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Boiling would kill any living organisms.

Imagine a line extending along the bolster and attach the jig so that one edge of it is parallel to the bolster if the bolster was an extended line. That is how I would attach it.

The NZ guy bought an "out of square rod and the reseller in Korea says his are not square. I find it hard to believe that Tormek is shipping product that is not perfect for its intended purpose. Therefore, if these products are defective there is a QC problem at Tormek or ............................ it does not matter. Which is it? Seems that it would be difficult to properly sharpen a blade when referencing against a non square edge. Square relative to the grinding wheel that is.

If you want it and can afford it, buy it. If all we ever bought was "needs" and that is all we could afford, we would be sad. However, if you bought it no matter how much money you have will you one day look at it and wonder why? I have done that. But like I said, for knives this is not necessary or even desirable in my case. For home use which is all I do, there are better neater faster shaving sharp and far cheaper options. For my paper cutting, I have never dulled a pair of scissors and you can't sharpen hair dresser scissors anyway.

If all you will ever sharpen is knives and maybe a pair of scissors, you do not need one of these type devices. For knives there are better faster easier solutions. For scissors, buy a new pair. I bought a Tormek for knives, it is too much for just this function.

Of interest to me as it is that cold is how long before the cold got there did you use the T4? I am curious to know if the stone was wet. If it was wet, surely it cracked.......................... or did it?

I suspect the rubber drive wheel has become so cold that it is too hard to grip the drive shaft of the stone. It is slipping on it. If I am correct, you need to heat the wheel with a heater or even a bare light bulb placed next to it so the rubber becomes soft enough to grip.

If a diamond wheel lasts twice as long as the SG and costs twice as much, it needs to last more than twice as long to be a better value. If it lasts only twice as long for twice as much it is the same thing. If you have to change grits then you have to have another grade of diamond wheel. As long as each lasts even slightly longer than its stone counterpart and one is twice the price of the other, the longer lasting is the better value. The diamond would seem to be better value on the basis of time savings alone in that you don't have to account for an ever decreasing diameter in setting for your edge. I am really not concerned with price/ value anyway. I have bought things just because they were easier to use. I may have infinite time but I don't want to use it doing some drudgery. I just want a real world approximation of how long a diamond wheel should be expected to last. Have you ever watched Project Farm videos on YT? He does this sort of comparison all the time. Its just a question that I am sure has crossed the mind of others.

The ad says "diamonds are forever" but maybe not. I watched the video and wrote this on YT,
Jeff Stanley
1 day ago
He indicates that the diamond wheel will last years with reasonable care, as will a lot of things. However, he also indicated that the diamond "wears" and gets finer over time. It must one day become a honing wheel then and no longer a grinding wheel.
This is the reply from Tormek.

Tormek Sharpening Innovation
7 minutes ago
Hi Jeff, Yes it's correct the diamond will over the time of years get finer and finer as it wears. However diamond is the hardest material so it's very durable. Where the line between a honing wheel and grinding wheel is drawn is difficult to say. The idea with the honing wheel is to remove burr and the materials in a honing wheel are often a bit flexible which makes it easier to avoid damaging the edge when honing.
I hope that everyone knows that I did not mean forever literally as in millions of years. However, if say it lasted for 30 minutes use per day for five years like it might in a professional shop; I would call that close enough. That would literally be a lifetime for me as I would never come close to that...............ever. Tormek will not say but they should know. All they have to do is turn on one or 100 Tormeks and let it grind a piece of steel with a clock and calendar close by. When the wheel becomes worn out, write it down.

Hakan (sp)said the wheels last forever. Yet the grinding surface is constantly broken down into an ever finer grit. It eventually becomes another honing wheel but at what point? If they outlast the stones it would still be a win though, sort of. You have no ability to change the grit so you need more than one stone unless you begin with already sharp tools. Does anyone know if the leather honing wheel or the composite that I read about will remove the scratches from the finest diamond stone?

I have had something similar happen with a string trimmer. If I tightened the retention nut by hand just a little instead of letting the machine tighten it by running, it is a lot easier to loosen. The machine will tend to tighten the nut itself by the act of just running normally. Tighten the nut yourself so that it is snugged by you. Do not let the machine tighten it by running normally. Of course you must also turn it in the correct direction as well. Be sure of the direction and hold the nut with something. While you hold it, turn the wheel by hand not letting the tool you are holding the nut with move and see if that helps.

"I take a little bit of issue with the blanket statement about not grinding into the SJ stone. " What I meant was that I would bet that if any chunks were taken out of the SJ stone it was because of grinding into the stone. I did not say not to grind into the stone but that if there were chunks removed, that was why. I too, grind into and away from the rotation direction.

"That's the thing- anybody can do standard sharpening, I'd like to be the above and beyond person who they go to for supreme sharpness and ease of use." There was/is  a person on this forum that said they only used the SG 250 graded coarse in their business.

Surely you know that anyone taking "chunks" out of the SJ250 is sharpening into the stone as opposed to with the stone. I don't see why you would need to go with it anyway. The standard SG 250 will do a more than adequate job of sharpening. Its larger radius may even preclude using the side of the stone for you. It may not win a "Bess" test but the average Joe will never know. I have no experience with either diamond or CBN wheels. As for buying a stripped down T8, I think you should look carefully at one with a stone and truing tool or even more included. Package deals are often/usually more cost effective.

There is such thing as the SJ 250 which is the Japanese stone. It is allegedly 4000 grit. I have no experience with the Tormek product. I do have a brand X of this type and if it is like the Tormek it should do what you want. It is for polishing like you want.