Removing the Grinding Wheel between Sharpening Sessions

[Dan]

Hello all,
Just a little question.
I have seen this point being made quite a few times in various threads and I am  wondering what exactly is the reasoning behind this.

Personally, I never remove the grinding wheel. I hone knives on a separate machine equipped with a Tormek USB so I can get a precise angle. Much easier with larger knives this way.
I hone chisels and plane blades on the honing wheel of the Tormek as there is no problem with the gringing wheel getting in the way.

I also prefer to leave the wheel on as then it is always in the same trued position.

I know a lot of you use various wheels but I only use the SG-250.

Is there something I am missing?
Are there any negative consequences to leaving the wheel on on the T8 that I have not thought about?

I haven't had any problem in about 4 years since I have had the machine and I use it two or three times a month for all our knives and more occasionally to sharpen my woodworking tools.

Any thoughts?

Danny

[Ken S]

Good question, Dan. I will share the only correct reason I use. It is based on a test group of one, me. I have to move my Tormek around quite often. As a senior citizen, I am not as strong as in younger days. Although it makes an extra trip, removing the grinding wheel reduces the weight by half.

I believe the original Tormek design philosophy was to just leave the grinding wheel in place. However, even in the earlier pre EZYlock days, Jeff Farris, who demonstrated the Tormek throughout the US, always removed his grinding wheels before traveling town to town.

In truth, I don't know that it much matters much as long as the wheel and machine are stored clean and dry.

Ken

[John_B]

I think there are two different scenarios. As Ken mentioned moving your machine or transporting it in a vehicle and stationary use.

The weight on the shaft from the stone will over time damage the bearing surface albeit slowly as the vehicle hits bumps. It would be interesting to critically examine the bearings of a Tormek that is used in a mobile sharpening setup with the wheel never removed. I too tend to remove the wheel and install the spacer if I need to move it any distance. My bench has wheels so this does not come up too often.

After each use I don't think it is necessary to remove the wheel. It is important not to leave it sit in the water. I think many of us that use multiple wheels may take the last used wheel off when done. When I do this I often leave the SG-250 off until the next session. With old machines the shaft also tended to rust over time making it a good practice to remove the wheel and dry the shaft.