Nope, only use it for the honing wheel.... if I have to do serious shaping, that is what my 1 1/2 hp belt sander with 36 grit on it is for....
robo hippy
Member
Nope, only use it for the honing wheel.... if I have to do serious shaping, that is what my 1 1/2 hp belt sander with 36 grit on it is for....
robo hippy
Contributor
It sounds like you haven't ever used a Tormek. I can sharpen a bowl gouge on my Tormek just as fast as I can on my dry grinder.Originally Posted by Chris Parks
Here is a short video that shows in real time how long it takes Glenn Lucas to sharpen his bowl gouge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeLx4gSvykg
and here is another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM7-s6wsQCA
Last edited by Bill Boehme; 07-31-2018 at 2:19 AM.
Bill
Member
I've given up on defending my Tormek. SO many haters out there that think it's slower than molasses on a cold day.......
Personally I think (I agree with you 110%) ONCE YOUR GRIND IS SET, it takes just a few seconds. My bowl gouge jig, I never change. Well, after taking in Stuart Battys advice, I may have to buy another jig for the 40/40 grind.......
Use what you like, but watching paint dry is not a true statement for speed. Not saying I can reshape a tool in less than 2 hours, but sharpening, it is very quick and you get the exact same grind every single time........
Member
They don't include the time it takes to put the gouge in the jig.... So add another 10 to 20 seconds. Not as fast as platform sharpening...
robo hippy
[OP]
Contributor
I only use mine to touch up the edge on my tools. As long as I don't forget to fill the tray with water it takes me less than a minute to adjust the tool rest to the correct distance from the wheel, put the gouge correctly in the jig, and put a new edge on it. That includes both sharpening on the stone and to hone it afterwards. I've actually made blocks of wood to set the tool rest distance and setting the gouge depth. The only tools that take time are the curved scrapers. But that's more a case of setting up the platform jig at the correct angle. I'm hoping that with a diamond wheel (or CBN) that doesn't change diameter I can make a jig for each tool to speed up setting the rest.
Contributor
I don't worry about defending what I use, I just use my Tormek and let others use what they want. I will, however, say what I like about using my Tormek. I also have a dry grinder that is more idle than the Maytag repairman. It's mainly if I need to reshape a tool that I use the dry grinder. My main problem with the dry grinder is the cloud of dust that it produces. It leads to coughing spasms, headaches, and grit all over everything.
It's not the cheapest solution, but I have three bowl gouge jigs each permanently set to the three different grinds that I use. I justified buying the second one several years ago because the first one was so old and there was a slight design improvement and then more recently I got the third one after a major design improvement.
Bill
Moderator
Anyone who tries shaping on the Tormek more than once is a glutton for punishment or not thinking clearly. Pressing harder is not a solution for me.
The second thing I did when I bought and experimented with my Tormek was rig up a grinder to use the Tormek support and jigs. For a new grind I start with 80 grit CBN (if necessaray), refine with this Tormek jig using 600 grit, and then move to 1200 CBN on the Tormek. The 600 grit CBN is surprisingly fast and the convex curvature from the 8" wheel is not enough different from that of the 10" wheel to cause
tormek_B.jpg
The Tormek water stone gives a better surface than the 1200 grit CBN as well.
I sharpen skews without a jig on the 600 grit CBN then hone on the Tormek leather wheel.
JKJ
Contributor
I didn't mean to imply that there is a difference if both wheels are on the Tormek. What I was intending to say is there is a difference in pressure between a Tormek running at 90 RPM and a bench grinder running at 1750 RPM regardless of the type of grinding wheel. If I am sharpening a bowl gouge on a dry grinder I am using feather light pressure against the wheel. As just a very rough guess I would say maybe 10 times as much pressure when using the Tormek which still is not much pressure.
Sharpening a skew on the Tormek is a different story. Because of the very large bevel contact area it takes a lot more force to create the same pressure as a bowl gouge contacting the wheel. So, I really bear down on the bevel of a skew and it still takes several minutes to sharpen the skew on the Tormek standard aluminum oxide wheel. But, actually for a skew and other tools with a large flat bevel there is a significant time difference between sharpening with the standard stone on the Tormek and sharpening with a 1000 grit CBN wheel on the Tormek ... even if I used the stone grader to rough up the standard stone. After mulling it over a bit I think that I know the reason. When sharpening with the aluminum oxide gray stone, the large friable crystals on the surface gradually crumble into smaller sharp crystals which makes the wheel grit increasingly fine until eventually it isn't doing anything other than polishing the bevel. It's then necessary to use the stone grader to roughen the surface (With a standard bench grinder the speed is 20 times faster so the surface aluminum oxide crystals are being spun off rather than sticking to the wheel). When using the CBN wheel on the Tormek, the crystals don't crumble into smaller particles so the grit of the wheel doesn't change. Even though the Tormek CBN wheel is a 1000 grit, it was able to sharpen a skew very quickly. The only downside is that the edge isn't quite as smooth as the edge produced by using the aluminum oxide stone.
Bill
Contributor
Guilty on both counts.
I have a spare base from when I upgraded my Tormek 2000 to the T-7 configuration. I've been planning on doing that as soon as I got a round tuit. So far, it's just been square tuits.
I have no doubt about it. My 1000 grit CBN wheel is a long way from being satisfactory. Ken Rizza insisted that I would be completely happy with the 600 grit wheel. He allowed me to try out a demo 600 wheel at SWAT. I knew for certain that wasn't what I wanted and also I'm pretty sure that he isn't a real Tormek groupie.
From my very limited experience I believe that the higher speed results in a smoother surface for the same CBN grit
Bill
Moderator
That makes sense to me, as long as the tool is kept in motion and the pressure is light (and the wheel is not brand new.). As with sanding, if the grit is not constantly moving across the surface individual grit particles can cut deeper grooves. The surface will get better as the new CBN wheel gets "broken in", which might take a month of use according to Reed's old writeup. A new wheel is FAR more agressive until the tops of the particles are knocked off.
If the 600 wheel you tried was relatively new it probably wasn't a fair test. When new, my 600 grit wheel worked more like a 180 but gives a much better surface now. If you ever get up this way you could try it.
JKJ
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