Struggling with grinding chisels, trying to debug the process

[jgerman]

Hi,

I've had a T-8 for a few years but haven't used it much because I wasn't getting great results. I set it up again to try and grind the primary bevel on a chisel that had a nick.

The bevel ground by the Tormek was not square to the sides, it was visibly out of square.

On Instagram I had the following response from the Tormek account"

1. Does the tool have parallel sides or could it have been slightly twisted in production? If yes, please use the same grinding method as for Japanese chisels, see p. 124 (English Handbook, version 10.4).
2. Check so the tool is correctly mounted and that the whole side of the tool is resting on the straight shoulder of the jig.
3. Ensure that the clamp is parallel to the base.
4. Make sure that the Universal Support is mounted straight. Apply pressure with one finger over the threaded leg and lock it first, then lock the other knob.
5. Check that the grindstone is even and parallel with the Universal Support. If necessary, true it with the Truing Tool TT-50. Before you true the stone, make sure that the Universal Support is mounted straight, see above.
6. Make sure you're not applying pressure by forcing the back of the tool upwards, since you then will risk bending the Universal Support. Always sharpen by pressing with your fingers close to the edge.
7. Like with all Tormek's jigs, please keep in mind that there is no grinding depth stop. This means that you control with your hands where the grinding takes place (pressure and grinding time). Check the shape frequently and grind more where it is needed.
We hope these tip will help you in your work. You are also always welcome to contact our support (support@tormek.se) if you're still having troubles or if you have any other questions. Kind regards - Marie, Tormek

I figured I'd try to debug my process here with the help of the community.

1. It's a Lie Nielsen bench chisel, it's not twisted, the sides are parallel, and I've seen the same results from other chisels.
2. I've set the tool against the shoulder (using both the SE-76 and SE-77) and double checked that the tools was touching the shoulder on both sides.
3. I'm not sure what the clamp being parallel to the base means.
4. My process for setting the bar: Eyeball the angle, then keeping the angle finder set up, use the micro adjust to get the bar where it needs to be, then I followed the procedure above.
5. I have trued this stone multiple times, and most recently after make sure the bar was straight as detailed above.
6. All pressure is at the tip of the tool.
7. See 6.

I'm about to spend most of tomorrow trying to figure out the issue, but I have some questions before I do. Now that I have several chisels that are skewed, how do I get them squared again using the Tormek. Several of the suggestions above imply that there's enough play in the jig and flex in the bar such that if I try to follow a normal procedure it's just going to maintain the skew.

I would desperately like to use the Tormek to (at least) put a primary bevel on my chisels, so any advice would be welcome.

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Jeremy.

The problem may be the SE-77 jig. The design feature which allows controlled, variable camber is a real advance for plane irons. It requires extra care with chisels. The earlier SE-76 jig had fixed alignment. The same design feature which allows you to vary the alignment with the SE-77 also allows it to be out of square.

Neither you nor Tormek mentioned checking with a small square. You should keep a small accurate square near your Tormek work area. Use it in conjunction with the black marker. If your chisel is square, The black marker will show grinding evenly across the bevel. If the chisel is already out of square, or is square and the jig is out of square, the black marker being removed will quickly read out of square. Be sure to check early. As soon as you notice any out of squareness, stop and make adjustment.

Once the jig is aligned properly, it should stay that way until you change it (as to add camber to a plane iron). Vigilent checking with the square and black marker is essential.

Do not become discouraged. You can and will master this difficulty. It's just part of the learning curve.

Incidentally, I really like L-N chisels. They keep the best parts of my grandfather's Stanley 750 chisels while including some nice updates, like same size interchangeable handles. I purchased one of the long paring chisels which I can use with all of the smaller sizes. Clever!

Keep us posted. If you are still having trouble, we are persistent in helping. If you solve the problem, we are glad to celebrate with you.

Ken

[darita]

I know this is an older thread, but I though I'd chime in with my similar experience and solution. I had the same issues of getting my plane irons and chisels to come square.  I did everything I was supposed to do, but. nothing worked.  Many on another website kept telling me that my technique was not right and I should do this or do that.  I finally took a known, square and sharp chisel, mounted it up and looked at how it was resting on the stone.  That's when I saw that one side of the blade was lifted up from the stone surface.  With my old jig, there was no way to adjust for that, but that was the culprit for sure.  The one suggestion that was made was that I needed to get an SE-77 to make the fix.  It worked!  A couple of tweaks and the fix was in.  I hope this helps and here's the original thread... 
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?268832-Tried-The-Tormek-Again-Back-to-Stones