tormek t3 not sharpening square

[woodbrains]

Whatever jig this machine is equipped with appears to represent an unnecessary layer of complexity to a process that takes a morning to learn if not less.

Hello,

The straight edge jig on the Tormek is not complex, but does allow more pressure to be applied to the tool edge when grinding, without digging in, or losing control. This is in no way comparable to a dry, high speed grinder, where a light touch is needed, and constant water dipping to prevent loss of temper, a hand held tool facilitating this. Stating methods of work for one machine is not helpful for one which works on a totally different principle.

Mike.

 

[Trafalgar]

Constant water dripping to prevent loss of temper?

Sky's falling again I see.

 

[Graham Orm]

I would go for the Tormek TT 50 diamond truing tool. This will re surface the stone and true it up leaving it cutting faster and parallel to the bar. We have a video on our website Wood Worker Workshop showing it in use, just search on TT 50 and click the video link. You may have had a grading stone when you bought your T3 but this changes the grit cutting rate and re flattens the stone a little.

As for chisels we stock Narex and WoodRiver for general woodworking or Ashley Iles or Veritas for finer work. The Narex and WoodRiver I would put on par whist the AI are better and the Veritas excellent.

Any questions give us a call.

Cheers Peter

That's interesting Peter, you rate the Veritas over the AI?

 

[Graham Orm]

I have a set of Stanley Fat Max for site and Narex for the bench at home. Both do the job asked well.

I ground them on a 5" grinder when new and have not ground them since. As mentioned by CStanford 'constant' dipping is very important, I find a quick dip is not enough to cool the tool and a swish is required too. The only visible tell tale that the steel is too hot is when it starts to go a straw colour before going blue. However, it's too hot before it shows the straw colour and so it's impossible to know just when any damage is done. I usually make a pass and swish, make a pass and swish. It's very satisfying when the job is done, the back flat and the edge honed.

Message to Jacob if he's still around. I've freed myself of the shackles of the honing jig and now do all honing freehand. There's a confidence barrier to overcome. Once past it, it's easy peasy.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I would go for the Tormek TT 50 diamond truing tool. This will re surface the stone and true it up leaving it cutting faster and parallel to the bar. We have a video on our website Wood Worker Workshop showing it in use, just search on TT 50 and click the video link. You may have had a grading stone when you bought your T3 but this changes the grit cutting rate and re flattens the stone a little.

As for chisels we stock Narex and WoodRiver for general woodworking or Ashley Iles or Veritas for finer work. The Narex and WoodRiver I would put on par whist the AI are better and the Veritas excellent.

Any questions give us a call.

Cheers Peter

That's interesting Peter, you rate the Veritas over the AI?

The AI are a very good chisel excellent value for money. I have them myself and in all my students tool kits and they are the biggest seller in the shop, but the O1 Veritas are better.
The Veritas edge holds very well and are a pleasure to use, they are replacing my AI slowly in my own tool kit. I also have a PMV 11 but am happy with O1 for my work. We probably sell ten sets of AI to every 1 set of Veritas and don't get complaints from customers on either.

I wrote a short review for Nick Gibbs a couple of years ago.
http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... ch2013.pdf

Cheers Peter

 

[woodbrains]

I have a set of Stanley Fat Max for site and Narex for the bench at home. Both do the job asked well.

I ground them on a 5" grinder when new and have not ground them since. As mentioned by CStanford 'constant' dipping is very important, I find a quick dip is not enough to cool the tool and a swish is required too. The only visible tell tale that the steel is too hot is when it starts to go a straw colour before going blue. However, it's too hot before it shows the straw colour and so it's impossible to know just when any damage is done. I usually make a pass and swish, make a pass and swish. It's very satisfying when the job is done, the back flat and the edge honed.

Message to Jacob if he's still around. I've freed myself of the shackles of the honing jig and now do all honing freehand. There's a confidence barrier to overcome. Once past it, it's easy peasy.

Hello,

Not hat it matters, but it was me who mentioned the constant water dipping, Charles was being derisory about my comment, as usual. :lol:

Mike.

 

[Trafalgar]

One does need to cool the steel but if it is understood that the goal is not to grind all the way to edge it's not nearly as dire as it is often made out to be. A dip every few passes is quite sufficient. Hold it there a second or two if good judgment indicates. No need for a 'constant' drip, running water mess, or $800+ wet grinders. Anybody with the requisite skill to fill a dash pot from a faucet should be in very good shape. Swooning or feeling faint at the prospect of burning steel is optional.

It shouldn't take more than two minutes to restore the hollow on anything from a Hock thickness iron on down to standard Stanley/Record. If it's taking longer than this the grinder is turning too slowly, the wheel is glazed, or the wheel is not coarse enough.

I don't particularly care for the combination of a large diameter wheel and relatively thin plane irons.

Very large diameter wheels featured a drip pot because they ground tools all the way to the edge practically immediately. One had no choice. A smaller diameter wheel lets you restore a hollow without producing a burr at the edge.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Actually, I agree with Charles' comments on speed (lightening will strike me down any second now!).

The only time I grind to the edge of a blade is on a Tormek. This is still my first choice for grinding hollows on plane and chisel blades, especially when re-freshing a hollow. A blade hollowed on the Tormek takes about 60 seconds to run through waterstones 1000 through 6000 and 13000.

