Tormek sharpening advice

[Eric Gourieux]

I have a Tormek that I use for sharpening my turning tools, and I've been happy with it until recently. I am considering replacing the old original stone with the Tormek Blackstone. It is apparently designed for HSS. Has anybody used the Blackstone on their Tormek? Any benefits/disadvantages?

[Chris Studley]

You say that you have been happy.. What changed?

I have the Grizzly clone and teh stone isn't that great but I'm happy enough. What is the problem at hand that makes you want to switch to the Black stone.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

What did happen that you're not happy? That may affect the reason you want the BS wheel.

I have a BS wheel, I like it. It sharpens faster, grooves less than the grey one. I think it should last longer, although I didn't wear out the grey one yet. I've had the BS for a couple years. The only disadvantage I can think of is the cost. They claim it to be the same grit after using the smoothing stone, but in my OPINION, the grey wheel seems to put forth a finer edge.

[allen thunem]

if memory serves that stone is almost 200 bucks isnt it?
You can buy a cbn wheel for less money and not have to worry about constantly truing it up. got rid of my tormek and bought the cbn wheel and have never had sharper tools
just one man's opinion

[Eric Gourieux]

Recently, I feel like my original stone "gooves" easier than it used to and requires truing up more often. It does put a nice edge on the tools, though. It is also getting smaller and will need to be replaced in the near future for that reason alone. One of the Tormek forums said that a stone becomes more difficult to use once it reaches 7 inches or so in diameter.

I don't have a slow grinder so the cbn wheels have not been a consideration before. But if I'm going to pay $200 for a new Tormek stone, I may reconsider. That is part of why I'm interested in other's experience. I have read a lot of great things about the cbn wheel here on SMC. I will occasionally change the grind on a particular tool, and that is a real PAIN with the gray Tormek stone.

[Roger Chandler]

I have the Jet clone of the Tormek along with all the attachments and jigs.............for turning...........I don't think a CBN wheel and a wolverine jig can be beat............I do use my Jet clone of the Tormek for sharpening my planer and jointer knives and occasionally a chisel or block plane blade.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The BS wheel runs from 180 to 200 bucks. The CBN wheels are'nt exactly cheap either, plus the grinder. The good thing is you can buy the Tormek adapter and use your curent jigs. The BS wheel will not make RESHAPING much easier. But since youre grey wheel is small already, you'll have to buy another wheel if you want to continue using it. The grey and black are the same price.

If you reshape a lot, I'd invest in a dry grinder. The Tormek is not good for that. I don't re-shape a lot. Once I find a good grind, I stick with it. In fact, I bought an additional jig so I don't have to change angles. One for each angle I like. Someday I'll have a dry grinder, so I can reshape a tool.... I just got my Woodcraft 10% off happy birthday card. Maybe I'll use it on a grinder.:)

[Scott Conners]

Recently, I feel like my original stone "gooves" easier than it used to and requires truing up more often. It does put a nice edge on the tools, though. It is also getting smaller and will need to be replaced in the near future for that reason alone. One of the Tormek forums said that a stone becomes more difficult to use once it reaches 7 inches or so in diameter.
Smaller diameter means less surface area, which means faster wear, and more often refacing, which means smaller wheel, which means less surface, which means even faster wear, etc. It's not your imagination :D

I have a variable speed dry grinder, which is really nice when it comes time to reshape a HSS tool. Honestly it could just as well have a hi-lo speed switch, I don't think I've ever used it on an in-between setting. Cranking it up to 3450 rpm really makes a difference when shaping a new grind, and with modern HSS tools, you don't have to worry about heat or anything. I don't have CBN wheels yet, but white AlOx wheels work just fine on my budget.

[Pat Scott]

I wore the original Tormek white wheel down to 6" or 7" and replaced it with a Blackstone. If there is a difference between them it's not much, certainly not night and day. Or maybe it's just that I've gotten used to the Blackstone and don't remember how my white wheel was? The Blackstone still grooves and still needs to be trued. I bought a Woodcraft dry grinder on sale and put a 46 grit Norton 3X, and 80 grit Norton SG wheel on it. I only use my Tormek for sharpening bowl gouges, everything else is sharpened on the grinder. I do like the way a Tormek sharpens a bowl gouge and doesn't remove much material. But you're right, trying to change a grind on the Tormek took forever. I bought the kit for using Tormek jigs on a grinder but haven't mounted it yet.