Sharpening question

[Greg Hairston]

Well I have my Lathe. I purchased a set of beginners tools and I have a question about sharpening.
I have a Tormek and a slow speed generic grinder with a 80 grit white and pink stone. I have no tool rest on the grinder. Should I invest in the veritas tool stands, the wolverine jigs, the tormek jigs or a combination of these. Please provide recommendations.
I have also seen homemade wolverine type jigs. what do you think about that option. Is the Tormek good for Turning tools. Help I am soooo confused...

Greg

[Chris Lee]

Greg,

You can do everything you want to do on the Tormek. The only problem is the Tormek is slow, but many turners use it. I like the slow speed grinder with a jig. I use the Woodcut Tru Grind from CraftSupplies which is similar to the wolverine. I think the wolverine is the most popular, but most of the jigs on the market all do basicly the same thing. The nice thing about these jigs with the slow speed grinder is that you can reproduce the same grind easily and quickly. There are people that do it by hand with no jig, but I am not there yet!

Chris

[Jim Becker]

I am most fond of the Wolverine system on a "regular" grinder for turning tools. And yes, you can build a similar arrangement from wood or metal if you want to. What's important is the utility you get to hold the tool steady for a consistent (and light) grind without facets and other problems that occur by hand sharpening. Even the pros have mostly moved to jigs because they (reluctantly at first) admit that the consistency of grind is good for the craft.

[Keith Nielsen]

I agree with Jim B. Wolverine seems to be the most popular I made my own home made jigs at first. But even with the best wood and screws. no matter what over time, it will become loose and change the shape of the grind. After I sold some bowls then I went to a Wolverine. Best money I ever spent.

Good luck
Keith

[Glenn Hodges]

I use the Woverine Jig and a slow speed grinder. A friend of mine has the Tormek with the bowl gouge jig and loves it. If you already have the Tormek you might want to check out the bowl jig for the Tormek.

[Greg Hairston]

I just picked up the Wolverine system at my local woodworking shop. I think I will leave the Tormek for what it does best. I may pick up the bowl grind later to refine the edge but for now I think I am good...

Thanks for the repies.

Greg

[Steven Wilson]

I have the Tormek and Wolverine systems and have become reasonably proficient at using each. I picked up the Wolverine/dry grinder system primarily for major tool reshaping operations and because all of my turning friends (and our turning club) use the Wolverine system. The Wolverine system is also handy in the wintertime when my shop is usually below freezing when I'm not there. I do like the Wolverine system and am quite satisfied with it. However, I still prefer to use the Tormek because it leaves a better edge than the Wolverine system and I find low rpm wet grinders to have a much reduced pucker factor than a dry grinder. As for speed, I find that a properly jigged Tormek system is as fast at sharpening a turning tool as the Wolverine system; reshaping misformed edges of course is another matter.

[sascha gast]

i also have both, the wolverine and the tormek, but i have to tell you that there is no chance that the tormek is as fast, not even in theory, no way. if i sharpen my gouge on an 80grit wheel it sure goes faster than the tormek. i will never use my tormek for turning tools again after seeing the results of the grinder. the edge might be prettier, but not as aggressive. if i want a smoother cut, i grind on the 120 grit wheel, but for most things i do, 80 grit is great. i don't even spend much time removing the burr, just a quick slip and that's it, off i go to turn.
sascha

[Raymond Overman]

I'm currently using a roll your own adjustable arm made with 2x4 and the Ellsworth Jig. My father has a wolverine system with the vari-grind attachment.

I can't get the grind on my bowl gouges with it that I can with my setup. I think it has to do with the variable angles that the vari-grind attachment has and it just doesn't hit the mark for me. My father however, likes the grind he gets from it.

I guess it's just what you get used to.

[Ken Salisbury]

* * *WOLVERINE * * *

[Steven Wilson]

i also have both, the wolverine and the tormek, but i have to tell you that there is no chance that the tormek is as fast, not even in theory, no way. if i sharpen my gouge on an 80grit wheel it sure goes faster than the tormek. Sascha, getting the gouge to the wheel is as fast on the Tormek as it is with the Wolverine system, that is if you have them jigged properly. It takes hardley any time to touch up the edge with the Tormek or Wolverine (10-20sec max), and the Tormek edge is finer and lasts a bit longer. If you're at all concerned with the finish you get from the skew when taking a shearing cut then sharpen it on the Tormek (or bench stones), of course if you enjoy tearout use the Wolverine.