Messages

Also,
does anyone (Herman?) make and sell Herman's extended jig/plate?
I'd rather buy one than take the time to make on, as I have plenty of other items to attend to.
T

First to All,

Thanks very much for the help and advice. I suspect that my life span is not long enough to get on par with Steve B.
Grepper - love your sense of humor; made me chuckle for a while.
I have read Leonard Lee's book also. Don't have his DVD yet though.....
I must not have the leather honing wheel properly prepared, as I am not happy with the finished product. Maybe too much oil?
On to more practice!
T

OK, Gentlemen,
what are you all polishing the  edge with? Steve referred to a 1500 grit wheel. What else? Being a 'newbie' I know I am probably asking repetative and stupid questions, but.....
As they say in the demotivators    " there are no stupid questions, but there are plenty of inquisitive idiots".
T

Update to all interested.

Stig of Tormek came through and held to his word.
A new machine was delivered to me yesterday pm.
Thanks to all of you for your concern, and a BIG thank you to Stig.
T

 A few of you wanted me to keep you up to date with my overheating? troubles with the new T-7. I have not forgotten, I just have not heard a thing from the wholesaler. They received the returned machine on 10 Feb. I did receive an email from Stig that he had requested that they send me a new machine ASAP.....nothing yet.
It was suggested that I should buy a T-4 for backup.  Really? I thought that this T-7 would be enough, as the reputation is that they run for years.
Will keep you posted....

Thanks Ken.

I have pretty much memorized Steve Bottorf's website and book. I have also bought most of my power equipment from him. His service has been excellent.

I will keep you posted....
T

Hello Everyone,

Thank you all for a great discussion and great ideas.

As to 'operator error" - that is certainly still a possiblity, but I did what I could to minimize/eliminate it. I plugged in other equipment to the same receptacle as the 7 and the three other tools worked fine. I tried the Tormek on two other power receptacles, stil nothing.

I did my research and Tormek was my choice because of it's flexibility, durability, and reputation. I would make that same choice again. As to buying a back-up T-4, this is a good idea in retrospect. Who woulda thought?? I can afford one, but I really didn't think that it would be necessary. I am now re-thinking this idea.

I was, and full well know, that I need to practice/refine my skills/speed before I start taking in other people's knives for renumeration. Right now, all my neighbors and friends are reaping the benefits.  I have been sharpening knives, archery broadheads, axes, etc., etc. for over 40 years, mostly for barter, but this was the first serious power tool other than a Baldor buffer. I can make most things razor sharp, but not quickly. That has to change. My basic knowledge of sharpening devices is good, and my dexterity is good as I tie fishing flies also. But, the power sharpening tools is a new, yet unlearned skill. Having the T-7 down stopped this practice.

My question to you folks is this: Is the T-4 similar enough to the T-7 that I would have minimal learning curve on this 'back-up' machine?

As soon as I am confidant enough in my skills and speed, I will start marketing my services in a serious way. I have all business licenses in place, business cards, price lists, invoice sheets, several power tools (minus the T-7), stones, wheels, buffers, and hand tools in my shop. I am doing what I can to get things going, but the T-7 was the mainstay. Anyone out there see any i's or t's not taken care of?

As soon as I am comfortable with enough business, I will be buying some sort of van/truck to set up so that I will be a mobile business. Suggestions/ideas on this would be much appreciated also. I've ruled out the Mercedes Sprinter - overkill; Ford Transit, Nissan NV cargo van, and used U-haul trucks are in the running. Other ideas?
Thanks to all once again.

I like the way you think Sharpen. I would be happy with any response from either the retailer, wholesaler, or Tormek, but I have not received any response to my email.
Grepper, I no longer have access to an SEM, but I do have a nice Meiji stereo scope, but no mount for a camera...I may try to photo with just a camera and see what I get. Down the list of things to do though.

