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Hello,  I was wondering if my composite wheel is getting clogged with use.  The leather wheel can be scraped off and compound reapplied effectively renewing the surface but with the composite wheel this cannot be done. 

I was thinking of using my ultrasonic cleaner as it is large enough to dip the entire wheel at once. I imagine the debris can be shaken loose ultrasonically leaving the surface closer to new.  I have not selected a fluid yet but am still wondering if it will work without destroying the CW-220 wheel.

Any thoughts please?

TYVM, John

I have been fascinated with magnets all my life. I have flat magnets removed from old hard disk drives so I decided to try putting some neodymium magnets in the water tray of all my Tormeks while I grind.

I submerge them in the water very close to the wheel.  It is amazing how much steel the neo magnets catch by being real close to the grinding wheel and at a narrow point in the water bath where the steel can be collected before it flows back onto the grinding wheel.

While I have no proof using the magnets makes my sharpening any better, I do feel that getting the metal shavings out of the water circulation can only help my end product.  I'll bet that is why the T-8 comes with a magnet now. 

The neodymium magnets are so strong they collect much more metal right in the water than taping them to the side of the water tray ever would.

I have not experienced any rusting of the magnets, but who cares, they are free and plentiful. Interesting is the size of the metal shavings as I look at my course, medium and fine stoned Tormeks.  Sometimes it is difficult to wipe the metal shavings off the magnet, but that just shows how strong neodymium magnets really are.   I just let the magnets air-dry when I am finished for the day.

If you have or know someone who can get you some old computer hard disk drives, take them apart and save the magnets from them.  I found most drives come apart with a #0 or #1 Phillips screw driver or T4 and T5 torx drivers.

Let me know your thoughts please.

John

I want to mention two great experiences I have had with this Tormek community we are part of.

1- First one is with Tormek themselves.  I bought my T-8 about a year ago and have been happily sharpening since then.  Recently I obtained a CW-220 composite wheel to replace my leather stropping wheel and experiment.

After installing the CW I noticed wobble bad enough that it made the knife rock back and forth while I was trying to evenly strop with it. I reinstalled the leather wheel and it had the same wobble that I never noticed before. Having never used another T-8 I did not know what was normal. The leather was soft enough to make the wobble insignificant.  I was a naïve user. I traced the wobble to the drive wheel (the CW rests against it).

I sent a short video to Tormek customer service showing the issue and my measurement process. Within 24 hours I had their email answer agreeing the drive wheel was defective. They contacted Tormek USA and within a few days I had a new drive wheel at my door.  Problem SOLVED!!.

Outstanding customer service was this.  Assuming we are all human and manufacturing errors happen, it is how the follow-up is handled that shows Tormek's true desire to remain a first rate company.  Guess who will praise Tormek every time opportunity that presents itself?

2- The second rave goes to Woots aka: Knife Grinders. I contacted him ready to purchase some accessories for my T-8. After a description of what I wanted to accomplish he steered me away from that big purchase and suggested more self-education and a better way to proceed with my present Tormek equipment. Instead of the easy path of making a sale for a tidy sum, he made sure I was on the correct path for my stated goals.  This man has earned my respect and any business I can send his way.  And I will still make a wiser purchase as a more educated sharpener.

Two praise worthy events from the Tormek community. Awesome group!!

John

[About me:]

I need to reduce my time on each knife.  I am slow. I want to see if I can make some money sharpening knives eventually.

About me:
I am still at the stage in my sharpening skills that I do it for free to get practice. I have sharpened about 75 knives already. I have watched many videos on YouTube.

The task:
I fly and tow at my glider club. Last weekend I brought my equipment to a club fly day. I invited any member to bring knives and I would sharpen them for free.  I sharpened about 20 kitchen knives that day.  No serrated knives, just plain knives. A few pocket knives too.

My equipment:
A Tormek T8 with stock wheels
Four SVM-45 jigs
One large knife jig
Front vertical base
Software to set angles.
Half speed 1x30 belt sander and belts of most every grit.

I own but did not bring:
Buffer motor with a set of paper wheels
Tormek T4 with stock wheels

My concern:
It took a long time to grind the abused knives. I need to get my time per knife to 1 to 2 minutes per knife.

My Technique:
I set the grind and strop to the same 20dps.  I batched the knives on my five jigs at the same length (139mm).  It still took me a few enjoyable hours while flying activities commenced.

All 20 knives were very good edge when finished. Some of these knives were in horrible condition when received. One owner said the knives she brought had not been sharpened in 20 years. I really had to take away allot of metal to get a consistent edge. No broken knives were brought to me.

Other notes:
I do know that the stone can be made to three roughness ratings.
Right after flattening
Using both sides of the stone grader. 

Questions:
Can I speed up sharpening with what equipment I have?
Add a T8 custom?
Go with different wheels?
Add a second wheel my present T8?
Use the other non-Tormek machines I own?

I am open to your suggestions.

John

Hello,

The o-ring in my svm-45 disintegrated.  It seems a standard o-ring. Can anyone tell me the specs so I may obtain one? I am sure I ran the adjustment to one or the other end trying to match the length to my Kenjig. That may have stressed the o-ring.

Also should I use some silicone lube on the other jig o-rings to stop the same from happening on my others?

Thank you in advance.   John

I am looking for a stone to replace my badly chipped SG200. Mine cannot be saved.  Contact me off list and we can work something out.  I'm im Ohio.

Moderator, if this post is best in the knife sharpening group please move it there. I was not able to delete OR move it.  Thank you.

Hello, 

I have been learning from this forum for quite a while and have yet to post, until now.

I am looking for advice on what my next move should be.  I am a very new kitchen knife sharpener. Still learning and working on my own and neighbor's knives for free. I am having moderate success and see me maybe having a sideline business after I retire in a few years. I am watching a zillion YouTube videos.

I bought a demo T8 with all its supplied accessories and the HTK-706 kit to do the knives. The T8 and HTK are in new condition. This is what I have been practicing with.

I found a used T4 with a badly chipped grindstone, which needs replacing. Most of the original T4 kit was included too. I paid $75 for it. Did I overpay?

My questions involve the T4. I do not feel I should buy another original SG-200 wheel since my T8's SG-250 is in pristine condition.
1.   Should I just put away the T4 for a while?
2.   Should I purchase a Japanese stone for it?
3.   If I buy a SJ-200 wheel won't the bevel be different no matter how precise an angle setting method I employ because of the wheel radius difference?
4.   Should I get another type of grinding wheel for it?

Thank you for your consideration.

John