Cracked grinding wheel

[Ken S]

Gary, it's too bad you will end up replacing your grinding wheel.  It's a lot of expense which seems out of its time.  I have a good guess s to how you feel; I recently had to replace my whole Tormek after someone broke into my vacant house and stole many of my tools.  (No insurance on the contents of the house, "vacant dwelling" coverage because I was in the process of a long move.)

I had upgraded my shaft to the EZYlock.  I think it's a real improvement.  I hope the installation instructions are more complete than when I installed mine.  It's not hard to do, just note what goes where when you remove the old shaft. 

I believe your new stone will be kept fastidiously clean and well dressed.  It should last a very long time.

best of luck.

Ken

[garypet]

All of your tools???  Wow, perhaps I should consider myself lucky! 
Actually I have an update concerning my problem.  After posting here and getting some good feedback I decided to contact Tormek about the rust issue.  About a week later I heard back from customer support offering me a discount on a new shaft and stone  which I jumped all over.  So, as we speak there is a new stainless steel shaft and a new stone on the way!  I was so pleased with Tormek that I also ordered the new revolving base (not discounted) for my soon to be better than new machine.
This is my first experience dealing with Tormek customer service and I have to give them an A+ as they really didn't have to offer me anything.
So I say to all my fellow Tormek users, although the initial investment is significant, you made a wise decision in giving your business to a company that stands their product.
I'm actually kind of glad that I had a problem or else I may never have found this site, what a great resource!  If you folks don't mind I think I'll hang around for awhile.

[Mike Fairleigh]

Please do, this site needs more traffic, not less.     Thanks for the update.  You won't regret the revolving base, I consider it a critical part of the system and was about to make my own when they announced its availability.

[Herman Trivilino]

This is my first experience dealing with Tormek customer service and I have to give them an A+ as they really didn't have to offer me anything.

Did you deal with Tormek directly, or one of their vendors?

[garypet]

Herman, Tormek referred me to "their agent" Affinity Tool Works in Troy Mi. to redeem the discount offer.  The people there were very nice to deal with, plus it appears as though they carry a very nice line of woodworking tools. 

[Ken S]

Gary, I second Mike's thought.  Please do continue to post; we can certainly use more voices on the forum.

Not all of my tools were stolen. Just a substantial number of the power tools.  Fortunately, although the Tormek itself was stolen, the thieves missed the box with the accessories.

I think you will really like the new stainless EZYlock shaft.  i'm still unpacking from my move, however, I installed the SB wheel in the hope of having some time to try out the drill jig.  The wheel change was a snap.

Do keep us posted.

Ken

[Ken S]

ps:

Gary, be sure to watch the Alan Holtham videos on the home page of this Tormek site.  Alan does a very good of explaining the EZYlock shaft. 

Ken

[garypet]

Hi Ken, glad to hear it wasn't all the tools, either I misread your post or more likely forgot exactly what I had read.  At least they didn't get your accessories, you sound like you have quite a variety.  By the way, when you try out that very expensive drill jig I'd be very interested to hear how you liked it.  I have a ton of old drills that just don't cut it anymore and was considering the Drill Doctor to bring them back to useable condition.  My dad use to sharpen his bits on a grinding wheel by hand but I don't have that kind of skill.  I didn't know Tormek made a jig for doing this until last week when I first visited their site.  If I remember right it was north of $200 but if it performs well it may be a better long term investment than a Drill Doctor.  Is the SB wheel for sharpening HSS? 
Anyone else using the drill sharpening jig?  Your thoughts?
Just got your new post, thanks for the tip, I will have a peek at that video.

[Ken S]

Hi, Gary.

Yes, I plan to post when I use the drill bit grinder.  With family obligations, my shop time is limited.  However, I am working toward using the DBS-22.  my tormek is set up with the SB wheel and the DBS jig is in place.  i hope to be sharpening drill bits by the upcoming weekend.

I'll keep you posted.

Ken

[Mike Fairleigh]

Not to knock the DBS-22 - I'm sure it's a marvelous jig - but since the subject came up, I'll say that my Drill Doctor does a beautiful job.  It's less money and seems to me to require less setup time than the DBS-22.  Of course, it would be nice to "do it all" with a single machine.

[garypet]

Update:  Received my new shaft and wheel yesterday from Affinity Tool Works, installed in about 10 minutes and am happy to say I'm back in business.  The easy lock nut on the new shaft works great, sure makes maintaining the shaft and bearings a no brainer.  I also ordered the rotating base which I think will make my life a lot easier.
Mike, I agree with you on the DBS-22.  For me it would not only be the price of the jig ($265), I  would also need to purchase the black stone for doing my HSS bits.  Considering the nearly $500 up front cost (in my case) I'd have to think the Drill Doctor would be the wiser choice.  You said that your Drill Doctor does a "beautiful  job", may I ask which model you have?  From what I've read I think I'd go for the 750X.  Your thoughts?

[Mike Fairleigh]

I have the 750, but not the current "X" model.  The older 750 required two chucks to handle the whole range of bits from 3/32" to 3/4", but otherwise there's very little difference.  I highly recommend the 750X model vs. the lower units (my usual "buy it and cry once" approach to tools).  Like Tormek, DD requires a little practice to get good with, but the most important thing is to do both cutting edges of the bit the same number of strokes.  One little issue the DD has that the Tormek doesn't is that since it uses a dry diamond wheel, it tends to leave grinding by-products around the area where you use it, sort of like someone spilled glitter (at least my older 750 does this, I think it's a safe assumption that the new models do too).  Of course with the Tormek all that would be washed into the water trough, which is nice.

For someone with a wide variety of types of drills, the Tormek jig would almost certainly be a more versatile choice.  For the typical homeowner/handyman (even a serious one), the DD will do a great job on twist drills and masonry bits which covers 98% or more of what they'll ever need at literally half the price and with less setup time.  Of course both systems are useless on brad points, which is a staple in the woodworking world.

[Ken S]

Gary and Mike,

I'm hoping to fire up the DBS-22 this weekend.  I will post my initial usage thoughts.

Ken

[Mike Fairleigh]

I look forward to that Ken.  Yesterday I received the newer Drill Doctor DD750X.  It's a nice machine and a bit of an upgrade from my older 750SP, but some of the "new" features are kind of worthless.  Primarily, the machine is advertised as being able to shape points at any angle between 118 and 140 degrees.  Well, the jig DOES have a variable angle, but the only two graduations on it are 118 and 135; everything in between is just a WAG.  Now, 99% (or more) of the drill bits on the planet are either 118 or 135, but it's a case of "improving" something without truly improving it.  I'm more interested in the variable "material takeoff" feature of the 750X, as my 750SP would take off a bit more steel than it needed to once it had been shaped and sharpened the first time.

I believe the DBS-22 (I've never seen one in person) also has the flexibility to do a range of tip angles, but also has the graduations and the precision to make the feature meaningful.  So whether the doubled cost of the DBS-22 is "worth it" may really get down to the individual user and what's important to him/her.

[Ken S]

Gary, do you realize that your post (this thread) has become the fifth largest on this forum.  Good post!

Ken