Tormek vs WC grinder/Wolverine/Oneway

[James Biddle]

I just bought the WC grinder and the wheels wobble like crazy. I could still take it back and exchange it, but am I likely to get better ones?

I could order a Oneway balancing kit and new wheels to work it out. Shouldn't the first step before balancing be to use a dressing tool of some sort to make the wheels round before balancing? Also, does the balancing kit only work to correct the static weight distribution around the center and do nothing for the side-to-side wobble, or dynamic balancing? Then I need to mount the Wolverine stuff and align it.

I'm worried I may end up spending close to a Tormek by the time I pay for the WC grinder, new wheels, a Oneway balancing kit, and a Wolverine sharpening kit with all of the accessories and end up with a dedicated turning setup instead of the base for an expandible sharpening system.

1 Woodcraft grinder - $95
2 Norton 3x wheels - $100
1 Oneway balancing kt - $58
1 Wolverine sharpening kit - $80
1 Wolverine skew attachment- $27
1 Wolverine vari-grind attachment- $50
1 Wolverine wheel dressing jig - $60
TOTAL = $470

1 Tormek - $400
1 Woodturner's accessory kit - $240
TOTAL = $640

I know I can search and find discounts on some of this stuff, but its a comparison. Is the comparison valid and which path would you take?

[Robert McGowen]

Jet wet grinder, 5 jigs, drawer base unit, cover. Amazon. $305 total with shipping.

Works great. Just my 2 cents as a happy user.

[Dennis Peacock]

James,

I have both.

For reshaping a tool, the grinder is the way to go.
For a really keen edge, the Tormek does a fine job. Once you have it all setup? It's just about as fast to resharpen on the Tormek as it is on a Wolverine/grinder setup. IMHO, the cutting edge off the Tormek is better, lasts longer, and cleaner cutting....and without honing.

I do find myself bouncing between both machines......but to be honest? I use them both. :D

[Richard Jones]

I found that a good set of wheels, the Norton's, on the WC grinder cured the wobble woes without having to resort to the Oneway balancing system. Get the Wolverine with the vari-grind and MAYBE the skew jig(you could probably make this easily). I have used a hand-held dresser with good results, as have many others here on this board.

So your savings are at least $100+ now.

I also have a Tormek, but I use a grinder for almost everything now associated with the lathe. I still sharpen my skews on the Tormek, but I do those freehand. Initial grind on the grinder, then to the Tormek, then honed with a diamond hone in between major touchups. The Tormek is pretty much reserved for knives and scissors, both of which I do A LOT!!!

If you have to buy one over the other for purely lathe work, the grinder set up is the way to go, IMO.

Just my $.02.............. Good luck.

Rich

[Bill Fleming]

I am a Tormek user and love it.

I have heard some say that set up take more time - have not found this and have used Wolverine system as well.

I have purchased a second Universal Support so my setup with one support for bowl gouges and the other support for either scrapers or Lancer skews depending on what I am working on.

This approach is fast - provide a great edge and I love the Tormek for all the other sharpening jobs as well.

Wolverine is great but really for turning tools only and the grinder, I have found less suited for other sharpening needs. Some have both.

Cheers

[Wilbur Pan]

I found that with a Tormek, you remove less metal to sharpen a tool than with a grinder. This leads to a longer tool life, which means saving money in the long run.

As far as reshaping the profile of a tool goes, a grinder is faster. But this is really a one time job for the vast majority of tools. I've found that regrinding a profile takes me about 10 minutes on a Tormek. You can decide if that's too long for you or not. But for me, 10 minutes is well worth not spewing grinder wheel and metal dust into the air.

[Reed Gray]

I have a Tormek, and as a production turner, I did not like it. Besides being slower, I found the wheel too soft, and spent too much time truing it, and it seemed to melt away. I asked the rep in Portland, and he said I must be doing something wrong. Possibly. The thing with the wheel melting away would mean that the angle on my tools would constantly change. I sprang for a Baldor grinder which runs so smoothly that you don't have to bolt or clamp it down. For wheels, I got CBN (cubic boric nitride which are custom made to any grit that you want). My 80 grit wheel is 3 years old and shows almost no wear. I had 320 grit wheels on the gouge side. I went through 2 of them in the same 3 year period. I now have a 150 grit wheel. You can't dress them, you clean them off with an aluminum oxide stick. I switched from the 320 wheel to the 150 for 2 reasons. One is that it wore out so much faster than the 80 grit wheel, and the other is that I was getting a finer edge, but it didn't seem to last very long. I had been talking to Oneway about sharpening the cutter on their coring system, and was told that you need to remove a certain amount of steel to get a fresh edge, and honing the cutters wouldn't do enough. I started thinking about it. I switched to sharpening my gouges on the 80 grit wheel, and I liked the results better than the 320 grit wheel. I figure 150 will do the trick, but before I try another grit, I have to wear this wheel out. Costs, Baldor grinder, $500, CBN wheels $300 each.
robo hippy

[Bill Ragland]

I just bought the WC grinder and the wheels wobble like crazy. I could still take it back and exchange it, but am I likely to get better ones?

I could order a Oneway balancing kit and new wheels to work it out. Shouldn't the first step before balancing be to use a dressing tool of some sort to make the wheels round before balancing? Also, does the balancing kit only work to correct the static weight distribution around the center and do nothing for the side-to-side wobble, or dynamic balancing? Then I need to mount the Wolverine stuff and align it.

I'm worried I may end up spending close to a Tormek by the time I pay for the WC grinder, new wheels, a Oneway balancing kit, and a Wolverine sharpening kit with all of the accessories and end up with a dedicated turning setup instead of the base for an expandible sharpening system.

1 Woodcraft grinder - $95
2 Norton 3x wheels - $100
1 Oneway balancing kt - $58
1 Wolverine sharpening kit - $80
1 Wolverine skew attachment- $27
1 Wolverine vari-grind attachment- $50
1 Wolverine wheel dressing jig - $60
TOTAL = $470

1 Tormek - $400
1 Woodturner's accessory kit - $240
TOTAL = $640

I know I can search and find discounts on some of this stuff, but its a comparison. Is the comparison valid and which path would you take?

If you decide on the WC grinder check this out at Amazon.com. Supposedly the same as the Wolverine setup but with all the jigs included for $101, shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-LCGRIND4-Precision-Sharpening/dp/B000KI8CRA/ref=pd_ybh_1/102-6618766-3707359?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0KY058M57Z8KS03P3QG7&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_i=ybh