General clean up after shapening

[Blake]

Guess I am earning my newbie status with very general newbie questions. I searched for threads on this topic and only found very general ones so I will ask it here specifically.  What are users general clean up approaches after sharpening sessions?  and How often do you drain and clean the water trough? Having just got my T7 I want to develop a good cleaning approach because the nature of this process demands it I believe. I have been removing water and cleaning the trough daily so far, pulled the stone to make it easier to wipe down some areas, might be my newness here but I want to develop the right approach early on so I do not get into bad habits.
I am a little surprised the Tormek manual is not a little more specific here. I have been heading their warning on not putting the water down the sink, and pour it outside, wide the magnet and base clean tossing the buid up although I have been putting the final rinse down the sink.
I would be interested in set practices experienced users have on general clean up, how often, general approaches, do you do a deeper clean occasionally?  That kind of thing.

[Ken S]

Good question, Blake. Yes, it has been posted before, but occasional renewal is good.

I think you are on target with your routine. diligence is not only good for your Tormek; it is good for your mindset.

I have had two ideas kicking around in the back of my mind for some time. I use Melitta coffee filters (#2, the small ones) for my morning coffee. I also have an old glass pot which uses #6 filters. I believe the #6 filters have been discontinued, but have thought they would work very well for filtering dirty sharpening water.

The second thought is using disposable paint filters from the paint store. One of these might very well be useful for a number of sharpening sessions, until it was clogged.

These are just thoughts at this point.

I do believe that psychologically a clean machine encourages good work.

Ken

[Rob]

Hi Blake and welcome to the forum.

You don't need to go overboard because the chassis of the tool is very robust and water resistant.  The new stainless shaft means you needn't be overly concerned with rust either.  But you're right to want to form good habits from the off and the trough is of course the "elephant in the room".

Generally accepted approach is to empty the trough at the end of each sharpening session unless that session is so long or intense that you're introducing slurry from the overloaded water back onto the wheel.  Also always change the water after a true with the diamond dresser as that really chucks the stuff into the trough.

I guess I change my water after about an hour of grinding time on average, something like that.  I also will change it if I notice streaks of foreign colour or particles covering the wheel, indicating the trough is a bit overloaded.

As far as cleaning the chassis, a damp rag or paper towel and just a once over is fine.  You might even find that many of the old hands on here don't clean their machine from one year to the next :-)  Point being, its very obust.  But I'm with you on the good habits of mind routine and tend to give it wipe when it needs it, certainly if pools of water are settled on the top.

Hope that helps.  There is a sticky at the top of the general forum written by a chap called Ken.  Look at that as it contains some helpful tips for the journey.

Keep posting, there's a fair learning curve and the folks here are (usually) pretty helpful :-)

[SharpenADullWitt]

We have had a few people on here, refurbish their machines over time.  I asked about it myself after obtaining my machine, because where the water tray sits, I had a bunch of dried on workbench crud, and figured the paint was chipped there.  Turned out it was more a mixture of glue and sawdust and where I have typically seen rust on my old models (where the water tray sits in the non use position) there was none.
I believe their finish is closer to a powder coat now and they have the stainless shafts (easier to clean, more durable).  So cleaning up after each use is a good habit and not hard to do.  If you have two stones and swap between them (SG stone and SB stone for instance), then you will want the one off the machine, to fully dry out, so try to hang it through the arbor hole for more surface area evaporation.  If you don't have two stones, I prefer to leave the stone on the machine to dry out, less chance of dropping.  I recommend lubing the shaft and its sleeves once a year on the same date to remember.  For me, that is the first day of spring, for a relative, his maintenance day, is the day he changes the batteries in the smoke detectors.
When your machine is dry and not going to be used for a while, I put on its cover.  If going to be used soon, or not quite dry, I don't worry about it.  I clean out the tray after each use.

