Which Bench Grinder

[Ed Gibbons]

I will be looking to sharpen chisels and hand planes. The Tormek looks to be the top of the line but there are others like the Rikon that are much less expensive that appear to do the job. Is the Tormek worth the extra money?

Thanks

[Dave Cav]

A Tormek is only for sharpening. A bench grinder can be used for sharpening, rough grinding, wire wheeling, buffing, lots of different things depending on what you mount on the arbor. If ALL you plan to do is sharpen, and you can afford it a Tormek would probably be fine, but a good bench grinder is more versatile. My main sharpening grinder is a Jet 8" "woodworking" grinder, that is, it runs at about 1700 rpm instead of 3600. It works fine but if I was going to do it again I would probably get the Rinkon 80-805 low speed grinder, which wasn't available when I got the Jet.

[justin sherriff]

You are talking about the rikon 82-100 https://www.rikontools.com/product/82-100
vs the Tormek? if so there are all so other Tormek knock offs from grizzly and wen for cheaper.
Sorry I can not help all I have is a hand crank grinder witch I do like.

[Derek Cohen]

I will be looking to sharpen chisels and hand planes. The Tormek looks to be the top of the line but there are others like the Rikon that are much less expensive that appear to do the job. Is the Tormek worth the extra money?

Thanks

Hi Ed

The Power Tool forum has many blended woodworkers, such as myself. However, the Hand Tool forum is where you will get more answers ... at your own risk :)

I used a Tormek for many years. I consider it a grinder, because it is the hand sanding (I use water stones) that gets your blades sharp enough, not the powered strop on the Tormek. As a grinder it is very slow (and expensive). I moved some years ago to CBN wheels which, at the time were not used by flat woodworkers, although quite well known to turners. This proved to be a game changer, and I blogged about it. Now it is the recognised best method increasingly adopted by many.

CBN wheels are best paired with a half-speed 8" grinder, although a full speed 6" grinder is better value. The 8" creates a shallower hollow, which I prefer for a stronger edge. A 180 grit CBN wheel is a good all rounder.

Please read the article at this link: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/UltimateGrindingSharpeningSetUp.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Larry Frank]

I read Derek's article and well written and informative.

[Ed Gibbons]

I appreciate the feedback. Looks like the slow speed Rikon with CBN wheels is a good way to go. Another option I have read if just using flat water stones. What do you fellows think? Rikon, water stones, or both?

[Derek Cohen]

Ed, you need both. A grinder simply creates a hollow primary bevel. This makes sharpening easier. The waterstones do the sharpening.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom M King]

If you're just doing woodworking, making a few pieces of furniture a year, you can easily get by without having a grinder. The only time you would really need one is if you drop a chisel on the floor, or hit something with a plane iron that damages an edge. No grinder really gets a chisel or iron really sharp.

I have owned a couple of Tormeks, and sold them after I first bought a CBN wheel. I work in old, museum houses, and can't use the CBN grinder inside them because of the mess it makes. For that reason, I'm going back to a wet grinder, but can't really justify buying anything on the market right now. I never used the leather wheels on the Tormeks. What I'm waiting for, or will have to build myself, is a wet grinder that can run two wheels, and has a reverse. I have a large, portable sink with drainboard that gets used for various things, including sharpening, and can contain the mess. A wet grinder makes some mess that's wet, but its easily contained in a small area.

The good thing about the CBN wheels is that you never have to spend time truing, or balancing the wheel, and grinder. That saves a lot of time since your setups are always the same for grinding the same angles. Tormek has come out with Diamond stones, which will have the same advantage. It's better to run CBN wheels dry, and diamond stones wet. I'm hoping Tormek will come out with a machine that will run two diamond stones, and has a reverse. A finer wheel, and reverse is good enough for some turning tools, but if you don't do lathe work, you don't really need those.

If you don't really need a grinder, you can get by with an extra coarse diamond stone, and whatever your preference is in stones. Or, you can just use a coarse water stone, or even a Carborundum stone. My current favorite coarse stone is a King 300, which is different than all the other stones in the King line. I don't use any other King stones, but go progressively finer in Sigma's from there up. Whichever coarse stone/plate you decide on can handle almost any edge that needs changing, but will take a Lot of time if a chunk gets taken out of an edge. If you take great care of your edges, you can easily get by without a grinder though.

[David M Peters]

Hey Ed, my advice would be to invest in a hand-powered, flat setup (stones, diamond plates, sandpaper, etc.) before getting a grinder. And I would advocate picking a flat setup over a Tormek, tool. I had a Tormek for a few years and could never get as good of an edge as with my modest ceramic setup.

BUT - Changing bevel angles by hand is a slow and frustrating process so you'll eventually break down and get a dry grinder. But at that point you'll be able to buy the right thing for the tasks you know you need it for.