Universal Support too tight

[oldwood]

How stiff should this Support be in the mounting bushes ?

Mine is seriously tight and not at all easy to adjust even with the micro adjust screw. It's on 2000 Supergrind and I've tried loosening off the holding nuts and retightening them without success

Any guidance before I take the bushes off and open them out slightly on the metal working lathe

Thanks
Rob

[Jeff Farris]

Depending on the condition of your system, the most likely culprit in this situation is small, almost imperceptible corrosion.  The solution is pretty simple.  Take a piece of non-woven abrasive (Scotch-Brite is one brand) and a little spray lubricant (WD-40 is one brand) and clean the bars of the Universal Support thoroughly.  Wipe them down with a rag or paper towel.  Now, take a small piece of rag or paper towel and soak it with spray lube.  Feed it down into the support sleeve.  Reach in underneath and get hold of the other end, then work the rag up and down in the support sleeve. When both the support sleeves and the Universal Support bars are squeaky clean, the Universal Support should adjust easily.

[oldwood]

Thanks Jeff

Been there and done that already.  In fact I have two Supports as the machine came with a plain one and I invested in a threaded one, and they are both the same.  It is an alignment problem between the bushes as each support arm goes in easily on its own, and the first inch or so of installation of the Support as a whole is OK. 

I see three options - taking the bushes off and opening them out either with a reamer on or on the metal working lathe.  Options two and three relate to some distortion in the metal casing of the machine - 2 is to file the hole in the casing to allow one of the bushes have some lateral adjustment, and 3 is to do the brute force and ignorance approach and apply a long bar through one of the bushes and heave-ho on it until the Support moves properly.

The original question does still lie open and that is just how 'loose' should the the Support bars be in the bushes ?

Rob

[Jeff Farris]

The original question does still lie open and that is just how 'loose' should the the Support bars be in the bushes ?

Rob

And the answer to that is, not very.

Before you start machining anything, try another test for me.

Since you have two Universal Supports, put the "wrong" leg -- the one that normally goes over the grindstone -- of each into one of the sleeves.  Put them in so that they extend almost as far as possible vertically, but have at least a half inch below the locking knob.  Now measure them for parallelism.  If they are out of parallel, your "brute force" option may be the best answer.  If they are parallel, but either too close or too far apart, then the slot in the frame may need to be opened a bit. If the legs move freely in the sleeves when they are inserted individually, opening them up on a lathe would be counter-productive in the long run.

Please also post or send me an e-mail with the age of your machine, and the serial number, if it is serialized. We like to keep track of things like this to watch for trends.  It has been years since I faced the problem you're dealing with on a new machine.

[oldwood]

Hi Jeff
You're a better engineer than I - I am now kicking myself with failing to see such an obvious test !  One of the weaknesses of the internet is that there is an growing weakness to ask someone else rather than think something out for oneself !

The Supports when inserted the way you suggested were 1.6mm wide at the 'far' end.  On the basis that 12mm steel bar was bound to be stronger than the 2mm (?) steel of the casing, I just applied a suitable  amount of pressure in the right direction and the problem was solved.

This must be an old Supergrind 2000 as it doesn't appear to have a serial number - either that or you (companywise) have hidden it in a unobvious place.  I suspect that it was brought into the UK from the US as it is a 110v motor, so I'm running it off a 110v transformer.  Travel and age may well have contributed to the minor distortion of the casing. 

Anyway all solved now and my good value Ebay buy will now be put to use.

Very many thanks
Rob

[Jeff Farris]

Glad that worked, Rob.

Serialization started sometime in the late 90's.  If yours is serialized, it is on a small sticker on the inside of the frame, near where the electrical cord enters the frame.

[oldwood]

I take it therefore that the '2000' is not related to the millenium !  My machine has no label and therefore predates 'late 90's'.  Anyway it works and now I'm able to set it up for my gouges, chisels, etc, which is the important thing.

Cheers
Rob

[Jeff Farris]

I take it therefore that the '2000' is not related to the millenium !  My machine has no label and therefore predates 'late 90's'.  Anyway it works and now I'm able to set it up for my gouges, chisels, etc, which is the important thing.

Cheers
Rob

Correct.  It was the SuperGrind 2000 from at least the early 90's (I started dealing with Tormek in 92 or 93 if I recall) until the switch two years ago to the T-7.