I also use an 8" half-speed grinder. This is used with a white 48 grit Norton white wheel. Grinding just requires a light touch. If the blade begins to feel warm, I withdraw it briefly. Often I can grind an entire blade to within 1mm of the edge without any water. Mostly some water is needed, but never a constant stream.

Grinding is faster on the 8", but because this is not to the edge of the steel, honing is slower. Conversely, while grinding may be slower on the Tormek, honing is speeded up dramatically because there is less steel to remove. Overall, they balance out each other. From beginning (of grinding) to the end (of honing) should take about 3 - 5 minutes. Honing alone should take 1 - 2 minutes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

No disagreement about the use and speed of dry grinders, it is just that the OP has a TORMEK! It is horses for courses, but banging on about the correct use of a dry grinder is totally irrelevant in reference to the wet grinder. The Tormek is a good machine and achieves a similar result, in that the edge is being ground, but here all similarities end. Similarly, whingeing over the cost of these machines is also irrelevant, since the OP already owns the machine and just wants to get the best out of it. The Tormek is made in Sweden, and as we know, any manufacturing industry in the West is going to be expensive. Good for Tormek still being made in the country of origin! Bitchin' over the cost of woodwork machinery by Americans has only served to ruin that industry over there, so great brands like Powermatic, Delta, Oliver, General etc, make very little if anything in the countries of origin any anymore. Others like the fantastic Northfield and Yeats American long since disappeared. Now it seems all Americans are bitchin' about how they wish these machines were of the high quality they used to be, when they were all American! Don't put anyone off buying a good machine that is priced correctly for the country that produces them to actually exist.

It has been answered before, but just to reitterate, a truing device will have the Tormek running at its best. As for good all roung chisels, Footprint are very good for the money, and support a British brand, (I hope they are still being made, they went through a bit of a rough patch recently) or how about Henry Taylor. I have some of their Diamic brand firmer chisels and the steel in those is great. I should think their BE chisels should be good, and British!

Mike.

 

[Graham Orm]

I have a set of Stanley Fat Max for site and Narex for the bench at home. Both do the job asked well.

I ground them on a 5" grinder when new and have not ground them since. As mentioned by CStanford 'constant' dipping is very important, I find a quick dip is not enough to cool the tool and a swish is required too. The only visible tell tale that the steel is too hot is when it starts to go a straw colour before going blue. However, it's too hot before it shows the straw colour and so it's impossible to know just when any damage is done. I usually make a pass and swish, make a pass and swish. It's very satisfying when the job is done, the back flat and the edge honed.

Message to Jacob if he's still around. I've freed myself of the shackles of the honing jig and now do all honing freehand. There's a confidence barrier to overcome. Once past it, it's easy peasy.

Hello,

Not hat it matters, but it was me who mentioned the constant water dipping, Charles was being derisory about my comment, as usual. :lol:

Mike.

OOPS Sorry Mike.

 

[Graham Orm]

Hello,

No disagreement about the use and speed of dry grinders, it is just that the OP has a TORMEK! It is horses for courses, but banging on about the correct use of a dry grinder is totally irrelevant in reference to the wet grinder. The Tormek is a good machine and achieves a similar result, in that the edge is being ground, but here all similarities end. Similarly, whingeing over the cost of these machines is also irrelevant, since the OP already owns the machine and just wants to get the best out of it. The Tormek is made in Sweden, and as we know, any manufacturing industry in the West is going to be expensive. Good for Tormek still being made in the country of origin! Bitchin' over the cost of woodwork machinery by Americans has only served to ruin that industry over there, so great brands like Powermatic, Delta, Oliver, General etc, make very little if anything in the countries of origin any anymore. Others like the fantastic Northfield and Yeats American long since disappeared. Now it seems all Americans are bitchin' about how they wish these machines were of the high quality they used to be, when they were all American! Don't put anyone off buying a good machine that is priced correctly for the country that produces them to actually exist.

It has been answered before, but just to reitterate, a truing device will have the Tormek running at its best. As for good all roung chisels, Footprint are very good for the money, and support a British brand, (I hope they are still being made, they went through a bit of a rough patch recently) or how about Henry Taylor. I have some of their Diamic brand firmer chisels and the steel in those is great. I should think their BE chisels should be good, and British!

Mike.

=D> =D> =D>

 

[Graham Orm]

I wrote a short review for Nick Gibbs a couple of years ago.
http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... ch2013.pdf

Cheers Peter

An interesting read Peter. I reckon the AI's are still best value for money from that write up. Those ash handled Sorby's look the best by far for me!

 

[Peter Sefton]

I wrote a short review for Nick Gibbs a couple of years ago.
http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... ch2013.pdf

Cheers Peter

An interesting read Peter. I reckon the AI's are still best value for money from that write up. Those ash handled Sorby's look the best by far for me!

I agree AI are still the best value quality chisel available at that price point, the fact they are made in the UK by a family run business that support us retailers and their customers is just a bonus!

 

[Jacob]

...
Message to Jacob if he's still around. I've freed myself of the shackles of the honing jig and now do all honing freehand. There's a confidence barrier to overcome. Once past it, it's easy peasy.

Still around. Been on me hols got back ce soir. Took 3 weeks to cycle there but 12 hours by train to return (South France).
Quel surprise - yes it's easy freehand! It always was and always will be. Don't let them tell you otherwise. :shock: