Diamond wheel - which one to buy?

[steveci]

Hi Forum members,

I'm looking at buying one of the new diamond wheels for mt T-8 but unfortunately my budget will only allow me to buy one wheel. My dilemma is which grit would be the most useful?

I have a T-7 which I can use for coarse grinding and was thinking that the DE-250 (1200 grit) would be my best choice.  I would appreciate some advice from forum members before purchasing.

Thanks,
Steve.

[Ken S]

Steve,

You  ask a very relevant question. I'm sure many are wondering the same thing. My first thought would be to ask what kind of sharpening you do. Related to that is what sharpening gives you the most frustration?

My recent sharpening has not been typical. I do two types of sharpening. My personal sharpening is essentially my kitchen knives and home woodworking workshop. Frankly, I would have a hard time justifying the "need" for a diamond wheel for my home shop.

I also do a lot of forum related sharpening work. My work developing the kenjig is primarily for the forum. I designed it to serve both the occasional beginning home sharpener and the very busy farmers market sharpener who must sharpen a hundred different knives during a Saturday morning.

My most recent work combines both areas. On a personal level, I want to start using my grandfather's wood lathe. On a forum level, I wanted to answer the occasional posts about whether the Tormek can sharpen the large Alan Lacer turning skew chisels. The answer is a resounding yes, and the new coarse diamond wheel greatly helps the initial reshaping and sharpening and sharpening. For resharpening, when the tool is just off sharp, the 600 grit does the job well and quickly. As my skew technique improves, I believe I will use the DE 1200 grit wheel more.

As a second wheel in your T8, the DE 1200 grit wheel would mostly eliminate the need for using the stone grader. (The stone grader and TT-50 truing tool are never used with any diamond or CBN wheel. Never.) It would certainly be a luxury to move directly from a coarser wheel to a fine wheel with no grading or concern about diameter changes. If you are happy using your present wheel, I would lean toward the DE-250 1200 grit wheel as the first purchase. It produces a finer finish than either of the other two diamond wheels. In my opinion, this finish, with light stropping from the leather honing wheel, is very adequate for the majority of sharpening work. It covers the fine graded regular stone range very well and can move the "need" for a 4000 grit wheel to a lower priority back burner of the stove.

On the practical usage side, remember that any diamond wheel does not play nicely with a heavy grinding touch. Your wheel will cut better and last longer with a very light touch. Develop that habit from the start. Also, since you have both a T7 and a T8, use the T8 with the diamond wheel. The T8 water trough design allows you to use 125ml of water and only 5 ml of ACC. While the saving is not enough to justify a T8 purchase, since you already have it, why not take advantage of it?

I predict that as you become comfortable with a diamond wheel, you will eventually want at least a second grit as budget permits. I would follow your instinct and start with the DE-250.

Keep us posted.

Ken

[RichColvin]

Steve,

Our fearless forum leader has offered to provide me access to his three diamond wheels.  I intend to do comparisons on these vs the "traditional" stones as I have all three Tormek stones. 

I am a wood turner and (occasional) carver.  That's what I'll be concentrating on.

I sharpen knives, but am in no ways qualified to speak on that.  Look to others for that help (there are some really good people in the knife forum).

I don't have an electron microscope, but I intend to show :

• the finished grinds :  edges produced using traditional stones side-by-side with the diamond stones,
• the different cut surfaces produced (on a tightly-grained wood like on maple), &
• my general over-all opinion.

I also will attempt to hone my metal lathe bits (cemented carbide).

This is very timely for me as I soon need to replace my SB stone and want to determine if the diamond stone is better for my work.  Like you, I'll only buy one at a time, so this is an important analysis for me. 

So, if you can wait a few weeks, I'll have something to share. 

Kind regards,
Rich

[Ken S]

I'm glad you posted, Rich. You bring experience to the table in areas unknown to me. You thoughts will be valuable.

Fortunately, we are "neighbors". We actually live about a half hour apart, (much more convenient than commuting to Sweden, and the gasoline cost is considerably less than shipping three large grinding wheels).

The Tormek diamond wheels are rated for carbide. Your carbide turning tools will give that a good test.

Another side benefit of your using the diamond wheels is that during that time I will only have the "original" SG wheel for my sharpening. That will give me a fresh perspective on using it. I look forward to it.

Maybe I can set up a "play date" with Steve Bottorff in Cleveland to benefit from his extensive knife sharpening experience and get his thoughts on the diamond wheels.

Between Rich and Steve, that's a lot of fire power testing from one set of wheels. Stay tuned......

Ken

[steveci]

Hi Ken and Rich,

Thanks you both for your replies. It is appreciated!

Most of my sharpening is woodworking tools (plane irons, chisels, carving tools, etc).  I think choosing the DE-250 (1200 grit) will be the best for me at this point.  It is rare for me to have to completely regrind a damaged edge on on my tools. Generally most of my sharpening is just to a light grind to get a sharp edge and I  think the DE-250 will do that adequately.

Rich, I will look forward to the results of your testing but I think I will have to purchase now.  One of the stores here is offering diamond wheels at a very good price as an introductory offer.

Ken, I have been following the thread on water levels using the diamond stone and noted the issues if the trough is overfilled.  Thanks.

Regards,
Steve.

[Ken S]

Steve,

Your plan seems sound and well reasoned. Your sense of timing seems logical, also.

Keep us posted!

Ken