Brian -- The Tormek (and your Jet clone) are too slow for my tastes, too. Which is why I got Tormek's bench grinder mount as soon as it came out. I used the bench grinder, with 8" A/O wheels, and Tormek jigs for shaping all my tools. Then, before removing a tool from the jig, I used the Tormek to put sharpen each tool. Once shaped, it took less than a minute to finish sharpening the tool. Then, unless I need to reshape a tool, it never sees the bench grinder again. I thought I had the perfect set up. The bench grinder made shaping fast and the Tormek put a wonderful edge on the tools.

There were only two annoyances: First, the size of the wheels kept changing. If shaping several tools, I might have to readjust things a few times. Tormek's turning tool setter is quick and easy to use, but not having to use it at all is even better. The second is the water used with the Tormek. I love that it eliminates dust and makes sharpening an almost silent process, but I hate the mess. Besides, my shop doesn't have running water nor a sink. So, I have to haul the water from the house and then find a place to dump it when I'm through.

Those are NOT big complaints to deal with. Still, I bought CBN wheels for the grinder, bought a CBN wheel for the Tormek, and then bought the 1hp Rikon to replace the 1/2hp Woodcraft grinder I had been using. Now, I think I have the perfect set up. However, I've noticed that the CBN Tormek wheel cuts a lot faster than it did with its original wheel. Even though it's a much higher grit than the Tormek's native 120 grit, the CBN wheel cuts fast enough that shaping would almost be tolerable. So, maybe I should get a 200 grit CBN wheel for the Tormek and use that for shaping. Then, all I'd need to is swap wheels on the Tormek for sharpening....