Messages

Welcome to the forum, Lars. Good question. I had a very busy schedule when my T4 arrived. I didn't have the time to sharpen with it, only sit it on my bench next to my T7. That turned out to be a very good learning experience. The end sections of both shafts are identical, as is the 12mm diameter. The only difference is the length within the frame. In fact, if you remove the water trough on the T4, an SG-250 fits on the shaft and can be tightened. The 10mm width difference is only at the edge of the wheels. The indented portion of the larger wheel makes the diameter at the bore almost identical. The length of the threads easily compensates for the tiny difference in wheel thickness.

The vertical distance is the same.

Ken

I am all for constructive questioning; that's how we grow. I have purchased two FVB's, one from Knife Grinders and one from Colvin Tools. I have nothing but good comments about either of them. I do not remember reading any tolerance specifications or tests with either of them. I have confidence in Rich, as I did in Vadim. I also have confidence in Tormek.

I will be curious to read the posted forum thoughts about the MB-102 in a year or two.

Ken

One of the reasons I like the text up grinding wheel mounting procedure demonstrated by Wolfgang is that it seems adequately accurate without being overly accurate. I define "overly accurate" as adding needless complications without adding practical benefits. The alignment procedure I devised is overly accurate. It is too cumbersome to be useful, especially with multiple grinding wheels. It will not be part of "my custom".

Ken

I don't know when Tormek started to recommend radiusing the corners of the grinding wheel (not for diamond wheels). Wolfgang demonstrates this in the first (knife sharpening) online class. Before the online classes, Tormek did not seem to have an efficient way of sharing this kind of information.

I do not recall reading about it in the handbook. I do recall Jeff Farris referring to something similar in a brief ancient forum post. Jeff mentioned that he was grinding a radius in the outside corner of his grinding wheel. Unfortunately, he did not provide any reasons for doing this.

If any of the forum old timers remember anything more about this, please post and share it.

Thanks.

Ken

World class can come from anywhere.
Ken

The late Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley and Veritas, wrote an excellent book on sharpening. It should be part of every sharpener's library. His advice for sharpening drill bits was to only buy top quality US made high speed steel bits. That eliminates many sharpening problems.

Ken

I do not own or sharpen any recurve knives. Therefore, I did not pay proper attention to the recurve blades online class. I rewatched it last night, and was pleasantly surprised with the valuable general information it contained. For those of you, like me, who do not sharpen any recurve blades, and may have constrained study time, there is much general knowledge in 4:40 to 11:00. I highly recommend watching at least this segment of this class. Here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/live/aw4vJSUPXmk?si=qo-ADU5wRyJBnHCY

This segment begins with the importance of mounting your grinding wheels with the text upright. It then moves to the importance of radiusing both corners of your grinding wheel(s). Borrowing Wolfgang's phrase, I have made both of these procedures "my custom" and recommend the same to you.

Ken

John,

Wootz (Vadim of Knife Grinders) was a friend and someone I regard highly. His untimely demise was a blow to the Tormek community. That said, unfortunately any updates to his work stopped with his passing. Continuing to use his app at this point will increasingly become like trying to navigating a ship with outdates charts.

I have no expertise with the various apps which have since popped up at least temporarily. I am also a Mac user. That stated, I have occasionally used CB's Calcapp program with good results. It is user friendly, simple but effective, and he keeps it up to date. As an active member of this forum, we also know how to reach him. My advice for you would be to switch to Calcapp, or at least try it. It is a free program.

Ken

I would like to interject two comments.

First: Vadim's observation that CBN wheels run cooler is correct. however, it is important to remember that the comparison was with conventional wheels. Diamond wheels had not been introduced at that time. The cooling effect was due to the aluminum or steel open design of the wheels, not the CBN. Diamond wheels have essentially the same open steel design. One should expect essentially the same cooling effect.

Second: Tormek has always stated (with the T8) that although using the diamond wheels wet with ACC solvent is the preferred method, it is also possible to use them dry. The problem with running them dry is that takes away the cleaning effect of the ACC.

I have watched two videos recently on how to scrub CBN wheels with chemicals. One is by a vendor; one is by a well known sharpener. Such scrubbing is not needed with diamond wheels and ACC. In my opinion, trying to save a little money by omitting the ACC is foolish economy.

Ken

Mike,

You may already have a compatible part if you have the LA-120  Profiled Leather Honing Wheel. I believe the shaft from this will fit. I say "believe" because I do not presently have access to my shop. If you have the Profiled Leather Honing Wheel, you can easily check this.

Ken

Good thought, CB.

Ken

Dutchman,

I have successfully used the link twice. It's a puzzle. Please post if anyone is having further trouble with it and I will investigate further.

Ken

Brent,

I neglected to include the support email address: (support@tormek.se)

Ken

Welcome to the forum, Brent.

Try running your Tormek with the water trough removed. Is the noise still present?

Which model Tormek do you have, and what is its approximate age? (It still may be under warranty, and whether or not it is, you will find Tormek support very helpful.)

The Tormek is essentially a rather simple machine. Most noises can be owner fixed, sometimes with a little guidance from support (or the forum.) It would help if you could post a short video showing the noise. I have no diubt that your Tormek has many years of quiet running life remaining.

Please keep us posted.

Ken

https://youtu.be/3qrMejCAt3w?si=5xIi3xhCrYcwjpgD

Ken