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New drive wheel arrived and is installed. Everything runs smoothly now. Sometimes I I feel like the sound is slowly creeping back, but I think I am just a bit paranoid at this point. The knob is still wobbling around. I guess it was a dumb idea to use it as an indicator for anything.

Even after spending an extra 110€, I still think I got a good deal on this T7. Also, I have come to get to know the machine better (I love its simplicity btw), and the new drive wheel seems of much higher quality than the old one.
 

I would also be interested in this

New shaft and bearings are installed. It is not that much of an upgrade as my T7 already had the Eazylock shaft. interestingly enough the MSK-250 did not come with a wave spring washer (Nr 31 in this list) I think I will keep using it as I think it makes sense.


The scraping sound was gone for 2–3 minutes but slowly came back and now is almost as loud as before and at exactly the same frequency. There is also still eccentric movement in the drive wheel and the knob. I don't understand this. Maybe the drive wheel is warped or buckled, OK, but how is it possible that the honing wheel knob, which is only connected to the main shaft, is also wobbling around? The fact that the knob is running out of true is what convinced me that the shaft must be the issue. Obviously, it is no runout measuring device, and maybe the thread is not perfectly centered in the knob, but I still think it shouldn't be that wobbly.

 

Maybe, instead of mold, the white fluff is efflorescence?

That is interesting, we have a water softener here and it's possible that it's related. 

It might just be salt then. Have you tasted it?

I'm joking but you can smear/crush a bit between your fingers, if it turns into chalky dust it is probably just salt/mineral build up.

Maybe, instead of mold, the white fluff is efflorescence?

After further analysis I noticed that the locking knob for the honing wheel also has a slightly excentric movement when turning. This made me conclude that the main shaft has to be bent. I ordered a new one and will report when it arrives.

It helps a lot! Thank you

I was definitely using too much pressure! The knives I sharpened after keeping that in mind felt and looked way better than the first ones. The next challenge is avoiding an overgrind around the first third of the blade (coming from the handle). I am trying to counteract this by going slower on the other two-thirds, but it still feels a bit awkward. I am getting there, though.

Is the wheel on the machine the SG or the SJ? It is not clear from the photos. If it is the SJ then you will take forever to get a bevel. If it is the SG then do you have the grading stone to change the grit? You reshape the bevel with the coarse grade then finish with the fine grit and then if desired the SJ wheel.

I am using the SG and am really surprised with the sharpness I am getting just using it, the honing wheel with green compound, and a bare leather. Next, I will try using the Schleifjunkies honing wheels with 1 and 0.25 microns and a fixed angle. If the results improve just a bit with that setup, I don't see a need for the SJ.

Also, I am very happy that the SG isn't as slow as many people say. Yes, making big angle adjustments on a wide chisel or plane blade can be a bit tedious, but setting a new bevel on a kitchen knife doesn't take that long at all. Even on the very beat up and thick grocery store knives I have been practicing on. Instead of the grading stone, I am using diamond plates.

My old T7 was a bit noisy, did not worry me too much. Also if the honing wheel has a bump then it is perfectly fine. The leather is not always perfectly smooth. That will not impact the honing.

Did you clean and grease the shaft? The recommended is white lithium. It is water resistant and really sticky. Remove the shaft, clean it with a rag and re-grease the bearings. It pays to repeat this every few months, especially if you are using it a lot.
 

I'm not bothered by the overall volume of the mashine, but by a specific rhythmic noise that perfectly matches the bump I feel when honing. I made another video of the drive wheel and I am pretty sure that there is something wrong whith it:

I did clean and lubricate the shaft btw. Also, the wheel and the shaft both look straight when inspecting them separately. I am very happy for any suggestions as to what might be causing this.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

I suspect the bump you removed in the rubber drive wheel had nothing to do with the drive, rather I think more likely it was from the machine sitting, unused for a long time, giving the drive shaft time to create a depression in the rubber. 

Keeping the knife jig collar against the support bar should come with experience.  I assume you are speaking of using it on the vertical bar, grinding edge-leading.  I wonder if you are exerting more pressure on the knife against the grinding wheel than is necessary, which could cause it to want to "travel with" the grinding wheel, pushing it away from the support bar. 

I think you are right about about both. Thank you. Any Idea what that noise might be then?

I am quite new to the tormek world but could the bump you are feeling in the honing wheel be where the seam is glued? look at minute 3:58 in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IbPmyb6U_Q&t=236s
That would not explain the noise but worth a try. I had to sandpaper my honing-wheel on the T4 quite a lot to get rid of the bump.
congrats on a fine setup of tormek things!

Magnus

I thought about that, but dismissed the idea because the bump is so perfectly in sync whith the rythm of the noise. I will sand down the wheel anyways though in order to rule that out. Thanks

Dear Forum,

let me preface this by saying that I've been reading silently for a few months now. This community has already been a great source of knowledge and inspiration, thank you for that.

Recently, I bought a used T7 with a bunch of accessories. My goal is to keep all kinds of tools around the house and garden sharp, but I also want to start doing some commercial knife and tool sharpening in the future. I have been sharpening my knives on whetstones for around 10 years now and also have experience sharpening woodworking tools with a SuperGrind 2000 at work.

Here are a few pictures of what I bought:







My Questions:

1) When I tested the T7 at the seller's place, it did run very smoothly and quietly. After unpacking it at home, I noticed some rhythmic noise that doesn't seem normal. Also, when using the honing wheel, I feel a clear bump that matches the rhythm of the noise. I checked the drive wheel and saw a dent in the friction ring. This seems to be my own fault. While I removed the grinding stone and the honing wheel for transportation (2-hour car ride), I did not remove the main shaft with the drive wheel. My guess is that while driving over some small bump in the road, the motor shaft hit the drive wheel, causing the dent.

The thing is, with the help of a diamond file and some sandpaper, the dent in the friction ring is gone, but the sound and the bump when honing remain. Do you know what this could be and how to fix it? Here's a short video:

2) I used the machine for around an hour consecutively this morning, and after that the motor got quite hot, as in, I could only touch it for around three seconds. Is this normal?

3) Sharpening kitchen knives with this thing is harder than I thought I went into this pretty confidently, as I know my way around a Tormek and know the theory behind sharpening. Also, the videos make it look very easy, but I have to say I'm struggling a bit. The test knives I sharpened today got quite sharp with just the SG-250, honing wheel, and bare leather, but the bevels look terrible!

I didn't expect to need that much force to keep the black part of the jig pressed against the support bar. It feels like a fight against the stone. I would love to use the Schleifjunkies clamp, but I can't, because the backside of the jig (where you put your thumb) is flat and not hollow, giving me even less control over the thing. I know this is surely a matter of practice, and I already see some progress, but maybe somebody has some advice here.

4) I am happy to hear any kind of input about the stuff I've got. I heard that Schleifjunkies make good products but are also a bit controversial for some reason? The build quality of the clamp and front base seems pretty great. About the front base, I don't even know what I should use it for, any ideas?


All in all, I am very happy with my purchase and am really looking forward to exploring the possibilities of this platform.

Cheers
Carl