[Herman Trivilino]

I always lower the water trough after every session so the grindstone doesn't sit in a water bath. Whenever the trough water is dirty I toss it on the yard and rinse with the garden hose. I keep a jug of water next to the machine for quick refills. If I spill water I clean it up with a rag. I occasionally wipe down the machine. The two places where I've had rust occur are on the top where spilled water sits and on the bottom frame rails where they sit in spilled water. I had to repaint mine and that's why I'm now a bit more careful about not leaving spilled water puddles on or under the machine.

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

I always lower the water trough after every session so the grindstone doesn't sit in a water bath.

I thought having a wet stone would be a good thing, so i have done the oposit, remembered to make sure there was water in there to keep it good, wet and soaked..

reading the Manual is if anything else fails.. mayby i should have a look there if that says do remember to empty wather trough?

[Rob]

What you have to consider is that often Tormek's are left in cold outbuildings throughout deep winters where the water can freeze.  That would kill the wheel pretty quick as the frost expands.  So its good practice to keep the wheel dry when not in use.  Also it can and will wick up water which it can drip drip drip onto the shaft creating a rust risk long term.  The stainless shaft has mitigated most of that risk but mines an older model without the benefit of that shaft.

[Blake]

Thanks to everyone who commented. All input has been good and I intend to incorporate a lot of this in my regular routine. Right now I am using the machine in a couple of sessions each day, I plan to drop the water tray during those breaks and fully drain daily. The input on the top and rails eventually rusting will keep me cleaning and drying these areas regularly although new finish seems pretty impervious at the moment. No reason to take a chance.

[grepper]

I wouldn't put any of the trough water down the sink, even the final rinse if it contains any of steel particles and gray stuff from the wheel.  The slurry is heavy and will sink to the bottom of the drain (trap mostly (hopefully)) and form that concrete like goop in the pipe that you seen in the bottom of the trough.  Even a little each rinse over time will build up.  Summer is great because you can just take it outside and use the hose to blast the trough clean.

[Ken S]

Back in February I spent a day with the US Tormek demonstrators in Hartville, Ohio. I tried to be as observant as possible to increase my knowledge. One thing I noticed was how little water needed to be cleaned up. Two Tormeks were essentially running all day, with chisels, knives and gouges. I did not notice anyone being what I would call fastidious about cleanup. I would call what they did "well practiced carefulness". If you work carefully, you will develop good habits.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

I thought having a wet stone would be a good thing, so i have done the oposit, remembered to make sure there was water in there to keep it good, wet and soaked..

Not a good idea. It will keep the lower portion wetter than the rest, will wick up towards the metal main shaft and housing, and will cause problems with rust.

It takes several days for the grindstone to completely dry out, and by then it will have long since wicked up and evaporated away any water in the trough that's in contact with the grindstone.

[grepper]

Adding to Ken's comments, I have found at least from my experience, that only keeping just enough water in the trough so there is an even coating of water on the surface of the wheel when it contacts the blade is all that is needed.   This is only enough water to cover the bottom ¼" (6-7mm) of the wheel.  This keeps the stone fully saturated, and almost eliminates mess.

[Ken S]

I agree.

When I arrived at the woodworking show in Hartville, Steve was there. The Affinity Tool guys, driving in from Michigan, had not arrived yet. Steve had both Tormeks (T4 and T7) running with the water bath. Steve made the comment that people will walk right by a machine which is not running with hardly a glance. With the machines running, with water flowing, people stopped and looked.

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

I thought having a wet stone would be a good thing, so i have done the oposit, remembered to make sure there was water in there to keep it good, wet and soaked..

Not a good idea. It will keep the lower portion wetter than the rest, will wick up towards the metal main shaft and housing, and will cause problems with rust.

It takes several days for the grindstone to completely dry out, and by then it will have long since wicked up and evaporated away any water in the trough that's in contact with the grindstone.

I am trying to remember some post about the stone, getting some kind of flat spot from having one spot sitting in the water most time.  Do you remember what I am talking about (was from the days before stainless shafts and caused rusting as well)?

[Herman Trivilino]

I don't recall anything about a flat spot developing, but I do recall Jeff Farris recommending that the grindstone not be left sitting in the water bath between sessions.