Viel modification thoughts

[Ken S]

I was in my shop earlier to check some mounting bolt specs for the Gen III conversion instructions. After I had everything back together, I noticed a taper punch sitting on a nearby shelf. This is a new acquisition for me, part of an old toolbox I cleaned out for a relative. The box had been stored for years in a damp garage. This punch was a nice older Cornwall tool. Except for the light, but obvious surface rust it was in good shape. I popped the green (fine grit) Scotch Brite belt on the Viel and turned it on at medium speed. Within a very few minutes all the surface rust was gone. A quick belt change to 120 grit, and the slight head mushrooming and the minor tip damage were removed.

After five minutes of enjoyable shop time I now have another tool in good condition. Not a sharpening project, but a good project demonstrating the versatility of the modified Viel. (The Kally would have worked equally well; the Viel was just closer at hand.)

Ken

[Bud]

Now your punch story fits my outlook on life perfectly Ken. Took a propane bottle to be refilled the other day and where the old label on the bottle had peeled off there was some light surface rust. The young lady at the refill station refused to fill it because it was "corroded". I don't argue with young people anymore. It's a waste of time because they're all smarter than me. I returned home, sanded off the label adhesive, and painted over the spot with a spray can of white paint. I then returned to the station and she gladly refilled the repaired bottle. It's really amazing what a coat of paint can do for the structural integrity of a propane bottle.

[grepper]

Mr. Ken – Good for you!  I too enjoy rescuing old tools.  So often tools are discarded when with a little TLC they are good for another lifetime of use.  Many times old tools are better than the disposable junk sold today.  It seems that now days if something gets a little rusty it’s discarded.  I especially enjoy using a tool I have saved.

I’ve found electrolysis works extremely well.  You don’t have to abrade the surfece the tool to remove rust, just give it a dunk in the tank and you are good to go.  It also removes rust in the nooks and crannies that are sometimes very difficult or impossible to get to by abrasion.  Making an electrolysis tank is super easy and hours of fun for ages 10 and up.  Two wires, some soap and a bucket is all it takes.
 
Mr. Bud -  ROFL!  True.  True.  Great story.  So, funny, (sad?), but true.  I got a good chuckle from your post.  Thank you.

I fairly recently retied from a lifetime in IT, which was probably a good thing as I was becoming sort or an anachronism. I’m not trying to knock the younger generation, but what I found troubling was that a lot of the young “men” I worked with, though intelligent, couldn’t even change a tire if their life depended on it. Seems reasonable, after all, what does life have to do with Twitface, Mybook or Spaceplace?

It is true that there is an alarming increase in emergency room admittances due to injuries of people walking into traffic or falling off stuff because their minds are focused in the 3x6” world in their cell phones. But not to worry. There is an app for that! It displays a little image in a corner of the cell phone screen from the rear camera of the phone to show you where you are walking. As long as you can tear your eyes away from your latest "like" you are good to go!

[Ken S]

I recently had a eureka moment which may benefit our members who would be interested in converting a Viel at minimum cost. I have gone through great pains to keep the two motor brushes accessible without needing to remove the motor. (This meant keeping them at 3 and 9 o'clock for easy access with a screwdriver.)

I will do this no longer. My poor Viel frame looks like Swiss cheese after mounting several different plates. I have removed and replaced the motor so many times. It finally dawned on me that removing the motor is just loosening four screws (removing three of them). The process takes less than thirty seconds and has become second nature. 

What is tedious is trying to use the bracket provided by Viel getting the brush compartments aligned just so. The bracket itself works fine. Now I would just fit the bracket to the frame (with the motor hole properly aligned, which I will cover later). I would let the brushes be wherever they happen to be.

Please do not misunderstand me. I still believe the bessex designed plates are still the preferred option.  The plates align almost automatically. The motor bolt alignment holes are precisely laid out and drilled. They make very good drill guides. These plates, as well as the modified drive pulleys (bored out from 1/2” to 15mm) are available from sharpeningmadeeasy.com. If you are lucky enough to snag one of the limited edition plates made by Mike with the Rolls Royce quality black finish, you may want to display your Viel in your best parlor. The metal finish plates work just as well; they just aren't as stunning.

I wrote this to give hope to our members who are unable to obtain a plate or on very limited budgets.


I will post a simple method of aligning the bracket included with the PSI motor as a plate soon.

Ken

[EOU]

Thanks for keeping everyone abreast of your latest findings here Ken. This has been a very popular topic on the Exchange and we thank you for taking the time to update it periodically.