Jim McFarland
07-29-2009, 9:15 PM
Summary:
Highly recommended if you prefer to sharpen on a Tormek, you already have a bench grinder and you want to save time shaping tool grinds. If you have a Wolverine or similar (or freehand sharpen) and are happy with grinder shaping/sharpening then I doubt the BGM-100 offers any value to you.
The reason I bought it:
I worked 45 minutes on the Tormek using a new SB-250 stone trying to re-shape a new Lacer 5/8" skew. I wanted a radius grind using standard TTS-100/SVS-50 settings. I gave up when it seemed I was about 50% done. I saw the BGM-100 info on the Tormek site, purchased and installed on my Woodcraft slow speed grinder. I re-shaped the skew on the grinder in about 5 minutes. My grinder and Tormek wheels are a different diameter so I spent another 10 minutes finish sharpening on the Tormek. In my experience, future sharpenings will only take a couple of minutes with standard TTS-100 and SVS-50 settings (TTS hole B, SVS-50 30*, P=65mm). I'm happy!
More info if you haven't drifted off yet:
To be clear, I am a newbie turner so take these comments in that context:
Pros:
Fast re-shaping using your normal Tormek jigs (45 minutes + as I never finished on the Lacer skew down to 15 minutes total (5 on grinder, another 10 on Tormek))
Typical Tormek excellent fit & finish
30 minute installation for me because I already had my grinder on a platform -- I did have to shift the grinder to the left 45 mm to accommodate the mount. I did study the illustrations/diagrams for several minutes prior to install, so call it 45 minutes total (see instructions con comment below)
Cons:
A bit pricey at ~$57, but that does include a tool rest/universal support (US-105 - $38 value) and anyone using a Tormek knows the benefit of an extra tool support arm!
Instructions are a bit spotty, but the diagrams/dimensions are reasonably clear. I had to derive the location of mount relative to the front of the grinder (example diagram had it on the edge of an 8" platform for an 8" grinder so not that tough to figure out).
Not all Tormek jigs are supported (probably something to do with grinder wheels normally shrouded in a cover) but all those I use for turning tools are: TTS-100, SVD-185 (swept-back gouge jig), SVS-50 (skews and straight gouges) and SVD-110 (tool rest for scrapers)
Neutral:
Not sure the best way to get the grinder wheel dressed parallel to the support bar -- I use a LV single point diamond dresser so I just put it in an older SVH-60 straight edge jig to dress the wheel. I thought about using the Tormek truing tool, but (a) I didn't want to risk ruining the truing tool using on the much higher speed grinder and (b) almost no room for support arm adjusting nut movement in this application. The BGM-100 manual recommends a standard diamond wheel dresser but I don't have one!
Some photos of the setup and feel free to ask any questions (but remember, I am a newbie!). I bought mine from Jeff Farris' sharptoolsusa online store.
Highly recommended if you prefer to sharpen on a Tormek, you already have a bench grinder and you want to save time shaping tool grinds. If you have a Wolverine or similar (or freehand sharpen) and are happy with grinder shaping/sharpening then I doubt the BGM-100 offers any value to you.
The reason I bought it:
I worked 45 minutes on the Tormek using a new SB-250 stone trying to re-shape a new Lacer 5/8" skew. I wanted a radius grind using standard TTS-100/SVS-50 settings. I gave up when it seemed I was about 50% done. I saw the BGM-100 info on the Tormek site, purchased and installed on my Woodcraft slow speed grinder. I re-shaped the skew on the grinder in about 5 minutes. My grinder and Tormek wheels are a different diameter so I spent another 10 minutes finish sharpening on the Tormek. In my experience, future sharpenings will only take a couple of minutes with standard TTS-100 and SVS-50 settings (TTS hole B, SVS-50 30*, P=65mm). I'm happy!
More info if you haven't drifted off yet:
To be clear, I am a newbie turner so take these comments in that context:
Pros:
Fast re-shaping using your normal Tormek jigs (45 minutes + as I never finished on the Lacer skew down to 15 minutes total (5 on grinder, another 10 on Tormek))
Typical Tormek excellent fit & finish
30 minute installation for me because I already had my grinder on a platform -- I did have to shift the grinder to the left 45 mm to accommodate the mount. I did study the illustrations/diagrams for several minutes prior to install, so call it 45 minutes total (see instructions con comment below)
Cons:
A bit pricey at ~$57, but that does include a tool rest/universal support (US-105 - $38 value) and anyone using a Tormek knows the benefit of an extra tool support arm!
Instructions are a bit spotty, but the diagrams/dimensions are reasonably clear. I had to derive the location of mount relative to the front of the grinder (example diagram had it on the edge of an 8" platform for an 8" grinder so not that tough to figure out).
Not all Tormek jigs are supported (probably something to do with grinder wheels normally shrouded in a cover) but all those I use for turning tools are: TTS-100, SVD-185 (swept-back gouge jig), SVS-50 (skews and straight gouges) and SVD-110 (tool rest for scrapers)
Neutral:
Not sure the best way to get the grinder wheel dressed parallel to the support bar -- I use a LV single point diamond dresser so I just put it in an older SVH-60 straight edge jig to dress the wheel. I thought about using the Tormek truing tool, but (a) I didn't want to risk ruining the truing tool using on the much higher speed grinder and (b) almost no room for support arm adjusting nut movement in this application. The BGM-100 manual recommends a standard diamond wheel dresser but I don't have one!
Some photos of the setup and feel free to ask any questions (but remember, I am a newbie!). I bought mine from Jeff Farris' sharptoolsusa online store.