eclipse guide, replacing wheel possible?

[ali27]

I have a question about the eclipse guide. I like this guide, but
the wheel is not made of tough material IMHO. Is it possible to
take that wheel off and replace it with something tougher, like
a tough steel or perhaps with something even tougher, carbide
wheel(does that exist?)

The eclips is ok with honing, but the wheel is not tough enough
for coarse sandpaper and pressing down on these papers.

Ali

 

[xy mosian]

Hi. I had a similar problem. In short Yes it is possible to remove the wheel, or at least it was on mine. Then you will need another, toughened, wheel of course. If you can make one, great. If not then the modern reproductions are good, and probably cheaper than having a wheel made.

Removal? I recall unscrewing the knurled knob as far as possible and then shifting the chromed bars until the loose end of the clamp was free. Carefully remove one of the circlips, they are brittle, and remove the wheel. If you have machining capabilities you might consider a wider wheel. This will of course require modifications to the screwed bar.

HTH
xy

 

[AndyT]

I think you may be seeing a problem where there is none. When using this sort of guide, you need to put pressure on the end of the blade itself, but hardly any pressure at all on the wheel. The wheel should last for years and years - mine has.

 

[yetloh]

I have oen where the wheel is shaped like a threepenny bit (if you are old enough to remember them). Not sure how it happened - sticking bearing, I suppose - but it is certainly multi-faceted. I just bought another old one on Ebay for about a fiver. The advantage of the old ones over the Chinese repros is that the tightening knob has a cross pin which can be driven out, allowing easy disassembly.

You could fit a wider wheel but I like the narrow one because it allows a camber to be produced simply by applying alternate pressure to either edge of the blade without faffing around changing wheels as on the Veritas. This does, however, mean it is not as idiot proof for the unskilled

Jim

 

[Mike Wingate]

Replace the wheel with a couple of bearings. The outer surface is tough!

 

[Dee J]

Missing the point maybe? Won't a hard wheel damage your abrasive surface? Rolling a relatively resilient wheel over an abrasive surface causes less damage to both items than rolling a hard wheel over the abrasive.

Dee

 

[Alf]

I think you may be seeing a problem where there is none. When using this sort of guide, you need to put pressure on the end of the blade itself, but hardly any pressure at all on the wheel. The wheel should last for years and years - mine has.

That. The wheel is just there to provide the bevel angle - all the pressure should be over the bevel. It's more akin to the training wheels on a bicycle than relying on all three wheels on a tricycle (if that makes any sense?)

 

[yetloh]

Absolutely right although ths angle gets a bit variable with a multi-faceted wheel.

Jim

 

[AndyT]

The wheel is just there to provide the bevel angle - all the pressure should be over the bevel. It's more akin to the training wheels on a bicycle than relying on all three wheels on a tricycle (if that makes any sense?)

Nice analogy - that's exactly what I meant.