How to keep leather wheel

[Sharpco]

I decided not use the leather wheel. But someday, it may change.

Anyway, what is the good method to store the leather wheel? How about sealing it in a plastic bag?

[Ken S]

Sharpco,

I have a second leather honing wheel. I use it with valve grinding compound instead of PA-70. VGC cuts more aggressively than PA-70. PA-70 leaves a smoother finish.

I keep the leather honing wheel that I use with VGC in a plastic zip loc storage bag. Although the VGC works well, I have not actually used this wheel for several years. Unless you are planning to place something else where the leather honing wheel is located, I would suggest just leaving it in place.

Ken

[Daniel]

Please excuse me if I deviate from the main topic, but have you ever used chromium oxide (green compound in crayon-like bars) on the Tormek leather wheel? Just curious about the results because I have lots at my workshop. How does it compare to the PA-70?

[Elden]

Welcome to the forum, Daniel. I have been enjoying listening in to your and Ken's chats. There have been various discussions about the green compound and the Tormek paste. A couple of recent ones:

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3379.msg20739#msg20739

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3385.msg20812#msg20812

I haven't tried any but the Tormek paste myself. So I am not sure how these match up with yours. Someone else will give you a direct answer!

[Daniel]

Thank you, Elden

I think wootz post answers my question pretty much and lines up with what I expected. It may be too big of a jump of grits to be time-efficient.

[Ken S]

Please excuse me if I deviate from the main topic, but have you ever used chromium oxide (green compound in crayon-like bars) on the Tormek leather wheel? Just curious about the results because I have lots at my workshop. How does it compare to the PA-70?

Daniel,

I have an old bar of the green compound. I don't believe I have ever used it, so I have no experience based opinion. PA-70 is a good all around honing compound. It costs around $10 US a tube. I think that is reasonable. (You should already have a tube with your T8.). In the interest of simplicity, I suggest just using the product designed for your Tormek and not thinking about it.

Ken

[Daniel]

Ken,

A good friend of mine dropped by my workshop today and brought a ridiculously cheap Tormek clone. He is a furniture making teacher but everything is done with routers and big machines these days so he has little to no use for it. He was curious on how my T-8 compared to his since I spoke so highly of my Tormek and he has had horrible experiences with his clone.

No surprises here: cheap and completely out of true stone stone wobbling all over the place, chassis made of plastic, JOKE of a square edge jig... Looks more like a toy than a tool, but I noticed his leather wheel was green, asked him and yup, that was chromium oxide. Since I dont want to contamine my leather wheel with different abrasives, this was my chance to try it.

The CrOx seems to work perfectly fine, I was very surprised there was no burr left on my chisel though I have to confess his leather wheel is bigger (226mm) and spins faster than the T-8. It might not be so efficient and fast on the T-8...

I tried to help my friend by truing his stone, luckily the support is compatible with the TT-50, but the square edge jig is beyond repair, actually more like "defective by design", so after messing with the whole thing for a couple of hours I gave up. I told him he could buy a Tormek SE-77 but he insists he has too little use for it to care. So now I have 2 machines at my workshop

Now I can't stop thinking of ordering an SJ-200. Does that sound overkill?

[SharpenADullWitt]

I would be more apt to use a diamond stone, then I would an SJ stone if it is the machine I think it is.

[Ken S]

My first exposure to green chromium oxide compound was Leonard Lee's Sharpening book. He used it with a non powered leather strop, so I don't believe an increase of 6mm in diameter or higher tpm would have a major impact on efficiency.

I think Wootz' matching of various compounds with different grits of grinding wheels is inspiring. He has the intelligence and work ethic to establish his business as the high end specialty sharpening service.

Ken

[Daniel]

Hello SADW!

Honestly, I'm confident Tormek staff and this forum admins wouldn't mind if I mentioned the brand and model: after all, calling those things "clones", "copies" or "competition" is stretching the meaning of all those 3 words too far. But I didn't because they deserve no publicity at all.

My T-8 is a beautifully engineered piece of quality equipment, very rugged but very refined, that performs flawlessly giving me professional results all the time, made in Sweden by a company that apparently loathes programmed obsolescence (c'mon, they deserve a hug for this alone ). Those guys seem to be doing their job responsibly, efficiently, professionally and even ethically.

I can't say any of those things about the "competition". 'nuff said?

[Daniel]

Ken,

Absolutely, Wootz's logic is very sound. After all, polishing compounds are just very fine abrasives, so his recommendations make perfect sense. I was just surprised that the CrOx worked at all, I thought it would struggle, and certainly didn't expect it to work so fast. Since I have about 1kg of that compound laying around it is good to know it will do in an emergency, if I run out of PA-70 and notice it too late.

[Ken S]

Reluctantly speaking as forum moderator, I would mind if you mentioned the make and model. We have had a general understanding that we do not discuss competitor's products on the forum. We have neither praised or berated competitor's machines. Whatever is said off forum is not my concern.

I do not feel dogmatic about this. I have no problem with occasional posts about other honing compounds. I have posted my thoughts on valve grinding compound. I have also posted at some length my experiebce with CBN and 3X grinding wheels. As Tormek does not market any of these products and I use them on my Tormek, I think of them as extensions of the Tormek and not competitors' products.

Herman first introduced the concept that we are "guests of Tormek" on this forum. When I feel compelled to moderste, that is my guiding philosophy.

Please do not feel embarrassed; we are all friends here.

Ken

[Ken S]

Ken,

Absolutely, Wootz's logic is very sound. After all, polishing compounds are just very fine abrasives, so his recommendations make perfect sense. I was just surprised that the CrOx worked at all, I thought it would struggle, and certainly didn't expect it to work so fast. Since I have about 1kg of that compound laying around it is good to know it will do in an emergency, if I run out of PA-70 and notice it too late.

Daniel,

You remind me of the old Vermonters who used to have a cord or two of firewood on the porch at the end of winter.   

Ken

[Daniel]

Daniel,

You remind me of the old Vermonters who used to have a cord or two of firewood on the porch at the end of winter.   

Ken
[/quote]

Hahaha, yes, somehow with a few things I'm a bit of a hoarder. I bought the CrOx a year ago because it was too cheap to resist and it gives me hair-shaving results when hand sharpening. I wasn't planning on purchasing a Tormek, I'd had bad experiences in the past with a not so cheap wet grinder. It's part of my personal grudge on cheap tools, or should I say, part of an internal struggle: I know cheap tools end up costing me more money, time and resources than proper tools, but I'm too stubborn and skinny to change!

I was just trying to warn others against going that way, sorry if it didn't come up like that. English is not my first language and long posts make me feel guilty of deviating the main topic and boring others

[Ken S]

Daniel,

I grew up in New Jersey and live in Ohio. We really don't speak English in either place.    Do not worry about English not being your first language.

There is a very popular Public Radio program in the US called "Car Talk". The two brothers are both first rate mechanics and answer all kinds of questions, car repair related or not. They are very funny. A favorite quote from the show is,"It is the stingy man who pays the most". I think that also applies to cheap tools!

Ken