T3 or T7

[YWR]

Greetings to all

Over the years I have tried a variety of sharpening/honing jigs with a range of, mostly unsatisfactory !, results.  I have now decided to try a Tormek but the question is which one ?

The T7 is obviously the 'flagship' model but is almost twice the price of the T3

The application, initially at least, would be chisels and possibly the occasional plane blade.

This could later be extended to gouges and possibly even twist drills - I tend to use the latter until blunt and then throw away and get another one !

I would welcome any comments or observations from those who already have a machine - I'm struggling to justify the cost of the T7 !

regards

David

[Herman Trivilino]

These machines aren't really very good at sharpening drill bits.  I use the Drill Doctor.  It works great.

I have the equivalent of the T7.  My chisels and plane irons have never been sharper.  I also use it to sharpen knives, lawn mower blades, and just about anything else with an edge. 

I have no experience with the T3, but I doubt I'd be happy with it after having used the older version of the T7 for many years now.

[Jeff Farris]

Herman,

Your contributions here are greatly appreciated, but your comment regarding the drill bit attachment is unwarranted, unless you have bench-tested the DBS-22 side-by-side with the Drill Doctor. The DBS-22 is easier to use and produces a superior grind to the Drill Doctor, when compared side-by-side.

[ionut]

Hi David,

It all depends on how much and hard you will use the machine. In my opinion T3 is made for hobby range, it has most of the features of T7 but the frame is made from plastic if I remember correctly, which may not let you apply extra pressure when you need, or may lead to imprecise angle of non square edges if you apply to much pressure, the stone is smaller also the motor may not be as powerful and I believe not all the sharpening jigs are available for T3 as well. Nevertheless with T3 I think you will still obtain the same cutting edge quality as with T7. Tormek backs up the machine with the same 7 years warranty so the manufacture quality is similar. You have to also think that if it's T3 and you really like the machine but it doesn't have something that T7 has and you need it, then you'll be sorry you didn't get the T7 in the first place.  If you know somebody close by owning a T7 or a T3 try it or you may try it at a dealer. or maybe at a woodworking show.
Before T7, if I remember correctly, there was a Tormek 2006 I believe, which is 100% T7 but it is green, if you can find one is much cheaper and all the jigs will work on it. In my case I had the same doubt as you and the same price pain, but I saved more and I got the big machine and I am not sorry for a second, if I don't do any stupid thing that machine will outlast me.

Ionut

[Jim Carroll]

These machines aren't really very good at sharpening drill bits.  I use the Drill Doctor.  It works great.

I have the equivalent of the T7.  My chisels and plane irons have never been sharper.  I also use it to sharpen knives, lawn mower blades, and just about anything else with an edge. 

I have no experience with the T3, but I doubt I'd be happy with it after having used the older version of the T7 for many years now.

Have to agree with Jeff on this. The new drill sharpening jig is the bees knees.

The T7 for me any day, by the time you buy the extras you are up near the cost of the T7 and if you are going to try and sharpen everyones drill bits it will be working for a long time.

[Herman Trivilino]

Sorry.  I wasn't thinking of the DBS-22 jig as being part of the T7.

[YWR]

Thanks for you messages guys - particularly to ionut for a clear summary

now all I have to do is to examine the state of the exchequer and decide what I can justify spending.

the old adage of 'do I need it, do I want it. can I afford it' - and any 2 "yes's" means you get it not so appropriate these days - UK pension funds are not what they were !!

Kind regards to all

[Ken S]

I am surprised no one has addressed the differences between the T3 and T7 machines.  I have only used the T7, so I really cannot comment on the T3 based on actual experience.

The T3 has a smaller diameter grinding wheel (and leather hone).  Instead of a ten inch wheel, it has an eight inch wheel.  That would make more of a hollow grind.  Whether or not this is a problem in the real world I am not sure.  With dry grinders, an eight inch wheel is quite often larger than most.

The housing on the T3 is plastic instead of metal.  The implication is that it is less rugged.  Tormek seems a very customer oriented company, so I would think a replacement housing would be available at a fair price, if needed. 

The T3 is about half the weight of the T7, and noticeably smaller.  In a larger shop, this might be a disadvantage.  In a small shop, it might actually be a benefit.

I am quite happy with my T7.  If I did not have it, I believe I would also be quite happy with a T7.

It would be nice to hear from forum members who have experience with both models.

Ken

[ionut]

Yes Ken, I didn't say how smaller the stone is, but I know I said its smaller in my previous post. Now about the hollow bevel, I remember I was worried about that even  before I got the first Tormek, but I suddenly slapped my forehead saying, "but who is stopping me to increase the angle?" I looked around and there was nobody trying to hammer me, so I switched on my figurator device and I figured out that if I would go with 27 degrees to obtain the effect of a 25 degrees on the tip would be ok for the current size of the stone. It was perfect so I think if the hollowness becomes a problem anybody can increase the angle a bit to obtain the same result or edge strength.

David, I know the answer for at least one question, I know you want it if you are thinking of it. I use my Tormek mainly for woodworking, I occasionally sharpen friends knives or other tools, but as I said very occasionally and I was playing with "I need it" question for pretty long time before I bought it. Also in my woodworking, I have few machines but I am far from being a machine guy,  I mostly do thing by hand, especially joinery and that kind of stuff was valid for sharpening as well, so many times it happen being in a middle of a joinery or planning a nice piece of wood to just find myself with un-sharp tools so I had to move my butt and set my mind and hands for a different story, sharpening, which I don't dislike but I am not a sharpener, and even though my sharpening was pretty fast, was not fast enough,  so by the time I was finished sharpening I forgot where I was before and all my excitement cutting the wood was gone for the moment. So I started to look around for maybe a better solution and I found this machine. I bought it even though I didn't have a clear answer to the "I need it" one at that time. Well It wasn't long until I found nothing to sharpen around, and when I needed something to sharpen I just turned to the sharpening machine did the job and a couple of minutes later  I was back to the wood that was still warm from the last cut. Somebody pretty high up at DMT diamond sharpening at one point asked me "Why don't you just go the DMT way", and I laughed and answered, there is no way to give up my Tormek machines for anything else. I simply just found myself getting to do more woodilling as I like to call it. The answer to the third question is not an answer, it is something that has to  be "built" It happened to me too...

[Jeff Farris]

Look at it this way. World wide there are thousands of customers that have traded up from a T-3 to a T-7. I don't know of anyone anywhere who has traded down.

[Herman Trivilino]

the old adage of 'do I need it, do I want it. can I afford it' - and any 2 "yes's" means you get it not so appropriate these days - UK pension funds are not what they were !

Well, in my case it was "want it" and "can afford it".  I have the older green Tormek 2000.  It's essentially the same as the T7.  I've had it for many years.

I find that when I'm working with wood (I wouldn't call myself a woodworker, more of a carpenter and handy man) I can now use hand tools the way they were meant to be used.  I have an appreciation for chisels and planes that I never had before.  Simply because they have to be razor sharp to work properly.  And when they are sharp, it's a pleasure to work with them.

I also have sharp knives and razor-sharp lawn mower blades.