Tormek T7 Setup - Grinding wheel either too tight or too loose

[ACoppersmith]

Hi all,

I've had a "mint in the box" Tormek T7 in my shed for many years, and am just now setting it up.  For installing the stone wheel, it came with a supplementary yellow instruction sheet which states to "mount the wheel with a 3/4" wrench... tighten the nut by hitting the wrench a few times with a hammer.  Do not tighten by pulling the wrench as there is then a risk of damaging the center of the drive wheel"

OK... that seems a bit weird using a hammer to avoid damage, but I followed these instructions to a tee.  Running the machine, the nut that holds the stone wheel kept unthreading itself and falling off.  So I tightened it a bit more... the wheel now ran slowly, then after a bit of tool grinding, would stop altogether.  The motor would hum but the wheel wouldn't move.  When I tried moving the stone wheel by hand, there seemed to be quite a bit of torque required to move it, much more than I expected. So I loosened the nut slightly and again, when I turned the machine back on, the wheel would start slowly spinning, but the nut would loosen itself and fall off.

I'm at a loss - can anyone help?  Anxious to get started sharpening my chisels and realize my investment in this machine!

[tgbto]

I'm afraid that sounds like a bit more of an investment, but you may be better off adding the MSK-250 to your setup. It will save you a lot of time and effort... Or you could try to set it just right with a bit of Loctite 243 or equivalent, let set, and get going.

[Herman Trivilino]

You should definitely call Tormek support and report this issue. They will be responsive and helpful and will work out a solution for you.

The MSK-250 mentioned in the previous post is an innovation that came along during the many years you had your T7 stored in your shed. It's essentially a different way of locking the wheel in place without using a wrench. Tormek support may offer to send you one for free, or they may have a different solution to your problem. I'm stumped because my Tormek is even older than yours, locked the wheel with the same nut as yours, and I never had this problem.

There's a washer on the main shaft that separates the wheel from the body of the Tormek. It sounds as if you don't have that washer installed. Take the wheel off and see if there's a washer behind it.

Also, you haven't by any chance installed the wheel inside out?

[ACoppersmith]

Great feedback and might explain the wheel sticking... I was just about to hit the purchase button for the MSK-250 on Amazon! Let me check that out first and if not I will also contact Tormek tech support for troubleshooting.

[John Hancock Sr]

The MSK-250 is stainless steel as well so a highly recommended upgrade. Also get yourself a tub or tube of white lithium grease for the shaft. I also always remove any sharpening wheels between sessions.