Record Power WG200 wet stone grinder

[Andrew1]

Hi looking for some advice if possible. I received a Record power wet stone grinder for Xmas. Have been pleased generally with it, a few niggles but nothing major. Last week, whilst sharpening a chisel in accordance with their recommendations, i heard a loud bang and then smoke appearing from the back, although the wheel was still turning. Having switched the grinder off, i left it 15 mins and then restarted it. Smoke appeared again although no bangs.
I have returned the grinder to Record power, who have checked the unit and advise that nothing is wrong with it. They have made the point that there is surface rust, on the top which would indicate that the top has got wet. I have also been basically told that i dont know how to sharpen a chisel, as water should not get on the top.
Has anyone else had these issues, re water on the top, smoking etc

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I had the SIP version.
The seal between the wet tank, worm drive gear box failed, letting water track into the motor.
Screwfix were next to useless in sorting it out, But SIP did, new machine.

Best advice I can give is:
Fill the tank about 1/3 full, switch on and watch the stone. You want the face and the sides full wet, top up until it is.
Oh they work better, if they are fixed to the bench.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I have a similar thing (Rutlands). It's the second one. On the first the motor blew up. This one has a piece of milk carton bolted to the side next to the wheel as a water deflector.

The idea that a wet-process machine with an electric motor doesn't need to be reasonably waterproof would be quite interesting to Trading Standards and probably Elf'n'Safety too. If you get nowhere regarding a replacement you might want to drop that into the mix somewhere. A general recall on the product would hurt them a lot more than simply replacing yours.

So my bit of milk carton is because I was fed up with a puddle forming on the benchtop. It doesn't really help much. I can't see how you can avoid it when wet-sharpening any edge that's wider than the wheel - plane irons, scissors, kitchen knives, planer knives, axes, etc.

I have two support bars, one to the top and one to the front, so always use the most suitable one, and the milk carton stops water going down the gap between the body and the trough, yet it still wees everywhere.

The whole idea is a design classic, just like this was: