Tri-lie calibration block

[Geo18 0]

Could someone please provide me with the measurement specification of a tri-lie holder calibration block.

Thanks

Geo18

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

For what holder? Standard, X01 or X02?

[Geo18 0]

Standard, blackstone 2 head sharpener

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I'll get you the measurement tomorrow.

[Geo18 0]

Sweet.

[GunRunner 28]

I hope the calibration block works for you and your machine better than it does for me and my X-01. Unless I misunderstood, the calibration block doesn't even get me close to where the holder should be and is way off. I was under the impression that the block was supposed to set the holder back to factory settings, which is supposed to put the skate blade as close to the center of the dressing as possible where the diamond (or spinner in my case) dresses the stone

[Geo18 0]

That was the impression I was under also. Just bought this unit and noticed the holder was on a bit of an angle so I used a caliper gauge and levelled the adjustment plate so that the anvil was set at 4.45" which was the spec blackstone tech support quoted me. However they would not be specific about the calibration block measurement. As I don't have a calibration block but have gauges that could easily check the gap I was just going to measure and see how close I was after knowing the size of the calibration block.

[jrgretzky99 1]

I just spent about 3 hours recalibrating my holder on the x02. I used a caliper and depth mic'd the top of the upper plate next to each knob to the upper part of the base plate. After all my measurements I found that each corner should be .820" from from the top of the upper plate to the top of the bottom plate. That put me on drop dead center of the wheel and I made only small adjustments while grinding after that. Each one is a little bit different. I hope this helps you.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I'm sorry I didn't get you the measurement, but it was busy and I forgot. But those guys are indeed correct; it isn't needed.

I made the mistake of buying one for one of my stores, and I had to take it away because he kept on tinkering with it.

I'll still get you the measurement today.

[GunRunner 28]

As much as I really like my X-01, I do think that the fit and finish and QC at Blackstone is something to be desired. I don't know if they assemble the actual machine in house or the holder but I have a feeling they aren't being checked correctly. If I had to make a guess, whoever is assembling the sharpener and specifically setting the arbor for the grinding wheel, they are not doing it correctly. I can tell you that my spinner does not dress the stone in the center of the stone and is off, enough to annoy me but not enough to tear into it and adjust the wheel arbor. With the spinner being a rigid mount, the wheel arbor needs to be set correctly at whatever the correct dimension is so that the spinner dresses the center of the stone. I would hope that whoever is assembling the wheel arbor, they have a jig that they use to quickly and precisely set the wheel arbor instead of either eyeballing it or trying to measure each one individually. The arbor isn't manufactured to a tight tolerance either, my wheel has a a lot of run out. For those who are not familiar with run out, it is when a round object isn't true. If I spin my wheel by hand, I can see my wheel rise and fall in certain spots like it is wobbly. With manufacturing, there is always a +/- as to how much run out is acceptable but when you can see it with the naked eye and it is more than noticeable, that is too much for my standards. Once the wheel spins up to the to 5500 RPM's, the wobble is not noticeable at all and doesn't necessarily affect the sharpening because the wheel speed spins faster than the amount of run out that is present. In theory, if the wheel arbor is set up correctly and the holder is set up correctly, you should be able to use the calibration block and set the holder to the correct height for the wheel. I also purchased a calibration block and it is just a useless piece of metal that I wasted my money on. I can say that I was so fed up with my X-01 out of the box that I was ready to return it. My holder was completely out of whack and I kept using the calibration block which screwed things up even more. I finally broke out my measuring calipers and started at square one. I had to find out where the center of the dressing was on the stone and then adjust the holder so that the center of the steel is at the center of the dressing. I am pretty OCD and anal and with a manufacturing and machining background, this was unacceptable for me. I know have my machine setup the way it should be and the way I want it so all is good. I can honestly say that if I wasn't so pleased with the FBV, I would've returned the X-01 and went with a Blademaster or Wissota.

[GunRunner 28]

Not to steal JR's thunder but here are the measurements of my calibration block for the "TRI -LIE". Hopefully JR's block comes up with the same measurement and the calibration blocks are consistent.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

27/32"

[AfftonDad 88]

+1 for using a caliper. After I received my calibration block, I found I didn't have much use for it. Ended up using a flat piece of aluminum clamped into the holder and used either calipers or a digital level until aluminum piece is level (relative to the table the holder is sitting on). Once I get everything level, then I mark the positions on the knobs and plate so that I can always get back to that "level" position. When adjusting for a skate, I always move all three knobs by the same about until I'm either dead on or one end is high and the other is low. Once I'm there I make adjustments to just the toe/heel without adjusting pitch. After sharpening, I set the knobs back to the nominal marked position on the knobs. Just to make things easier, I recorded the number of clicks (when moving the three knobs together) that I had to move the holder up or down for each skate that I did for a while and then took the average. I then moved the three knobs this average number of clicks and then replaced the marks with the new position. This way, I'm closer to the correct "average" height for all of the skates I do.

[x-track 8]

.......the calibration block can only help you as long as your holder is like new ......once its worn and the felt is a lot thinner on the left side your calibration block is nothing more than a guessing tool .

and ...as already mentioned ....the Spinners and arbors have so much tolerance/play that there are more important issues than the calibration block

[GunRunner 28]

Whether the felt is new or old, that does not interfere with the calibration block and the set up of the holder. The block is supposed to be placed between the base of the holder and the deck that has the three adjustment knobs. You orient the block to the side that is for your holder and then place it between the base of the holder and the adjustable deck. You then adjust the deck down so that it touches the calibration block evenly on all three corners and then it is "supposed" to be set back to factory height. When I set my holder to the height of the calibration block, it was no where close. Blackstone should be setting the height of the arbor for the stone so that the spinner dresses the center of the stone and the calibration block should set the holder so that the center of the skate steel should be relatively close to the center of the dressing on the stone. None the less, everything on mine was out of whack when I got it and it took me hours to get it set up to where it needed to be.

[GunRunner 28]

once its worn and the felt is a lot thinner on the left side your calibration block is nothing more than a guessing tool .

After thinking about this more, I can see where your coming from. Worn felt will ultimately change the overall height of the holder itself and where the skate steel would match up to the stone. This will also take place over a period of time so it won't be a significant amount of adjustment immediately.

[x-track 8]

you got me now !! ...but there 's adjusting all the time ...as Spinners are inconsistent and steel thickness varies a lot

[jimmy 194]

It doesn't matter if the holder is centered on the middle of the stone, what matters is if the holder is centered on where the FBV shape is cut in the stone, that could be lower or higher than the center of the stone.

[Geo18 0]

Just want to say thanks for the calibration block spec. Also the conversation it's generated I'm finding of great value.

[GunRunner 28]

It doesn't matter if the holder is centered on the middle of the stone, what matters is if the holder is centered on where the FBV shape is cut in the stone, that could be lower or higher than the center of the stone.

Finding the center of where the spinner dressed the stone was the hardest part for me. Luckily I had a 100/75 spinner that allowed me to really see the dressing on the stone when the stone was spinning at speed and find the middle of the dressing.

[AfftonDad 88]

As has been stated, the wheel (arbor) centering relative to the spinner is not critical (as long as it is not grossly out). However, there are those of us who's personality types force us to get it as close as we can to centered! As far as blade centered to dressing (and therefore spinner), the only way you can truly do that in my opinion is with an edge checker.