Replies

1. 
   BruceS | Jan 02, 2010 06:56pm | #1

   I have the jet equivalent and yes they do rust. Stainless will rust if it is a lower grade but I doubt the parts are stainless. After getting mine cleaned up I coated the arbor with neverseize and coated the nut with the same. I put neverseize on everything that I take apart and put back together, especially auto parts.

1. 
   PhillipB | Jan 05, 2010 09:12pm | #4

   Bruce,

   Thanks for your comments. I failed to 'subscribe' to my own thread which explains my delay in responding for which I apologize.

   As I noted to TimberT, I was contacted by TORMEK and they have insisted on replacing my rusted nut and the two washers that hold the grinding wheel in place.

   My shaft is SS, but the nut and washers are merely zinc-coated which they admitted were a poor choice for their tool.

   I was fortunate in that I was able to remove the nut, so I am happy about that. Hopefully, the new SS components will arrive soon.

   Is Neversize a rust preventative?

   Thanks again for your post.

   Phillip Anthony

2. 
   WillGeorge | Jan 02, 2010 07:36pm | #2

   Sir..

   This is such an elementary consideration I cannot believe it was overlooked.

   I at one time, some time ago, left my Tormek out in the freezing garage with water. It froze.. and the stone broke away very cleanly....

1. 
   PhillipB | Jan 05, 2010 09:21pm | #5

   TORMEK admitted that they had used zinc-coated components for which they apologized. They are sending stainless-steel replacements to me. I was able to remove my rusted-on nut which was a big relief.

   Thanks for your post.

   Phillip Anthony

3. 
   TimberT | Jan 03, 2010 10:11am | #3

   I feel your pain. I had an early model Tormek that the wheel got rusted to the shaft. Long story short, I had a machine shop make me a new stainless shaft for $20. Don't waste your time contacting the manufacture, they didn't care. (I too went down that dead end path; This was before Advanced Machinery became the US distributor ).

   I find it hard to believe that after all these years that the shaft assembly is still made from a corrosive alloy.

   Contact your local Fastenal store and they should be able to hook you up with the correct SS nuts and washers.

   TimberT

1. 
   PhillipB | Jan 06, 2010 10:17am | #6

   TimberT,

   Thanks for your comments. I apologize for taking so long to respond. In truth, the new 'face' of Knots is somewhat disconcerting to me and 2), I thought that starting a thread automatically set me up to receive replies. I mean, why start a thread if you don't want to receive help? 'Knot' the way I build my websites. I'll quit.

   I read your post, but I have to say that I was shocked when I received an email from Torgny Jansson, who may be the owner of TORMEK. I am not certain of that, but his name is on the cover of my TORMEK manual.

   Cutting to the chase: He admitted that they had used zinc-coated nuts in the past to hold the wheel in place but that those had failed and for that he apologized profusely. He insisted on sending me a stainless-steel replacement. In addition, he asked me about the large washers that face either side of the grinding wheel. I told him that they were rusting as well.

   To be honest, my original email did not cloak my anger about discovering that my grinding wheel was permanently rusted to the shaft. So I was beyond surprised when I received a prompt reply. Doubly so, when I realized who he was. Because of this, I noted that I would just run down to Lowe's (after I was able to get it off) and see if I could find a SS replacement and that would be that. But he was adamant about replacing the nut and washers at their expense. So, I guess I cannot complain.

   Backtracking a bit, I was finally able to get the nut off. I soaked it in naval jelly after I removed it and this helped somewhat, but this will not prevent it from rusting in the future. And for the sake of clarity, my shaft is stainless-steel. It does not have a speck of rust on it.

   In all of my years on this planet, finding a rusted component in this type of service really made me wonder if we should actually be walking upright yet. These components are constantly exposed to moisture which is the catalyst for producing nice, tight rusty welds.

   Anyway, I'm taking the man at this word. My TORMEK has paid for itself easily over the years, but failing to use SS components is inexcusable, IMHO.

   Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I sincerely appreciate them.

   Phillip Anthony

4. 
   TimberT | Jan 14, 2010 01:11pm | #7

   Phillip,

   Glad to see you received a positive response from the manufacture. I too was put back when I discovered all the rust on the shaft thinking like you; who didn't get the memo!

   Happy Sharpening!

   TimberT

1. 
   davcefai | Jan 15, 2010 02:13pm | #8

   Regarding the rusting of stainless steel, I quote an Italian manufacturer of a remarkably poor (and expensive) machine:

   "Stainless steel is not rustproof, it just rusts more slowly"

   There are many grades of stainless steel and generally you get what you pay for.

   There is a point here that owners of wet grinders need to pay attention to. Any stainless steel in contact with rustable steel WILL rust too. So if the stainless is in contact with wet iron filings you're heading for trouble.

   I suggest that you apply some sort of water-repelling, non-conductive coating to the exposed areas. Wax or a non-metal-containing grease should do fine.

   Chloride in the water is very agressive towards stainless steel so anybody in an area where the chloride content of the water is higher than, say, 100ppm needs to bear this in mind. Chloride does not "rust" stainless steel but causes stress corrosion, ie will attack, weaken and erode stressed areas. These typically are welds and threads.

   Granted that chloride corrosion proceeds slowly at room temperature we are talking a period of years. An extreme case:

   I have seen (and replaced) about 400 metres of SS pipe (304 grade) which was left full of 800ppm chloride water for about 5 months, which included summertime. This meant that the water heated up to about 70 deg C in the sun. The pipes failed all along the longitudinal weld.

   Sadly the more corrosion resistant stainless steels are also the softer and weaker ones.

   Apologies for the length of this post but since New Year this subject has formed the bulk of my work the boring one, not the workshop one ;-)

1. 
   BradG | Jan 18, 2010 01:06pm | #9

   prior to my woodworking obsession I worked my way though college in automotive shops. We would use anti-sieze lubricant on lug nuts - feels like lithium grese with aluminum or somethin' gray in it. A tiny dot of this stuff on any water contact thread contraption and you will never have a problem. Here's a link:

   http://www.permatex.com/products/automotive/lubricants/specialty_lubricants/Permatex_Anti-Seize_Lubricant_a.htm

   side not on the Tormek: my good friend bought one this christmas and now all of my knives and chisels are laser sharp ... my god, this tool is awesome (or I am just so bad with my diamond stone that I should sell it and buy my friend more beer). If he didn't have one then WoodCraft would have a fist full of my $ right now

2. 
   PhillipB | Feb 05, 2010 03:11pm | #10

   TimberT,

   Sorry for the very late response, but once again, I did not receive notice of your (and other) replies.

   Anyway, I must say that I did, in fact, receive fresh SS washers and a ferrous nut from the TORMEK folks. The ferrous nut was a surprise. The gentleman that I've been emailing back and forth with, Torgny, claimed that the nut was SS as well, but my magnet proved him otherwise. Regardless, a bit of protection such a dry moly lube and I should be good to go.

   Thanks for your comments.

   Phillip

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 05, 2010 07:43pm | #11

   Just FYI some stainless steels are magnetic.

   For maximum protection use an anti seize grease, available at any auto supply store, on the threads it is much more effective than moly.

   Another thing to check on the Tormeks, and a weak point in their design, is the bearings which are just thin nylon sleeves. The one just behind the wheel, which has grit from the wheel washing over it, wears out quickly and will throw off the wheel alignment and damage the shaft if it wears too far.