Bought the Grizzly Wet Sharpener - Now what?

The unit is very well built (made in Germany) but with that said there are 2 problems so far. The horizontal tool rest holders are not square to the front putting the tool rest out of square with the wheel. I think I can tweak it with something... The main wheel is not round. Is this normal for these wheels when new? Do you just true them with a stone dresser? No stone dresser came with it so that is something that raises the price a little. How much did I pay? $159 at the Montoursville store. It'll be a great deal if these problems are as minor as I hope.

Bryan

Hi Bryan:
I purchased the same unit and noticed the same problems that you have. I had an additional problem- a damaged stone-- that Grizzly replaced.

For the guide problem- I took the machine apart which included removing the motor- and straightened the guides. It was not fun but not imposible. I then purchased a TORMEK TT-50 to true the stone.

After this work it works great. I am not thrilled with the leather wheel and that is my next project.

Good Luck
Jim

I also bought this grinder a few weeks ago, and Grizzly had to replace the stone because the hole was not centered on the stone causing a drastic up and down wobble. Got the new stone yesterday, and dressed it with the Tormek wheel dresser too. Now it works great. I didn't have the same problems with the rods not being square to the stone however.

I have the HF wet grinder. I think Jet and Tormek are the only ones that pre true the stone for use (as far as I have read). So yes, some wobble and runout are common on these machines when you get them home.

I had to bend the guide bar on my unit to get it 90 degrees to the guide mounts. I wouldn't be too worried about putting a little English onto a machine to get it into shape. I suppose it would depend on how far off it was though since I do have a ceiling for how much tinkering I will do on a new from the factory machine to get it functional.

Recommended add ons:
Tormek Truing tool: TT-50 (has feed screw), TTA-1 (traverse by hand)
Tormek stone grader: SP-650
Tormek Straint Edge Jig: SE-76

I picked up the truing tool and stone grader. The TT-50 works, but I hate how much it rattles and makes noise in use (poor mfg tolerances). If I did it again I would likely track down the older style (I think Jet's truing tool is the same as the old tormek). The stone grader is great, convert your stone back and forth from smooth to coarse.

The straight edge is on my list because the guide that comes with the HF is stamped and pretty cheap. I haven't seen the Grizzly version.

I have the jet wet sharpner and I have found the the tormek TTS-100 tunring tool setter and the gouge jig far out performs jet or grizzly jigs I found out the hard way now I have the old ones that I dont ever use

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Originally Posted by Jim Rohloff

Hi Bryan:
I purchased the same unit and noticed the same problems that you have. I had an additional problem- a damaged stone-- that Grizzly replaced.

For the guide problem- I took the machine apart which included removing the motor- and straightened the guides. It was not fun but not imposible. I then purchased a TORMEK TT-50 to true the stone.

After this work it works great. I am not thrilled with the leather wheel and that is my next project.

Good Luck
Jim

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Jim,

What did you have to do to straighten the guides? It looks like there are 2 bolts in each. Did you have to make a hole bigger? What don't you like about the leather wheel?

Bryan

Hi Bryan:
Yes there are two bolts each to hold the guides on. I found that the holes were oversized enough to just loosen the bolts and make the guides square to the cabinet. I did this with the guide bar installed to maintain proper spacing. The real trick was holding the guide in place while securing the bolts. The bolt has little serations under the head and these would cause the guide to move when tightening. Just be sure not to loose those little "E" clips that secure the motor mounting shaft. Like I said- Not Fun- but Possible.

As far as the leather wheel- cheap plastic that flexes all over the place. The rest of the unit is very well built- too bad this part was not made better. With the MicroSoft Cash Back- the price was right.

Hope this helps.
Jim

Jim,

I got the tool guide supports straight by doing like you did. I'm glad I didn't try the "use a bigger hammer" method and force it because it wasn't too bad of a job once I realized what needed to be done. Remove the wheels, pull the shaft, take the c clip off holding the motor bracket shaft, pull that shaft allowing the motor to drop out of the way. I could then get to the bolts holding the tg supports.

I used a square clamped across the leather wheel housing and then carefully clamped it to the tool guide. This held it in place while I tightened the bolts. It's close enough to perfect for me now. :)

Thanks for your help!

