A few weeks back I got my hands on this baby, a heavily abused (almost tortured) Tormek Supergrind 2000. The pre-2001 (no serial) square model. It wasn't cheap, but I haven't been able to get one cheaper for 2 years now. It has been 190 Euros including shipping.
At this price point it's mostly a bet: If I manage to save the stone, it's profitable, if I don't I'm at a loss. But in both cases I get to save a great machine from the scrapheap!
Along the way you will find some Tips and Tricks, with some personal restoration expertise, often the solution to a problem is closer than you might think. *SPOILER* Other times the problems are closer than you might want them to be! */SPOILER*
As you can see it looks like it has been standing in the rain for a year. I don't call it abuse and torture for a reason. Luckily I've some previous experience restoring vintage appliances (ex. I have a completely restored 1970's Hobart Kitchenaid with restored 1960 transformer)
I've separated the process into a few separate stages:
0. Disassembly
1. Damage review
2. Removing the stone from the rusted shaft
3. Not logged: Cleaning (it was dirty okey, you get it)
4. Restoring the plastics
5. Rust removal
6. Rust sealing and protective coating
7. Painting
8. Motor refurbishing
9. Assembly
10. parts replacement
11. Cleaning the stone
12. PROFIT (or failure 😉 )
I'll try and add to this (and/or post a follow up) as I get along and get the time to write it down.
Some pictures might not be fully in line with these stages...
0. Disassembly
I'm actually pretty surprised how easy it is to disassemble, most bolts are not rusted at all and not overly torqued. Interesting because often after 20 years screws tend to become stubborn, very impressive tolerances without locktite!
Need to say: I didn't use powertools, but I didn't skip on good screwdrivers either (PB-Swiss flex warning). Always use a good screwdriver when refurbishing, not every fit is a good fit.
However the not-so-good sides:
- Ofcoarse the stone bolt was rusted as fuck and it was a HELL to get it off cleanly without risking the stone (without too much force or hitting it)
- To remove the handle, it often is required to remove the entire motor assembly or use a wrench with corner attachment. This couldn've been done easier I think.
- Sadly enough the main shaft isn't the only shaft that isn't rust-proofed. No one ever talks about it, but here it is: The motor mount-shaft is a rusty b*tch. Really. It also has pretty thight tolerances so when it starts rusting it means quite some work hammering and using WD-40 to get it loose.
The rusting of this shaft has been worsened because this version uses a plastic hollow spacer. Considering the rust, it seems humidity managed to creep into this gap and rust the shaft even more.
I hope someone else can give some insight about this old "leather-ish" wheel, it looks... weird and rubbish.
1. Damage review
When restoring there tend to be 2 kinds of damage
- To-Be-Restored
- Disassembly damage
The disassembly damage was minor, I broke a small piece from the spaces which isn't any problem and there are some scratches on the motor mount-shaft.
The damage to be restored is heavy, but not hard. Mainly rust it seems like. No obvious dents, broken parts etc. just LOTS OF RUST.
At this price point it's mostly a bet: If I manage to save the stone, it's profitable, if I don't I'm at a loss. But in both cases I get to save a great machine from the scrapheap!
Along the way you will find some Tips and Tricks, with some personal restoration expertise, often the solution to a problem is closer than you might think. *SPOILER* Other times the problems are closer than you might want them to be! */SPOILER*
As you can see it looks like it has been standing in the rain for a year. I don't call it abuse and torture for a reason. Luckily I've some previous experience restoring vintage appliances (ex. I have a completely restored 1970's Hobart Kitchenaid with restored 1960 transformer)
I've separated the process into a few separate stages:
0. Disassembly
1. Damage review
2. Removing the stone from the rusted shaft
3. Not logged: Cleaning (it was dirty okey, you get it)
4. Restoring the plastics
5. Rust removal
6. Rust sealing and protective coating
7. Painting
8. Motor refurbishing
9. Assembly
10. parts replacement
11. Cleaning the stone
12. PROFIT (or failure 😉 )
I'll try and add to this (and/or post a follow up) as I get along and get the time to write it down.
Some pictures might not be fully in line with these stages...
0. Disassembly
I'm actually pretty surprised how easy it is to disassemble, most bolts are not rusted at all and not overly torqued. Interesting because often after 20 years screws tend to become stubborn, very impressive tolerances without locktite!
Need to say: I didn't use powertools, but I didn't skip on good screwdrivers either (PB-Swiss flex warning). Always use a good screwdriver when refurbishing, not every fit is a good fit.
However the not-so-good sides:
- Ofcoarse the stone bolt was rusted as fuck and it was a HELL to get it off cleanly without risking the stone (without too much force or hitting it)
- To remove the handle, it often is required to remove the entire motor assembly or use a wrench with corner attachment. This couldn've been done easier I think.
- Sadly enough the main shaft isn't the only shaft that isn't rust-proofed. No one ever talks about it, but here it is: The motor mount-shaft is a rusty b*tch. Really. It also has pretty thight tolerances so when it starts rusting it means quite some work hammering and using WD-40 to get it loose.
The rusting of this shaft has been worsened because this version uses a plastic hollow spacer. Considering the rust, it seems humidity managed to creep into this gap and rust the shaft even more.
I hope someone else can give some insight about this old "leather-ish" wheel, it looks... weird and rubbish.
1. Damage review
When restoring there tend to be 2 kinds of damage
- To-Be-Restored
- Disassembly damage
The disassembly damage was minor, I broke a small piece from the spaces which isn't any problem and there are some scratches on the motor mount-shaft.
The damage to be restored is heavy, but not hard. Mainly rust it seems like. No obvious dents, broken parts etc. just LOTS OF RUST.