Couple of questions about a new T8

[essentian]

Hey All,

I recently took the pluge and invested in a T8 - I've had a dabble with it though I wanted to check a few things before spending more time with it! 

1. Is the SG-250 supposed to require truing out of the box? Mine seems to have a slight convex profile, and also if I set the USB a couple of mm off the stone, I can see that it's not quite a uniform diameter.

2. I'm sure the instructions say to lift the water tray to the max height when running the machine, though on mine this causes the tray to hit the bottom of the stone. Should this be the case, or have I misunderstood the instructions?

Cheers, John

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, John.

You ask very good questions. Truing the wheel initially has always been considered good grinding practice with any grinding wheel, wet or dry. I recommend it, although I must confess my first SG-250 touched a lot of tools before I finally worked up the courage to true, remove some of, my precious grinding wheel. I suspect many wheels are not trued initially.

Truing is an essential Tormek skill. It eliminates one potential source of trouble. Approach it very lightly with shallow cuts. I start with only enough cut depth to barely touch the high spots. I move by microadjust half number increments. When I take a very light continuous cut over the whole wheel I stop. It takes little time and minimal wear. Make sure you properly attach the TT-50 to the support. I made this mistake once and actually ordered another TT-50 before I realized it was still working. I true lightly and frequently.

The adjustable water trough is designed such that the trough can be raised higher as the grinding wheel wears. What causes the worn down wheel to be inoperable is when it is too small to reach the water in the trough. By raising the trough, you can squeeze a little more life out of the grinding wheel. Just raise it the recommended anount. As I recall, that is three clicks.

Being able to raise or lower the trough makes it convenient to leave the grinding wheel out of water if a sharpening session is interrupted. This should never be a substitute for dumping the water at the end of the session. I always begin with clean water. It also has the side benefit of setting my mind right.

The redesigned trough also requires less water. I find this an advantage.

Two hints: Practice removing the water trough a few times when it is dry. I hold it in both hands and rotate it off by pulling with my little fingers. The trough is held by magnets at the bottom of the side panel. Once you learn how to do this you will never fumble.

Do not fill to the line. With the motor running, fill until you first see water flowing over the top. Keep the motor running. The wheel will soon absorb water and need more. Keep adding just though to get the water flowing again. You will soon reach saturation. You will have enough water and less spillage.Any spillage should be minimal.

Buy a turkey baster to suction out the water. Mine is a good grocery store model, which works fine. If someone dear to you is looking for a nice holiday present, Lee Valley sells a very nice one for about twenty dollars US which should be a joy to use. It would make a stellar present from children of grandchildren (or any sjgnificant person in your life). It should work very well for a lifetime and bring joy to both the giver and the receiver.

Enjoy your new Tormek. Please share your experiences and questions on the forum and don't forget to read the topic posted at the top (Tips and Techniques). You can learn much about the Tormek from a chisel, regardless of what you want to sharpen.

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

1.  I am not surprised, as I expect there is some excess in manufacturing left on the stone, as it allows truing whether your tool is new, or is old and needs new bushings and not parallel.  I would recommend truing it.

2.  My understanding is the T8, due to its design, allowed the water tray to raise higher then on the T7 or earlier designs.  This has the benefit of causing the stone to last longer/be used at smaller diameters then older models.
Don't raise it to where it is hitting, as you use the stone, you will raise it higher, as the stone wears.

[AKMike]

The T-8 Getting Started manual does, indeed, say to raise the trough to the highest position. When I did this, the stone rubbed on the trough. In the Getting Started video, with Alan Holtham, on Tormek's website, he says to only raise the trough three clicks, saving the others for when the stone diameter decreases. You can access the video and download a digital copy of the manual after you register your machine with Tormek.

Mike

[Ken S]

Mike,

You present an interesting topic. I like Alan Holtham's videos. I think they are very done, and Alan seems very personable. Like Norm Abram, I don't know how much day to day woodwork de actually does, however both seem quite knowledgeable.

Alan would have learned very quickly that three clicks is the right setting for a full diameter grinding wheel. The noise of a grinding wheel rubbing the water trough would not have added to the video! On the other hand, the quick start guide was probably composed by someone who had not actually used a T8. I do not fault that person, although I would think a trial run based on the quick start guide would have told the tale.

I am glad you mentioned this. It needs to be corrected. Although a minor thing, it could easily cause problems for new users. In general, I think the Tormek machines and company are outstanding. I made my living as a troubleshooter for the Bell System, probably one of the most efficient companies in the history of the planet. If there were not some glitches, we would not have needed repair people.

I believe the observations and experience of the forum members can help an outstanding company be even better.

Ken