sharpening system bench heights

[Right Here]

Re. Water cooled sharpening of edge tools pdf:
Page 39, preparation before grinding, working height states  At knife sharpening the height of the bench should be 750–830 mm (29½–32 2/3").
But on page 52 and elsewhere, it states The height of the bench must not be too high when grinding knives. 550–650 mm (22–26") is suitable.
Why does the 1st statement vary from the 2nd statement?

[AKMike]

In my hard copy of version 10.3 of the handbook, page 39 and page 52 give the same height of 22"-26". Maybe a typographical error was made in the PDF, or maybe Tormek is upgrading its guidance to match the height of their Sharpening Station.

Mike

[RickKrung]

I think you should not feel bound by Tormek's recommendations on work surface height.  I think you should try some different heights and working positions to figure out what works for you. 

I work from the front of my T8 from a sitting position.  I cannot stand for long periods and do not like the view and holding angle when working edge leading from the vertical USB and standing or sitting from behind the machine.  I work edge leading from the front, sitting, using the vertical USB.  I feel I have a much better view of what is happening at the edge/stone interface.  The best height, for me, doing that is around 18". 

I do work from a folding table, which is 29" high, but I get neck and back cramps from holding my arms up.  When I was doing that for a farmer's market gig two summers ago, I used a 25" high stool to sit on, again working from the front of the machine. 

My suggestion is for you to work with your machine, sharpening stuff for a while, optimally at different heights, before committing to any particular work surface height.

Rick

[Ken S]

Mike, As I recall, when the Work Station was introduced, neither of the height figures in the handbook matched the height range of the Work Station. I think the Tormek can be used at various heights.

I agree with Rick about initial experimentation. I like the idea of adjustable height legs.

Ken

[Stickan]

Hi,
The suggested heights are just an easy guideline. It depends on the individual height of the person sharpening. Normally I like to have it at a low setting unless I am sharpening with the DBS-22, then I like to have it higher.

Best,
Stig

[Right Here]

Yes, I have the latest edition 10.4.  Also, very weird that the bench heights are given in fractions of an inch.

[cbwx34]

Yes, I have the latest edition 10.4.  Also, very weird that the bench heights are given in fractions of an inch.

Guessing it's converting metric to inches, and just plugging in the answer.   

[Twisted Trees]

Simple fact is you need to see over the top of your hands and you need your back straight, on top of that you need to adjust for standing or sitting. = everyone is going to want a different height. I would guess the estimated average heights in the PDF is a typo, but could be 2 different people one works wheel away, one wheel towards, one stool other standing bottom line is the correct height of the machine is the one where you are comfortable in arms and back for prolonged periods of time.

[nugget]

I am still experimenting with working heights but as a generalisation I have found I can get away with a higher bench height when doing chisels and planes. For knives however I need something lower or I find it more awkward and I have less control when I lift the knife handle as I get towards the tip of the blade. Current solution for that is a small platform that I stand on when doing knives.

[Ken S]

Back in the olden days, our founder, Jeff Farris, appeared with Norm Abram on an episode of the New Yankee Workshop. Norm was building a sharpening station. Jeff demonstrated the Tormek as part of the show. To the best of my knowledge, Norm still sharpens using his Tormek. Part of the design of Norm's sharpening station was a swing out platform instead of a bottom drawer. (Jeff later built one almost like it for his home shop.) The swinging platform allowed for two working heights.
On Jeff's recommendation, Norm decided not to put the sharpening station on rollers for stability.

Ken