Choosing a default angle

[John Hancock Sr]

the KS-123 has significant hysteresis

I have not noticed any.

[tgbto]

the KS-123 has significant hysteresis

I have not noticed any.

Do you mean that says, one 8th of a turn on the MicroAdjust always results in the plastic needle moving on the KS-123 ? On mine, even after some lubrication, if I move the USB down, then up, I can change the angle by almost 3/4th of a degree before the needle starts moving up again. And I can move the needle up and down by hand, the flexibility and friction will let it stay wherever I put it within one degree.

[Ken S]

I learned a new word, "hysteresis". I have known about the effect of "thread slop" on adjusting screws for many years. I first encountered this with the depth adjusting screw of bench planes. For accurate measurement, the final step should be a slight tightening of the screw to leave some load on the threads. This situation occurs even with the adjustment wheels of high quality machinery such as metal lathes. Experienced machinists make this adjustment automatically.

The Tormek online classes mention this in passing, although they have never explained why this happens. The compensation necessity is not caused by the KS-123. It is caused by the threads of the microadjust. It is not a design defect with the microadjust; it is just the nature of the beast with adjustment screws. And, on a practical basis, it is not really a problem with Tormek sharpening, especially with good technique. Use the microadjust by lowering only for rough adjusting. Make the final, more precise adjustment only by raising it.

Ken