T-8 Noise and Vibration

[johnricesr]

I have a T-8 that has had an issue with a loud hum and vibration since I bought it three years ago. It only starts doing this after it's been running for about 20 minutes, and will stop after I let it sit for a few hours. I hate dealing with warranty issues, so I've tried to ignore it, but lately it has become more of a problem. I sent an email to Tormek support three days ago with a video, but have received no reply.

I'll send another email, but I'm not optimistic about getting a reply. In the meantime, has anyone here experienced a similar issue and what did you do to fix it? I can find nothing helpful online.

[RickKrung]

Can you post a video with audio so we can see/hear it. 

The water tray often vibrates and there has been a good bit of discussion on the forum about curing that.  Try searching on "vibration" and "hum", stuff like that. 

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, John.

I know the head of Tormek support. He is a rare treasure, having worked at Tormek since the 1980s and is very conscientious. It is also important to remember that Tormek is a very small company.He works Monday through Friday and wears several hats. I am sure you will hear from him.

ken

[johnricesr]

Can you post a video with audio so we can see/hear it. 

The water tray often vibrates and there has been a good bit of discussion on the forum about curing that.  Try searching on "vibration" and "hum", stuff like that. 

I can't see how I can post a video in this forum, but I attached one to the email I sent.

In my "troubleshooting" process, I found that initially the noise was due to the water tray, but eventually gets bad enough where it makes a racket with the tray on or off. Initially the machine is quiet. After a while, it will start vibrating and the noise from the tray will start. Then the noise will be worse and seems to be related to the motor. It also gets pretty warm, but I don't know if that's abnormal.

Pressure on the grinding wheel makes a difference. Sometimes it gets worse when you press on it; sometimes it gets better...

[johnricesr]

Welcome to the forum, John.

I know the head of Tormek support. He is a rare treasure, having worked at Tormek since the 1980s and is very conscientious. It is also important to remember that Tormek is a very small company.He works Monday through Friday and wears several hats. I am sure you will hear from him.

ken

I hope so!

[Thread Killer]

I know this may be simplistic, but have you pulled the shaft and cleaned and greased it?  Also check the drive shaft and friction wheel at the same time.  Sounds like it may be more.  Like motor related. I would do the easy stuff first.  If the SG 250 wheel is not stuck the shaft is a 10-minute job.   

[johnricesr]

I know this may be simplistic, but have you pulled the shaft and cleaned and greased it?  Also check the drive shaft and friction wheel at the same time.  Sounds like it may be more.  Like motor related. I would do the easy stuff first.  If the SG 250 wheel is not stuck the shaft is a 10-minute job.   

I did.

[johnricesr]

I'm going to update in case someone else is having a similar issue, or if someone else has already resolved the issue and can offer me suggestions.

I finally received a reply stating that there were some faulty motor bushings at the production time of my machine. Naturally...

I was requested to box it up and ship it back at my expense, and they would fix it and return it. I don't get the warm fuzzies with this, as I have no idea how long I'll be without the machine, and I don't have a lot of faith that I'll ever receive it back.

I have asked if this is a user serviceable item, but still have not received an answer.

At this point I'm willing to cut my losses and buy the parts myself, but I'm not real clear on what they're talking about when they say "motor bushings." As I understand it, the motor itself is a sealed unit with ball bearings and no brushes or bushings. Has anyone here had this issue with machines produced about three years ago and repaired it themselves?

[Ken S]

John,

Your last reply surprised me. I remember a conversation I had with a Tormek rep and a rep from Tormek's US importer when the T4 was introduced in 2014. It was friendly; however, I pulled no punches with the questions I asked. I asked very pointed questions about Tormek's warranty policy. I gave the example of a 6 1/2 year old T4 with a motor problem. How would Tormek handle this? They assured me that when Tormek received notification of my problem, they would email me a prepaid shipping label. To be very clear, Tormek would cover shipping costs both ways. When Tormek received my unit, they would promptly and thoroughly make repairs and return my machine to me.

I have no reason to think that Tormek has changed this policy. If, by chance, this policy is no longer in effect, I would like to know about it. I regard Tormek very highly; however, I do not give them a free pass.

I hope you will continue communicating with Tormek. Please keep in mind that it is Friday evening, and that support works Monday through Friday. I have every confidence that you will receive excellent service. When your Tormek is repaired, I hope you will report back to the forum with good or bad news.

Ken

[johnricesr]

John,

Your last reply surprised me. I remember a conversation I had with a Tormek rep and a rep from Tormek's US importer when the T4 was introduced in 2014. It was friendly; however, I pulled no punches with the questions I asked. I asked very pointed questions about Tormek's warranty policy. I gave the example of a 6 1/2 year old T4 with a motor problem. How would Tormek handle this? They assured me that when Tormek received notification of my problem, they would email me a prepaid shipping label. To be very clear, Tormek would cover shipping costs both ways. When Tormek received my unit, they would promptly and thoroughly make repairs and return my machine to me.

I have no reason to think that Tormek has changed this policy. If, by chance, this policy is no longer in effect, I would like to know about it. I regard Tormek very highly; however, I do not give them a free pass.

I hope you will continue communicating with Tormek. Please keep in mind that it is Friday evening, and that support works Monday through Friday. I have every confidence that you will receive excellent service. When your Tormek is repaired, I hope you will report back to the forum with good or bad news.

Ken

I'll report back either way, but based on my experiences so far, I cannot say that I'd agree that they are providing excellent service. I wouldn't be critical about not receiving a response over the weekend, but I got no response at all for five days (sent email on Sunday, got response on Thursday). Because of this slow response, I am extremely concerned about the prospect of shipping it back. I don't have confidence that I'll ever see it again, and my only recourse would be to email the same people that aren't responding to me now.

In their defense, the NA office is waiting for an answer from Sweden regarding my question as to whether I can do this fix myself. I work for a Finnish company and understand the time zone difference, but it has been two days since I asked this with no update. I'd be somewhat content with a "we haven't received an answer yet, but we're still trying" email.

I hope we can get moving with this, but for now I'm holding off on any additional purchases until I can get some sort of resolution, even if I just buy a replacement motor myself, as expensive as they are.

[johnricesr]

Update:

I finally got another reply, but no answer to the question regarding whether I could change the bushings myself.

They are sending a prepaid shipping label, and I suppose I'll send it off.

[tgbto]

John, from everything we've seen on this forum, Tormek support is top notch. They may be a bit understaffed at times, but they're always professional and careful about their reputation as a premium supplier. You're not taking any real risks here. And this way you'll keep your (long) warranty.