Toohr #3 knife sharpener

FoghornLeghorn said:
Help!

I have quite a bit of up and down movement on the gimbal arm off of the tower and I don't know how to tighten it up per se. Please see the attached video. Thanks

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20230214_150723.mp4

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Click to expand...
I checked mine out, and it has a slight bit of up and down movement, less than half as much as yours is showing.
Watching your video, the tolerances appear to be loose, between the two outer vertical guide rods and the brass bushings they pass through.
The brass bushings appear to be press fit into the gimbal arm.

You can probably see where I'm going with this...

I think the only way to get rid of the excess movement, would be to install new bushings, with tighter tolerances.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think the gimbal arm is going to deflect enough to affect your sharpening angle,
especially with the combined weight of the gimbal arm assembly and the guide rod/stone holder assembly bearing down on the bushings.
 
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jeronimo said:
I checked mine out, and it has a slight bit of up and down movement, less than half as much as yours is showing.
Watching your video, the tolerances appear to be loose, between the two outer vertical guide rods and the brass bushings they pass through.
The brass bushings appear to be press fit into the gimbal arm.

You can probably see where I'm going with this...

I think the only way to get rid of the excess movement, would be to install new bushings, with tighter tolerances.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think the gimbal arm is going to deflect enough to affect your sharpening angle,
especially with the weight of the gimbal arm assembly and the guide rod/stone holder assembly bearing down on it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for responding. I tore the tower assembly completely apart including disassembling the 2 piece threaded guide rod bushing in the middle. I wanted to see if I might be able to shore it up some way and make it tighter. (I'm working on that) Probably a huge waste of time but I have to try.
But you're 100% correct. Most all of the movement is due to the bushings being too loose and there's nothing I can do about it that's I know of. If I had a lathe I'd definitely make a new pair of bushings but I do not. I don't even know anyone that does so that's that! Thanks again bud!
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
Thanks for responding. I tore the tower assembly completely apart including disassembling the 2 piece threaded guide rod bushing in the middle. I wanted to see if I might be able to shore it up some way and make it tighter. (I'm working on that) Probably a huge waste of time but I have to try.
But you're 100% correct. Most all of the movement is due to the bushings being too loose and there's nothing I can do about it that's I know of. If I had a lathe I'd definitely make a new pair of bushings but I do not. I don't even know anyone that does so that's that! Thanks again bud!
Click to expand...
No problem.
I don't know what a machine shop would charge for a small job like this, these days. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask around.
I'm fortunate to have a couple of very talented machinists where I work, who don't mind doing the occasional "government job" for me. ;)
 
jeronimo said:
No problem.
I don't know what a machine shop would charge for a small job like this, these days. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask around.
I'm fortunate to have a couple of very talented machinists where I work, who don't mind doing the occasional "government job" for me. ;)
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Yeah it's nice to have the hookups at work and I could do the same but unfortunately I'm retired!
I'll call a buddy of mine tomorrow and see if he has a machinist friend that won't rip my head off. 🙏
 
My machine was delivered yesterday in good shape except missing 2 screws. 42 days from order to delivery. I ordered stainless steel allen head screws to replace all for mounting upright tower. Amazing how every screw required tightening, but I am impressed with everything else about the machine. Well worth taking an hour to clean and service, looks like I'll get many years of service!:)
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
Thanks for responding. I tore the tower assembly completely apart including disassembling the 2 piece threaded guide rod bushing in the middle. I wanted to see if I might be able to shore it up some way and make it tighter. (I'm working on that) Probably a huge waste of time but I have to try.
But you're 100% correct. Most all of the movement is due to the bushings being too loose and there's nothing I can do about it that's I know of. If I had a lathe I'd definitely make a new pair of bushings but I do not. I don't even know anyone that does so that's that! Thanks again bud!
Click to expand...

I am guessing that the holes n the aluminum part are too big for the bushings, and/or the hole in the bushings may be oversized as well. Mine is rock solid. If you take that unit apart and remove the bushings you should be able to measure the hole diameter and then the rod diameter and order the bushings from McMaster Carr, possibly ebay, or somewhere similar for much cheaper than you would be able to have them made unless you get somebody nice to do it for beer money. You would want the outside diameter of the bushings to be slightly bigger for a friction fit or you would have to loctite them into place.

