, but that being said if it is outside of the normal tolerance, I would rather have it work the way tormek intends.