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I have had a new batch of adapter plates made to facilitate this conversion of a Viel Tools S5 sander to variable speed using a motor from Penn State Industries, or PSI.
sharpeningmadeeasy.com/belt.htm

Other parts needed are:
Viel S5 sander w/o motor
Viel 3 3/4 in. pulley bored for 15 mm arbor
Viel Tools https://www.vieltools.com/  1-800-463-1380

PSI variable speed motor
Penn State Industries.    1-800-377-7297)

   3/4 hp motor is now available ZTCLC10VMO  $80
   ZTCLVS-70 1/2 hp motor  $50
   ZTCL4MCB CONTROLLER $45

The 3/4 hp motor and controller can also be purchased as TCLVSKIT2 Lathe conversion Kit $170

Max RPM is 1700. Coupled with a 3 3/4" pulley this gives a max belt speed of 1668 feet per minute. Stock Viel sander is 2747 fpm

To quote Mark Twain, "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
My ...@sharpeningmadeeasy.com email may no longer work, but I am still available but rusty at
steve@bottorff.com

I too am saddened by Vadim's death. He took what we all thought we knew and pushed it beyond our wildest dreams. Not only were his edges twice as sharp, but his mind was also as well. And good for seven carcasses, indeed! RIP.  Here is a link to a tribute on another forum. https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=91638&p=1594276

This project is having some problems getting its finished product out of China because of Covid-19, but it is worth looking into.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laserknifeedgereader/laser-knife-edge-reader-for-better-knife-sharpening?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=knife%20angle

For reference see https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3104.0

The 3/4 hp motor is $80.

Correction: Penn State Industries DOES offer the 1/2 hp variable speed motor and controller.  There is also a 3/4 hp model available.

Shaft diameter is the same so it should work. Has anyone built a Viel-PSI with the new motor?

PS: We have adapter plates in stock and expect 3" pulleys bored for the 15mm PSI shaft by next week.
sharpeningmadeeasy.com/belt.htm

We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and I am proud to be counted among the contributors who blazed this trail to better knife edges. But we have been remiss not to mention John Juranitch and his great book "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening". John was the first to use the SEM as a tool for inspecting edges way back in 1977. His book is outdated but still available from Amazon and other booksellers. His pioneering article that appeared in Popular Science is out of print but there is a reproduction on my website. https://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/Juranitch1977Feb.htm

The new Tormek information recommends the Anti Corrosion Compound for use with all of the Tormek grinding wheels, not just the new diamond wheels.

Using CBN wheels, I quickly learned the value of Honerite Gold, another brand of anti rust compound. With my steel CBN wheels and reducing bushings, plain water alone would cause them to quickly rust.

Hs anyone worked out another substitute for Tormek ACC?

First I suggest you start with native or 200 grit. With practice and confidence you can increase your pressure and the initial bevel grinding will go faster. When I was working I was routinely sharpening in 1 to 2 minutes regardless of size or dullness. If you are grinding off the edge the burr is much larger and easier to detect. I have found that Henckels and Chicago Cutlery have very tough burrs that flip back and forth and are hard to remove. I suggest an intermediate step like a SharpMaker to remove the burr before stropping on the leather wheel. And who knows, you may prefer the toothy edge from the SharpMaker for kitchen slicing tasks.

If you are ready to get into diamond wheels, here is a deal. Tormek is running a 10% off sale on accessories, I find that I am overstocked on the Diamond wheels and need to clear out a few sets. Go to:
https://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/student.htm
There you will find sale prices plus additional student discounts. Continental USA only.

Student discounts are refunds of fees I have collected from my students and refunding them does not violate Tormek pricing policy as long as I do not advertise them. This webpage is unlisted, please do not share it outside this forum.

My hat is off to these researchers for their fine work. The research I did 20 years ago is primitive by comparison. Long live the new experts.

The yellow handled knife is a lettuce knife.  Wait until you see a celery knife! It starts life as a 12" butcher knife, 2" of the tip is cut off and welded back at 90 deg, plus a 15 deg tilt.

The Tormek jig is designed for scissors ground at 80 to 90 degrees. Better scissors today are being ground at 60 to 70 degrees. I recommend:
1. A Twice As Sharp dedicated scissor sharpener, or
2. A Viel sander with their scissor jig.

We have sold all the US400 we were able to get, and even have had to turn down a few requests.  I have asked the US distributor, Affinity tool, to see about getting more, but have had no response.

I am with Bison on preferring to use the Tormek moving off the edge. I sharpen freehand. I have not experienced any pain and I am 78.