You could also try contacting the seller and asking for a replacement upright unit due to yours being defective, they do sell them on their own.
 
Update.
I ordered the Toohr 3 from the Toohr store on 11 JAN.
12 JAN, Tracking number assigned.
15 JAN, Received at the carrier.
17 JAN, Arrived at Airline carrier.
9 FEB, In Los Angeles Customs.
16 FEB, Arrived at my door.

So just over a month from order to arrival.

First impressions. It's well worth the money ($126) and wait. It does need cleaning, lubing, disassembly of a few parts, reassembly/correct torquing of all bolts. The box it came in was really banged up, and the foam inner pack was slit open (I assume by customs). Inner packing was only sheet foam, everything was rolled up in multiple layers. Everything arrived in good shape (a few nicks and scratches, but nothing major). Guide rod holder did need to be bent to correctly hold the rod, and tightened, very easy fix. All the bearings came dry and a little stiff, after lubrication everything smoothed out well. The guide rod stops had burs inside from the thread cutting. A little filing was needed to get them over the guide rod.

They included an extra set of longer thumbscrews for different clamps? An extra set of stone springs and an extra pan/tilt bolt.
Edit-Correction: The extra springs are really to keep the guide rod from impacting the pan/tilt assembly. Did I mention that there are zero instructions or paperwork included!

Don't expect perfection at this price. But with a little effort, the Toohr seems like great bang for the buck for just about anyone who pays attention to the details. I like it way better than my manual WorkSharp kit for about the same price (I got the case and extra stone WS kit version).
 
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Bdtry said:
I am guessing that the holes n the aluminum part are too big for the bushings, and/or the hole in the bushings may be oversized as well. Mine is rock solid. If you take that unit apart and remove the bushings you should be able to measure the hole diameter and then the rod diameter and order the bushings from McMaster Carr, possibly ebay, or somewhere similar for much cheaper than you would be able to have them made unless you get somebody nice to do it for beer money. You would want the outside diameter of the bushings to be slightly bigger for a friction fit or you would have to loctite them into place.

You could also try contacting the seller and asking for a replacement upright unit due to yours being defective, they do sell them on their own.
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I'm talking with the seller now to see if they'll do anything. If not I may just leave it because as jeronimo stated above, when the guide rod is installed it holds it down and it doesn't budge. Having said that I am a bit OCD and may look for some bushings either way if the seller doesn't come though. Lol AliExpress also has bushings.
 
Foghorn,
I checked mine, it's got similar play on the pan/tilt assembly to yours. When I check it with my inclinometer, I measure 0.11 degree difference at knife edge when the pan/tilt is flexed from rest to hard upward. That's pretty much in the noise and below the resolution of most inclinometers. I'm seeing no vertical flex during actual operation. I wouldn't worry about it. If it does hit your OCD that hard, there's always the 900 Euro German version.
 
I did find out that the washer under the gimbal isn't needed. At least on mine it wasn't. It turns perfectly with very little side to side movement and no rubbing on the support arm at all.
 
JPM71 said:
Foghorn,
I checked mine, it's got similar play on the pan/tilt assembly to yours. When I check it with my inclinometer, I measure 0.11 degree difference at knife edge when the pan/tilt is flexed from rest to hard upward. That's pretty much in the noise and below the resolution of most inclinometers. I'm seeing no vertical flex during actual operation. I wouldn't worry about it. If it does hit your OCD that hard, there's always the 900 Euro German version.
Click to expand...
I'm not that OCD. 😂
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
I did find out that the washer under the gimbal isn't needed. At least on mine it wasn't. It turns perfectly with very little side to side movement and no rubbing on the support arm at all.
Click to expand...

Having the washer is better than not. The threaded rod may rest on the bearing cage instead and cause damage to the bearing eventually causing issues. If I am thinking of the right bearing you are mentioning.
 
Bdtry said:
Having the washer is better than not. The threaded rod may rest on the bearing cage instead and cause damage to the bearing eventually causing issues. If I am thinking of the right bearing you are mentioning.
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That's a good point. I do have some super thin washers I took out of a junk pocket knife that I could install and should keep the side to side movement to a minimum.
 
777 Edge,
I have a Toohr which I cleaned and tightened, love the machine. New to fixed angle sharpeners and would like to be able to do smaller blades. Can you tell me what if any disadvantages there are to the Leading Edge Universal Upgrade Kit. Is the magnet the only thing that holds the blade stationary. Thanks in advance!
 
