GunRunner

On my X-01, I've used both the orange wheel that came with the machine and now I'm using the ruby wheel. All of the wheels have runout on them and when turned my hand, you can see it wobble. Obviously once the machine spins the wheel up to its max RPM, you can't see the wobble. I'm pretty anal and feel from a machining standpoint, the wheels should be as close to true as possible and the runout that the machine has, bothers me. With that being said, the machine yields a nice grind and I am able to get even edges so I guess I have to just get over some things.

Thank you very much, that's what I was thinking but wanted to make sure. This is LS2 steel so at least I won't have to deal with inferior steel. Thanks again.

Quick question regarding new steel. I thought I read somewhere that for new steel, just sharpen them twice and that is good. I have an X-01 and I'm not getting them profiled so I will sharpen them for the first time on my machine. Is there anything special I should do? I have searched high and low for the answer and I can't seem to find it. Thanks

Thanks for the info, I happened to stumble on their website trying to search for someone in the US. They didn't have the 4" wheels listed so I emailed them to see if they had them. If they jack the price up on the wheels to equal Blackstone's price, then I will give Blackstone my business over them. Too bad someone couldn't get set up as a supplier in the states for just the accessories and sell them that way. The $28 shipping charge isn't really that bad considering it's an international shipment, but it's just hard to swallow when it turns an $18 wheel into $46. Again, not Blackstones fault it just is what it is.

Does anyone in the US have a source for grinding wheels for the X series machines? Nothing against Blackstone but I hate to pay $28 shipping for an $18 wheel and I don't want to buy $150 worth of wheels to get free shipping. If there was someone in the US that stocked the wheels and spinners and kept the cost down by shipping USPS, that would be great.

I e-mailed Blackstone about the orientation of the spinner and they told me that the numbers always faces the ceiling.

I just wanted to share something real quick with this thread. I have read all 125 pages of this post and decided to purchase an X01 and end my 15 year hiatus of skate sharpening. A team mate of mine has been sharpening mine and my sons skates with the 100/75 FBV and I love it so much, which is why I decided to purchase the X01. After ordering online, I called Blackstone with some technical questions and spoke with Mark. Mark was extremely helpful, informative and professional and an all around good guy to talk to. After receiving my X01 on Tuesday, there was a slight issue with my order and I called once again and spoke with another representative, I think his name was Liam. Liam as well was extremely helpful and professional and rectified my issue. I can't say enough nice things about Blackstone and the caliber of people that they have working for them. They are truly a stand up company and they have my business from here on out. Their level customer service would be the deciding factor if I was ever on the fence between Blackstone and another company. Lucky for me, I don't ever plan on leaving the FBV so Blackstone is a no-brainer for me.