Difficulty with removing the 10" grindstone on a Tormek

[Dick Strauss]

Eventually the stone mounted on the regular steel shaft will begin to crack from the shaft rusting. DAMHIKT. I replaced the shaft with SS and got new plastic bushings when I replaced the wheel.

[Rob Sack]

Then you know that this is really the only highly exposed piece. It's not like the things aren't totally open.

I am not sure what "this is really the only highly exposed piece" is referring to. All I can say is that the stone wheel appears to be held onto my machine with a flat washer and a nut. The exposed end of the shaft, the washer, and the nut are heavily rusted and corroded. I interpret this to mean that these three components are not stainless steel and if and when it comes time to replace the stone wheel, I don't know that I will be able to break anything loose without causing damage to the machine. At this point, the corrosion is so severe, I don't know that breaking the nut loose and removing the washer is even possible.

What I was trying to say in my original post was that had these three components been made with stainless steel, changing the stone would not have the issues and difficulties I will be facing should I choose to replace the stone wheel. Changing the stone wheel should be more akin to changing a tire, not cutting suspension parts off a hundred year old car that spent most of its life at the bottom of a lake.