Hi All,
to Btsutherland:

here is a small section of a study done on various penetrating oils. I hope that it is useful.
Ty

*Penetrating oils ...
Average torque load to loosen* No Oil used...................516 pounds

WD-40 ..........................238 pounds

PB Blaster...................214 pounds

Liquid Wrench ...............127 pounds

Kano Kroil .....................106 pounds
Hi All,

ATF*-Acetone mix ...........53 pounds

The ATF-Acetone mix is a "home brew" mix of 50 - 50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone.
Note this "home brew" released bolts better than any commercial product in this one particular test.
Our local machinist group mixed up a batch and we all now use it with equally good results.

Note also that "Liquid Wrench" is almost as good as "Kroil" for about 20% of the price.
Steve from Godwin-Singer says that ATF-Acetone mix is best, but you can also
use ATF and lacquer thinner in a 50-50 mix.

Hi everyone,
here's a new topic. I am looking at a van in order to make my business 'mobile'. I have found a few pics online, but none of them show any detail of the interior. There are no mobile sharpeners in my area, so I wouldn't be competing with any of you. Anyone willing to show pics of their vans or have an idea of where to look on the internet?
Ty

Ken,
here is what I sent to the retailer, wholesaler, and Tormek. I have yet to get a reply:

"Hello again,
As you all know, I had problems with my new T-7 within the first 5 hours of running. I have sent this back to xxxxxxx. In the meantime, I am now going to be delayed at least three weeks on getting my business up and running.
I would like to make a suggestion that you put in place a policy of replacing a T-7 that needs repair within the first 30 days of ownership with another new T-7 as soon as possible, as to not cause this delay in in the future.
I appreciate your timeliness in addressing the problem, but I am now losing possible income....
Thank you,
Tyler xxxxxxxx
Never a Dull Knife and Tool Sharpening
a Division of Good Shepherd Enterprises LLC

Hi Jan,
two things; be careful what you ask for. We all have our opinions and with mine you will get what you pay for! I appreciate the thoughts though.
Ken,
thanks much for the ideas and thoughts also.
Fineline,
I too picked that up in the manual. That was why I was so surprised that it stopped running for a while.
Grepper,
Great pic! I am working on trying the same sort of photography. Got rid of my old film cameras where i used to collect and photograph minerals, but now have a digital and don't yet have the capability of that sort of pic....soon I hope! When I get to that stage, I will be back asking questions on how to 'archive' pics to share with everyone who is interested.
Great forum! Now, on to the Twice As Sharp Scissors machine!

Oops, sorry.
I addressed the last para to Steve when it should have been to Ken.
Thanks again.

Hi again,
I bought the machine new, and had only ran it this first session. I had the machine for about a week.
First I want to say that I contacted my retailer and Tormek with an email to the problem. My retailer contacted the wholesaler also. It was suggested by the retailer to the wholesaler to send me a FedEx shipping label to send it back. This was backed up by Tormek. The T-7 is on it's way back. I appreciate the response time, but it sounds like it's going to be 3 weeks before I get it back. I bought this machine, plus some others in order to get geared up for commercial sharpening as soon as possible.

Steve, I had this up and running as I practiced my skills/technique on several types of knives and tools, and moving between paper wheels, waterstones, and leather pad strops all the while examining each grind/polish with both a 14x hand lens and a high powered microscope, and keeping notes. I know....a bit overkill, but I'm a semi-retired scientist with a propensity for detail. I had turned it off 4 to 6 times during this 4 hour period, with probably the longest run time being 40 minutes.
Thank you all for your thoughts and advice.
As   'Ahhnold' said..... "I'll be back"
T

Hello All,

I just purchased a T-7, set it up, and started to practice and refine my skills. I had run the machine for about 4 hours, having turned it off and on 4 to 6 times. The last time that I turned it on, I had used it for about 30 seconds, then let it run for about 20 minutes, when I heard an audible 'click' and the machine shut off. It would not re-start for about 90 minutes. I assume that it had overheated, and had some sort of internal breaker.  Has anyone out there heard of this before? If so, what was the 'fix'?