Tormek question

[David C]

Tormek makes an excellent, if slow but also safe grinder in a busy teaching workshop.

No sparks, no exploding wheels, no more blued tools in the heavy hands of the unwary.

It can be used as the manufacturers claim, as a complete sharpening system but I have never been happy with this aspect for straight edged fine cabinetmaking tools.

NB I have no skills in carving or woodturning so my comments are not applicable to these tools.

David

 

[Modernist]

Having paid full price for mine I have come to the same conclusion. Ditch use of the leather wheel as it is bound to round the edge and stick to using it for grinding - at which it is very good.

 

[dirtydeeds]

i know where everybody is comming from regarding putting a back bevel on a chisel using a honing wheel

IF you arnt careful, im only kissing the burr (the result no back bevel)

i can pare softwood holding the chisel on my forefinger and driving it with my thumb

 

[Gary M]

My conclusion of the Tormek so far is that it's over priced and fiddly to set up. I think it's pretty much impossible to grind a chisel to say 25 degrees with the stone set at one grade, remove it from the jig and reset later to grind at a finer grade. Basically you have to grade the stone at 200, grind then re-dress the stone to 1000 without removing the chisel from the jig. This is fine if you are doing one chisel but a real pain if like me you have say a sharpening session and sharpen everything you have in one go. It's so time consuming and presumably prematurely wears down your stone. All the jigs are massively expensive for a rough piece of cast aluminium with all the flash lines still present. IMHO poor show, poor design and most of all poor value for money!

Hi Dom,
completely agree with your comments.
i too have the tormek (2006) and find it mostly lies in its box under the bench, as i find it quicker to use a diamond stone to renew the edge unless the edge is badly damaged, then it is a rigmarole to set up the tormek.
some how i think i could have spent my hard earned on better things
Not to mention the diamond truing tool is pants and gouges the daylights out of the wheel no matter how finely or carefully i use it.
Cheers,
Gary.

 

[dirtydeeds]

99% of you guys (who are posting) think the tormek is a waste of money

to my thinking you are all confusing "burr removal" and "honing" and blaming the tool








if i know anything

i know this post is going to bring the wrath of the forum on my head

 

[p111dom]

99% of you guys (who are posting) think the tormek is a waste of money

to my thinking you are all confusing "burr removal" and "honing" and blaming the tool

You're probably right that we/I are/am getting confused with the terminology of the two but that's besides the point.

The first real point is that the Tormek claims to be a complete sharpening system from start to finish and quite clearly (at least for those on this post) that's not the case.

Secondly it's expensive even if it did do what it says on the box but the fact for me at least is that it doesn't.

No where in the instructions does it say "a complete sharpening system* (*only when used in conjunction with other sharpening tools.)" I expected the system to cover all aspects of sharpening a simple chisel from grind, bur removal and honing. If you're not suposed to use the leather wheel to remove the bur then that's fine but it seems to me that the side of the grinding stone is the best for this purpose but they only sell a side wheel grinding jig as an extra. Without it, it's not a complete system.

 

[ivan]

This was more or less why I suggested in another post (about the Scheppach version) that this type of grinder appeared to be designed primarily for wood turners and carvers, for whom it may be an ideal complete solution. But not an ideal & complete solution for woodworkers.

The horizontal waterstone (orignially designed for Japanese cooking knives) is better for touching up planer knives (but not regrinding) neither ideal for regrinding chisels and plane blades ( don't fit well in planer blade holder) The old schoolday horizontal grinders were usually a "Viceroy" made by Denford. There was a 12" with pumped oil cooling, and a cunning tool rest/clamp, and a 10" with a drip oil feed, and a bar toolrest similar to the Tormek and clones, but more rigid. I got one of these a couple of years ago but it needs some attention; it has an 80 grit stone. At the moment I'm using a Tiger 2500 for grinding only* which seems almost as well made as the Tormek, and resonable value at £150. I think only the most expensive Tormek comes with a diamond truing tool, essential for any power grinder.

*except garden tools

 

[dirtydeeds]

buy the tormek diamond truing tool it fits the sheppach

i know ive done it

 

[DaveL]

I have the Jet and the instructions say to use a flat stone to knock the burr off, recommending ceramic stones as they can be used with water. I just happen to use ceramic stones so it was a goo solution.

The new truing jig will work on the Jet but you have to make a spacer to move it over to the stone. Its a big improvement on the original one.