Bryan

Want to order that Griz sharpener, even though Cashback is apparently over, but, is it necessary to take it apart to make it function correctly? Is that the difference between the, what, $600, Tormek and the $160 Grizzly, $440 worth of good assembly line work. I just ordered a big Griz drill press...hope there are different assembly guys building the DP....and now afraid of ordering the 490X too :(. The misassembly is not representative of German products; wonder where the sharpener was actually made. I would like one if Griz could pre-check before shipping. Its not rocket science...why can't someone get it right...for reasonable cost? I just picked up a new grinding wheel at WC, installed it and it wobbles worse than an ox cart wheel, so sort of whiney here.

I've never seen a Tormek in person. The Grizzly say "Made in German" right on it. A major difference I can see is the horizontal tool holders on the Griz are 2 pieces, 1 piece on the Tormek. The vertical tool holder was in alignment on my Grizzly.

The leather wheel is plastic. Guessing it may be something different on the Tormek. The only items included with the Griz is: one tool holder, one flat blade jig, and angle guide and some honing compound. The Tormek has a diamond wheel truing jig and I think a wheel dresser.

Grizzly wheels are not mounted in bearings which will affect longevity. Don't know about the Tormek, for some reason, I think it does have bearings.

That's about as much as "I think" I know. :)

Bryan

Bryan....are you saying that the shaft on which the wheel is mounted is not supported on bearings. Still need (similar to want) one of them.
(I did finally get the new wheel balanced fwiw).

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Originally Posted by Bryan Berguson

I've never seen a Tormek in person. The Grizzly say "Made in German" right on it. A major difference I can see is the horizontal tool holders on the Griz are 2 pieces, 1 piece on the Tormek. The vertical tool holder was in alignment on my Grizzly.

The leather wheel is plastic. Guessing it may be something different on the Tormek. The only items included with the Griz is: one tool holder, one flat blade jig, and angle guide and some honing compound. The Tormek has a diamond wheel truing jig and I think a wheel dresser.

Grizzly wheels are not mounted in bearings which will affect longevity. Don't know about the Tormek, for some reason, I think it does have bearings.

That's about as much as "I think" I know. :)

Bryan

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Bryan,

Where on the unit does it say made in Germany? I have the small brother of this machine. It is made by Shepach (sp?). The only thing that says made in Germany is the box and the grinding wheel has some German writing on it. The rest of the unit, cabinet, motor, leather wheel have no country of origin marks on them. I strongly suspect that only a small percentage of the machine is actually made in Germany. Perhaps the grinding wheel alone. If you think about it there is no way a machine like this that is made in Germany could sell for so little money. Don't get me wrong. I think this is a fantastic machine for the price. I just have a hard time believing that it is actually made in Germany. I wonder what the law is in Germany regarding labeling something as made in Germany. In other words just like here in the US. Only a certain percentage of the item needs to be made here.

By the way I have the jointer knife jig for this machine. Grizzly sells it as well. That accessory smacks of German quality. However it costs more than the machine itself.

James

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Originally Posted by James White

Bryan,

Where on the unit does it say made in Germany? I have the small brother of this machine. It is made by Shepach (sp?). The only thing that says made in Germany is the box and the grinding wheel has some German writing on it. The rest of the unit, cabinet, motor, leather wheel have no country of origin marks on them. I strongly suspect that only a small percentage of the machine is actually made in Germany. Perhaps the grinding wheel alone. If you think about it there is no way a machine like this that is made in Germany could sell for so little money. Don't get me wrong. I think this is a fantastic machine for the price. I just have a hard time believing that it is actually made in Germany. I wonder what the law is in Germany regarding labeling something as made in Germany. In other words just like here in the US. Only a certain percentage of the item needs to be made here.

By the way I have the jointer knife jig for this machine. Grizzly sells it as well. That accessory smacks of German quality. However it costs more than the machine itself.

James

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On the label that is on the machine itself - Made in Germany. Just telling you what it says.

Bryan

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Originally Posted by Chris Barnett

Bryan....are you saying that the shaft on which the wheel is mounted is not supported on bearings. Still need (similar to want) one of them.
(I did finally get the new wheel balanced fwiw).

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That is correct. There are no bearings that I can see. I had the shaft out, they would be obvious if there.

Bryan