Carville said:
777 Edge,
I have a Toohr which I cleaned and tightened, love the machine. New to fixed angle sharpeners and would like to be able to do smaller blades. Can you tell me what if any disadvantages there are to the Leading Edge Universal Upgrade Kit. Is the magnet the only thing that holds the blade stationary. Thanks in advance!
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It has powerful neodymium magnets holding the blade in place, no clamps at all. What looks like a "clamp," is a 3 point knife guide to use only as a positioning guide to stop the knife from sliding back and to have an exact reference for flipping the blade over to sharpen the other side. The benefit of having no clamp is that there are no limitations on blade shape, size or sharpening angle but it is best to stabilize the knife with your free hand if you're doing new bevel setting and need to remove metal faster. The knife can slide around a bit if you put a lot of pressure on the stones while sharpening. If you do touch-ups then the blade won't move much at all.
 
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777 Edge said:
It has powerful neodymium magnets holding the blade in place, no clamps at all. What looks like a "clamp," is a 3 point knife guide to use only as a positioning guide to stop the knife from sliding back and to have an exact reference for flipping the blade over to sharpen the other side. The benefit of having no clamp is that there are no limitations on blade shape, size or sharpening angle but it is best to stabilize the knife with your free hand if you're doing new bevel setting and need to remove metal faster. The knife can slide around a bit if you put a lot of pressure on the stones while sharpening. If you do touch-ups then the blade won't move much at all.
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Thank You for the information. Do you think that would be the best option for doing small pocket knives? I mostly sharpen larger knives for trimming top rounds of beef 10" or more but would like to be able to sharpen small pocket knives. I could continue to sharpen the small knives by hand but the edge is sooo much better using the Toohr. Thanks Again!
 
Carville said:
Thank You for the information. Do you think that would be the best option for doing small pocket knives? I mostly sharpen larger knives for trimming top rounds of beef 10" or more but would like to be able to sharpen small pocket knives. I could continue to sharpen the small knives by hand but the edge is sooo much better using the Toohr. Thanks Again!
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It will really depend on what you consider small. The smallest I've sharpened so far is a Benchmade Bugout which isn't that small but the blade itself isn't all that wide as a lot of other EDC knives I own. Slip joint knives will definitely have smaller blades and benefit from the Leading edge upgrade kit. I actually plan on buying one myself. Here are the specs on the Bugout.
www.benchmade.com

Bugout Family

<p>The Bugout™ was designed for the modern outdoor adventurer, incorporating the lightest, best performing materials in an extremely slim yet ergonomic package. Customize your 535 Bugout knife with a plain drop-point or serrated drop-point blade, coupled with a CF Elite or Grivory handle. The...
www.benchmade.com www.benchmade.com
 
Carville said:
Thank You for the information. Do you think that would be the best option for doing small pocket knives? I mostly sharpen larger knives for trimming top rounds of beef 10" or more but would like to be able to sharpen small pocket knives. I could continue to sharpen the small knives by hand but the edge is sooo much better using the Toohr. Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

Yes, I think it would work well for you as long as you lightly hold onto the handle of the blade if you need to do some harder sharpening work. I have even done small Victorinox blades on my standalone Leading Edge sharpening system (my standalone system has the same front platform and dimensions as all of the Leading Edge core upgrade systems for sharpeners that I've designed for Gritomatic.)

FYI, this would also mean that any of the attachments you get (large blade, vertical support & scissors clamp etc would be swappable and work on any of my other Leading Edge upgrade systems.
 
777 Edge said:
Here are some pics of what I've designed for the Toohr#3 thus far:

Extension block (bottom) and magnetic platform (top)

View attachment 1959438


Parking hook adapter for a TSProf parking hook. This works much better than the Toohr one.

View attachment 1959439


Spacer tubes for 4 and 6 inch stones so there is no need to use a bunch of springs. 6 inch stone spacer shown in pic.

View attachment 1959437


I also swapped out the M6 thumb screws for much nicer and bigger ones. The original ones are too small.

View attachment 1959436
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Hey bud, any idea when Gritomatic will have the extension blocks for sale? I was looking to buy the a Leading Edge magnetic platform, a couple of diamond plates and add this to the order but do not see it.
Thanks!
 
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