Attention TORMEK Users

[Jim Watkins]

I have a question regarding bowl gouge settings.

I am really new to turning bowls and have had a few setbacks with catching the wood when approaching the project. I think part of my problem is the grind on my tools. Specifically my new 3/8" Bowl Gouge.

I understand that the fingernail grind or the Ellsworth grind might be best for beginners. My question...

Which grind and settings would you recommend for beginners. I have the whole TORMEK setup and all turning jigs but want advice.
P setting
JS setting
whole from tts 100 setter (A or B)

Thanks guys...

[Gordon Seto]

Jim,

There is no best grind. All grinds would have some compromises. The sharper the nose angle, the less effort it would take to slice through, but at the sacrifice of durability of the edge. The angle also effects the bevel gliding on the interior of the bowl as shown in this article.

http://www.woodturningdesign.com/askdale/14/14.shtml

The Tormek manual has very good information on sharpening bowl gouges. If you think Ellsworth is what you want, it has a setting for it described in the manual. How you present the edge to the blank is as important as the grind.

[Jeff Farris]

Jim,

In my opinion, the Ellsworth grind would most decidedly not be a good choice for a beginner. There is far more cutting edge ground than needs to be, making catches more likely and more disastrous.

The #2 setting bowl gouge (jig setting #2, P-65 and the outside hole of the TTS-100) is a very nice introduction to a side grind gouge.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

A traditional grind is a much easier cutting edge to start learning with, just don't try making the new turners dog dish bowl, like we all seem to want to make as a new turner, try to make a nice shallow bowl with easy curves, or a rounded bottom salad bowl, it will be far easier to turn that, and much better looking when done :)

[Jim Watkins]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I will take Jeff's advice and stay away from the ellsworth for now. I'll try the setting you suggest Jeff and go from there.

Thanks guys.

[Don Geiger]

As some of you may know, I invented an aftermarket product for the Wolverine system called: “Geiger’s Vertical Solution”. I have sold over 1,400 of these to Wolverine users that wanted to improve the accuracy and repeatability when sharpening their gouges.

I have been asked many times if I would design a new system, with the attributes of the Vertical Solution, that would work on a Tormek. Late in 2009 I finished the design and testing and went into production (see photo below) of just such a system.

The system supports whatever jig you choose to use (Vari-Grind, Ellsworth, etc.) and can be moved back and forth between a bench grinder and a Tormek in just a few seconds and produces identical grinds on each. The system has positive stop collars that can be adjusted for each grinder during the initial set up.

The idea is that one can shape a gouge on a bench grinder and move the system to a Tormek and maintain the grind. The only difference you will get on the bevel is the slight difference in the amount of hollow grind, but once you apply the bevel to the larger Tormek wheel it takes about a minute to change the hollow grind to match the larger diameter wheel. Since most people will probably continue to maintain the grind on the Tormek this only has to be done once.

The system does require you to mount a Wolverine receiver underneath your Tormek (see photo below).


Sincerely,
Don Geiger