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I sharpen heel to tip then back to heel.

I have seen people sharpen tip to heel then back to tip and the hesitation before reversing can cause a dip.

You may be hesitating as you reach the end where you get dishing extending the contact time. Then you grind some more as you start up and go the other way. One way to minimize this is to grind in one direction then immediately remove blade from wheel and reposition to tip and start again keeping even pressure throughout the process. This is where practice on a sacrificial knife helps.

I think there are two different scenarios. As Ken mentioned moving your machine or transporting it in a vehicle and stationary use.

The weight on the shaft from the stone will over time damage the bearing surface albeit slowly as the vehicle hits bumps. It would be interesting to critically examine the bearings of a Tormek that is used in a mobile sharpening setup with the wheel never removed. I too tend to remove the wheel and install the spacer if I need to move it any distance. My bench has wheels so this does not come up too often.

After each use I don't think it is necessary to remove the wheel. It is important not to leave it sit in the water. I think many of us that use multiple wheels may take the last used wheel off when done. When I do this I often leave the SG-250 off until the next session. With old machines the shaft also tended to rust over time making it a good practice to remove the wheel and dry the shaft.

This is almost exactly my process. I think I am at or below the 100 Bess mark based on tests outlined in Vadim's sharpening chart. I normally hone at +1.5°. I will try altering it to a lower number as you suggest after initial passes. Switching to the honing wheel with diamonds impregnated does help. I only bother with this step for my own knives. I normally stop with the PA-70 paste followed by stropping on leather.

Contact support and ask them. They will sort it out.

Not something that should be happening.

seems like a political post

One thing that's helped me is making small adjustments and testing the edge after each pass instead of trying to correct everything at once. It makes it much easier to dial in the setup and avoid removing more material than necessary.

I think you posted in the wrong thread

If you are sharpening customer's knives I would recommend against altering the bolster unless you have shown them what it will look like and have written authorization. Some knives also have a hollow bolster that you could grind into. The other thing I do to prevent scratching is to use painter's tape beneath the clamping area.

The only people that have discussed sharpening angles with me sharpen their own knives.

I do concierge sharpening as I don't want to have a job. I limit my customers so that I don't have a backlog of things to work on and typically finish a customers knives by the next day. The SG-250 works for virtually all of the knives brought to me. Only the super steel knives pose a problem and for those I have CBN. When I was starting out honing was the most challenging step and I found that I get superior results using guided honing rather than freehand.

The only time I take pictures is when I am asked to repair a knife with significant damage. Also be careful not to reshape or damage the bolster without written permission. Most users want their knives to look pretty and do not appreciate the change. This is the only time I would have them sign something. So far no one has asked for a bolster modification.

I wrap them in an old towel to protect edges.

Cash and Carry and once in a great while barter.

I find that ensuring that all three pins are firmly on the wheel and the bar is held as indicated in the Tormek videos I can get the angle spot on.

John, do you measure the sharpening angle you achieve to compare it to the KS-123 setting?

When I hear concerns about using the KS-123 due to it being less than needed accuracy, I wonder why the angle on the blade must be accurate to 0.1°.  In the sharpening I do for most things, if the angle is good to +/- 1 degree I am good.  What am I missing?

Nothing.

I think this is an example of going to the extreme without any clear delineation of the benifit. When Wootz proposed some new idea he backed it up with extensive testing and real world usage in meat packing plants. I believe only a miniscule number of users have the ability to measure the angle to this accuracy.

In addition I found that the newer machines with an adjustable troth tend to overflow easily if you set it closer to the wheel than needed. Follow Ken's advice and after saturation just a little water is needed.

For my customers I do 15dps. No one knows the difference between 15 and 20 and the edge lasts longer for them.

The Tormek system using water does not heat the blade being sharpened to a point where it will lose temper.