excessive grinding stone wear

[Ken S]

Rafael recently mentioned that his grinding wheel had worn down from 250mm diameter to 205 in three weeks. I believe this is a good topic for forum exploration.

Rafael, would you please post some more specifics for us as a starting point of discussion. (Examples: how ofter you use the truing tool and how much you remove; the kind of steel you are grinding; etc.)

Ken

[Rafael]

Hi, Tormek site was not working again here for a few days.

As I mentioned I started a sharpening shop on 17 June. Since than I am sharpening mostly kitchen, restaurant, chef knives and scissors (hair style and tailor mostly). People also come to me with clipper blades and meat grinder plates and blades. I also had a few axes to sharpen (small size). I had also to sharpen some hard steel planer blades, but I did not brought yet the attachment, so it did not came out very well.

I don't have many customers yet, so there is not too much work. There are days I am using Tormek for 4-5 hours but also days with max 1 hour of using it.

I made the truing process only 4 times until now, First it was needed a deeper truing because when I sharpened scissors I used to to do it more on the sides of the stone so it became curved. But was a maximum of 2-3 mm deep cut. Since I observed that the stone is wearing so quick I did not made any truing, I try to sharpen as straight as I can to preserve it. I know, by the book I have to do the truing even if is just a little curved, but I don't know what to say. I am little bit concerned. With this wearing I barely earn the money for buying a new stone. Importer told me it has to last minimum one year. What Am I doing wrong?

So, my stone is wearing to quickly I think, so any help is useful. Thanks.

[Ken S]

Rafael,

Have you watched (studied) the videos by Jeff Farris? several years ago Jeff produced a series of excellent training videos. They were originally posted on sharptoolsusa.com but now can be found with a "tormek videos" search engine request. 2 to 3 mm is much too deep for average use. Typically, a truing cut should require less than one millimeter, and most often less than that.

I suggest you hold off sharpening planer blades until you become much more proficient with the basics.

Ken

[Rafael]

Yes, I saw that videos, but I will watch them again. Can I find some specific answers there about how to avoid stone wearing? I"ll be back if I stil have questions.

I am not doing plane blades anymore. I will firs buy the atachment and than I will accept planer blades again.

[Ken S]

Rafael, I am just guessing at to the cause of your excessive stone wear. Just like using bench stones, good technique requires trying to use the entire surface of the grinding wheel to minimize wear on any one spot.

When I use the truing tool, I set it for very light passes. The first pass does not even touch much of the wheel. After the first pass, I reset the diamond for another very light cut. You will be able to hear and see the difference each cut makes. Using very light passes, do not go beyond the point where the diamond makes light contact on the entire wheel. Again, you will be able to hear and see when that happens.

It is better to return more often with very light cuts than wait until the wheel is far from true.

If you are removing too much of the grinding wheel, you are probably removing too much steel from the tools you are sharpening. Again, it is better to sharpen often and when the tool is just not quite sharp rather than waiting for it to become really dull.

Part of your problem may be due to trying to sharpen planer blades. To the best of my knowledge, no one on the forum has had good success sharpening planer blades. They are very time consuming and wear the stones quite a bit. I would suggest you not sharpen planer blades until you are very proficient with using your Tormek with other applications. in fact, I would recommend you not purchase the planer jig for quite a while. At that point, you might want to try some tests on your own planer blades before agreeing to sharpen them for other people.

I encourage you not to become discouraged with your Tormek. It is a very good machine. It also has a learning curve. One would not expect to just pick up a violin for the first time and be proficient. Give yourself some serious learning time with the Tormek. You will eventually be very satisfied with your sharp edges.

Do keep us posted.

Ken

[Rafael]

Thanks Ken, I'll keep that in mind. The only problem is that this learning process cost some money:). That's it. I know Tormek is a very good machine, although it has some minuses, but it has much more pluses. For my shop is the best tool now. Later I will invest in some other machines.

[Ken S]

Rafael,

Of course the learning process costs some money. It also costs time and thought. In that regard it is like any other worthwhile learning curve.

While I certainly admit that the tormek may not be the ideal machine for all tasks, I believe it is very versatile in skilled hands. The key words here are "in skilled hands". You would be best served to master the Tormek before considering more equipment. How you define "mastering the Tormek" will vary with how deeply you want your acquired skill base to be. I hope you will want to work for very skilled base. That will take time.

Good luck in your quest, and keep us posted.

Ken

ps I do not wish to leave the incorrect impression that I consider myself a Tormek master. I am learning, also, and will continue to do so.