SP 650 Frequency

[rickbw]

How often does the wheel require "dressing" from the SP 650?   I realize if I want to utilize a 1000 grit wheel, I need to dress the wheel with the smooth side of the SP 650.   However, under normal usage (220 grit), does the wheel require dressing with the rough side of the 650?

This weekend I sharpened several of my woodturning tools on the Tormek for the 1st time.   Due to the size of the wheel (new system), my bevel on the tools was different than a 6" wheel (as would be expected).   The Tormek seemed to remove more material on the tools if I kept dressing the wheel with the SP650 (220 grit).    However, I am not sure if this was my imagination or not.  Thanks for the help.

[Jeff Farris]

It is not your imagination.  The stone needs to be conditioned with the SP-650 frequently to maintain aggressive cutting. In the hand book, Torgny calls it "reactivating" the stone.

[rickbw]

Jeff,

Thanks for the reply.   Maybe I should have known the answer (meaning it was in the manual or on a video instruction), but re activating the stone was not clear to me for more aggressive removal of material.    I had struggled with the time the Tormek took on some of my 1st attempts at sharpening.   I now know as I re profile a tool that using the SP 650 is key to the speed of the sharpening!