Is this Tormek worth it?

[David Bolson]

I have the opportunity to buy this for $300. It includes what is shown in the pictures. Most of my sharpening would be wood lathe related. Can someone tell me what the jigs in the last picture are for?

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[Mark Bolton]

Thats the planer jointer blade jig. 300 is a steal deal

[Tom M King]

I would buy it in a hurry, knowing that I probably would have to change the shaft, the next time a wheel needed changing, to the new stainless steel replacement. The new ones have the stainless shaft, but with those jigs, buy it quick.

[Andrew Hughes]

That’s a good price

[Derek Cohen]

I’ll be the one to advise against this Tormek. Not that I think that there is anything wrong with this machine - I owned the very same one. It offered good service while I used it. It did rust out terribly, and you can forget about changing the wheel - this generation did not offer a stainless steel shaft, and the wheel rusted to it.

The reason I say no is that it is not the best grinder for a turner. The wheel cuts slowly - at its coarsest it is 220 grit, and this allied to a slow speed. I think that it is 120 rpm. The chisels you use are likely to be HSS, and grinding will be a chore. The wheel will wear quickly, and you will be dressing it frequently.

Far, far better is a 8” bench grinder, and add a CBN wheel (don’t think to do so on the Tormek, as you will not get the wheel off the shaft). This is a fast system, which requires little maintenance. If this is too expensive, you could get a 6” bench grinder plus 180 grit CBN wheel for under $300, and then add a second CBN wheel later. 180 grit is a good allrounder, and a 600 grit would give you a finished edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Steve Rozmiarek]

You can make a nice profit by flipping that if you don't want to use it. I have the same machine, it's a nice machine. I don't have rust issues with mine, I suspect local water pH will dictate that.

[Andrew Hughes]

There’s a secret advantage the Tormek offers that’s not talked about. Yes it’s true the wheel cuts away tool steel slow sometimes that’s a benefit. Reshaping small gouges I prefer to go slowly. The Tormek also can grind the tool in two directions the top grinds into the tool. The bottom or horizontal grinds away from the tool.
Grinding away from the tool leaves a small burr on the edge that’s a boon for negative rake bowl scrapers.
Theres other surprises the Tormek has waiting for you to discover.
Good Luck

[Alex Zeller]

I have the Grizzly clone and it's great for what it's designed to do. It's not a grinder designed to shape a tool. It's designed to touch up edges without putting heat into the steel. Once I had the edges on my turning tools set to where I want them I never use anything but this. Between the jigs for the Tormek and the jigs I made to quickly set up the jig on the tool. I can usually touch up the edge on my gouge in less than a minute. When turning dirty bark bowl blanks this is invaluable. Another benefit is there's no sparks. One spark that finds some sawdust could end your day very badly. For this reason I have my regular grinder in the garage. Noise is also why I have the normal grinder there and the clone in my basement shop.

[Derek Arita]

Buy it. Get the SS shaft 1st thing. Add on as needs arise. Beauty.

[John K Jordan]

I have two of those and I'd buy that one at that price! Looks like it has a pretty good kit of accessories - they are expensive.

I use CBN wheels on mine, a 600 and a 1200 grit.

But even with years of using the water wheel I never experienced the rusting someone mentioned. I was careful to lower and empty the water tray after use if that made a difference. The CBN wheels are used without water so that's not an issue.

JKJ

[Mark e Kessler]

That’s a pretty good price. I had the t7 and now the t8, I actually do not find it to slow the trick is you need to use the stone more frequently to regrade the stone. I only use it to to do my primary i do the secondary on stones, ones the primary is established it’s quick to touch up once your secondary gets too large. I also use it for knives and have the fine diamond stone which is great doing a flat bevels on the side which i like on my marking knives. From what i have read CBN is a pretty messy operation…

[Bob Falk]

I’ll be the one to advise against this Tormek. Not that I think that there is anything wrong with this machine - I owned the very same one. It offered good service while I used it. It did rust out terribly, and you can forget about changing the wheel - this generation did not offer a stainless steel shaft, and the wheel rusted to it.

The reason I say no is that it is not the best grinder for a turner. The wheel cuts slowly - at its coarsest it is 220 grit, and this allied to a slow speed. I think that it is 120 rpm. The chisels you use are likely to be HSS, and grinding will be a chore. The wheel will wear quickly, and you will be dressing it frequently.

Far, far better is a 8” bench grinder, and add a CBN wheel (don’t think to do so on the Tormek, as you will not get the wheel off the shaft). This is a fast system, which requires little maintenance. If this is too expensive, you could get a 6” bench grinder plus 180 grit CBN wheel for under $300, and then add a second CBN wheel later. 180 grit is a good allrounder, and a 600 grit would give you a finished edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek


+1 Nice grinder for knives, etc. but excruciatingly slow for turning tools.

[Dave Sabo]

But even with years of using the water wheel I never experienced the rusting someone mentioned. I was careful to lower and empty the water tray after use if that made a difference. The CBN wheels are used without water so that's not an issue.

JKJ

Didn't make a difference on mine - it rusted anyway. Guess you were lucky, because I've seen two others with similar treatment that were also rusted.

[Christopher Herzog]

I am in the camp of saying tormek is good. Have a t7 and it has been a great addition to my shop. The planer jig alone is over 100, way over....

[David Bolson]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I ended up buying the Tormek… and a vacuum system for my lathe and some other stuff. I ended up getting a “package” deal and I think I did well. I’m not sure that I need the Tormek (I already have an 8” grinder with a 180 cbn wheel and the Oneway sharpening system), but I decided that I could at least try it out and if I don’t like it, I’m sure I could resell it without losing any money.

I’ve got to say that the assortment of jigs is overwhelming and I see a bunch of Tormek “how-to” videos in my future. I actually do need to sharpen my planer blades and I’m looking forward to getting that done. Not sure that should be the first thing I sharpen, though.

David