I've been thinking for a long time of upgrading my grinder, which is one of those wet/dry cheapo jobs and not very good. My sharpening requirements are: (i) normal woodworking tools, (ii) carving tools and (iii) turning tools.
On (i) and (ii), recourse to the grinder is rare anyway as I use traditional freehand methods, which I find very satisfactory. Hence, I'm not tempted down the Tormek route, which seems to be inordinately expensive anyway.
So, most of my grinding is on the turning tools, also freehand.
Looking at options, I'm tempted by the Axi AW8SRG2 slow running grinder. Half the price of a Creusen slow grinder, but still a lot more than many standard 6" machines. Although I can grind without burning on a standard grinder, logic dictates that a slow grinder will make a better and easier job??
Any thoughts? Is there any real benefit in these slow grinders, or could the money be better spent on, eg. a standard grinder with good quality wheels? Is Creusen worth the extra? Even a wet grinding system (or do turning tools wear the wheels too much on wet stones)?
Any comments much appreciated.
On (i) and (ii), recourse to the grinder is rare anyway as I use traditional freehand methods, which I find very satisfactory. Hence, I'm not tempted down the Tormek route, which seems to be inordinately expensive anyway.
So, most of my grinding is on the turning tools, also freehand.
Looking at options, I'm tempted by the Axi AW8SRG2 slow running grinder. Half the price of a Creusen slow grinder, but still a lot more than many standard 6" machines. Although I can grind without burning on a standard grinder, logic dictates that a slow grinder will make a better and easier job??
Any thoughts? Is there any real benefit in these slow grinders, or could the money be better spent on, eg. a standard grinder with good quality wheels? Is Creusen worth the extra? Even a wet grinding system (or do turning tools wear the wheels too much on wet stones)?
Any comments much appreciated.