Help/advice needed please - NOT sharpening!

[AES]

Has anyone any advice please re a cheapo (Aldi) combination off hand grinder/wet stone that I've just been given.

It had been little used, but the wet stone, although a nice round n flat shape, was somewhat discoloured. (I haven't use the off hand grinder and probably won't as I already have a better machine with decent wheels, so I MAY think about turning that end into a sanding disc).

Anyway, I filled the tank with clean water up to the level mark and gave it a go. Seemed to work fine, if somewhat slow at removing metal (the stone seems quite a fine grit to me).

I left it with water in the tank overnight and to my surprise, next morning, the tank was empty and the stone felt damp to the touch. No leaks on the bench, so clearly the stone had absorbed all the water, and was now a very rusty colour on the face and around the sides to the depth of the water.

I removed the tank, then found the little "bung" cleverly hidden underneath the tank (!!!) (presumably that's for emptying the tank?) and not altogether surprisingly, found the bottom of the tank covered in a brown rusty sludge, quite hard in some areas.

The sludge is now removed, the rust stains reduced to some extent (wire brush), and all is put back together. So now my questions are:

1. Before proper use, I obviously need to fill the tank. After use (bearing in mind that I guess I'll use it infrequently) do I drain the tank again?

2. If yes, do I then need to refill the tank if, next time, the stone still feels damp?

3. As said, the stone is somewhat discoloured (rust, but no glazing or lumps of foreign matter that I can see/feel on the wheel, face or sides). Does this matter?

4. If yes, how do I remove the rust stains please?

And 5; any other tips for use please? I've never had one or used one before, and since the wheel is plenty wide enough, and turns pretty slowly - 20 rpm I think - I rather fancy using my Eclipse honing jig to get chisels and plane irons at the correct angle/s (I've tried hand-holding, no jig, and have ended up with "rounded off, curved angles").

As per thread title, NOOOOOOOOOO, this is NOT a sharpening thread! Please! Pretty please!!

Just want to know the best way to use this tool.

TIA

 

[Jacob]

I use a rare earth magnet for removing swarf from oil stones etc. Might work with a wet wheel too.
I don't have a wet wheel but I do know that you are not supposed to leave them standing still in water for long or they go out of balance (heavy wet bit - light dry bit).

 

[Seiken]

I have a similar wheel, yes always drain the tank after use. Fill the tank before use, just a damp stone is not enough it needs to be carrying a film of water around on the surface, this will cool the edge being ground as well as being a lubricant/carrying away metal and stone debris (dust) from the grind.
p. s. I believe the issue with leaving one part of the stone always wet is not so much balance but the risk of prolonged immersion causing that section of the stone to soften.

 

[sunnybob]

store it dry. When you want to use it, start the wheel and slowly add water to the tub. When the water level stops going down the wheel is ready to use.

The blade should raise a small bow wave of water when its pressed against the stone, which cools the steel and stops it going soft.

 

[Doug71]

Found my old Tormek the other day, haven't used it for years so thought I would have a play. I was amazed how much water it drank before I could actually get sharpening. Slow messy things, will probably go back in cupboard again for another 10 yrs.

Doug

 

[sunnybob]

Slow.. have to agree. But for people with zero sharpening skills (like me) very useful.
Messy... nope, cant agree. Are you using the thing the right way round?
I've seen a few used backwards, and then the water runs down the blade and all over the place.
The chisel handle should higher than the wheel, with the wheel turning towards the handle..

 

[AES]

All good info there for me, thanks to all.

P.S. The way this particular machine is designed (rpt, I've never used one before) it's difficult to see how you'd use this one anyway, the wrong way round).

 

[sunnybob]

If you use the supplied support bars and jigs, theres no issue. I remember a conversation here where the person held the chisel handle down and put it to the wheel so the wheel moved away from the handle. result is a lot of mess.

 

[AES]

I guess so Bob. Unfortunately no bars or jigs (nor a Manual) came with this machine, hence my idea to try the Eclipse honing jig.

 

[devonwoody]

I would suggest you remove the sharpening stone and ensure it dries completely and clean up .
assemble and put water in trough a few times with drying perhaps that would dilute that rust, otherwise ask Aldi if you can use a detergent next fill. On the tablesaw I had (no good btw) they did have an active support line.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I suppose the water can get messy, but on the other hand, with dry grinding all that steel and grindstone dust becomes airborne, so the sludge ends up in your lungs instead of the bottom of the trough.

Growing up in Sheffield, we studied our local history in school, including a visit to a water powered grinding works (Shepherd wheel, google Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust). Memorable was the mound of solidified "sludge" they had - that sort of thing formed in the bottom of the lungs of dry grinders, so that 40 years was considered old.

 

[AES]

Once again, thanks to all.

The water trough is now clean (-ish !) and dry. I've not removed the stone, but it is drying out, leaving rust stains. I'll now remove the wheel, wrap it in old newspaper (hopefully sucking the water residue out more quickly) then have another go at getting the muck off. But I think it's not too bad, I can feel the grit (quite fine) of the wheel on the bit that looks dry already - at the top of course.

All the advice is much appreciated, it'll be interesting to see what it's like as a sharpening device once I get it clean again. As said, I've never used one before.

Thanks, this Forum never fails does it!

 

[Rorschach]

I wouldn't worry about the rust stains, as long as the wheel is performing it will be fine.

 

[devonwoody]

hI AES does it have a degrading stone to refresh the sharpening wheel? (the Tormek has one for rough and finer grading)?

 

[Honest John]

I have the JET version, but not used it for many years. It does a superb job of sharpening but not neccessarily for grinding. Good repeatable results, but I just couldn’t get on with water splashing round in my workshop. If you don’t drain the water it will wick into the stone and evaporate to atmosphere, so it empties onto your workshop anyway. If the stone freezes when wet, it will probably disintegrate. When I was using this, I used to wrap a rare earth magnet in a small poly bag or sometimes in cling film and pop this into the tank. If you don’t put it in the bag, you’ll never be able to remove the swarf from the surface of the magnet !

 

[AES]

The machine itself doesn't have a degrading stone devonwoody, but I do have a separate (Axi) one that I use (gently) for dressing the wheels on my off hand grinder. It's still nice and square.

The wheel on this "new" machine looks fine in terms of shape (flat on the sides and only very slightly crowned on the periphery) so following your advice Rorschach I guess I wont worry too much about the rust stains.

The idea of a small magnet in a plastic bag in the tank is brilliant Honest John, I'd never have thought of that, thanks a lot.

I can't wait to try this thing out properly - it reminds me of the big (bigger than this) wet wheel on a bike contraption that the knife sharpener used to come round the houses with when I was a kid. And as posted above, it seems "that's the way the job was done in the olden days in factories".

Once again, thanks all.