early Tormek information

[Ken S]

I have several editions of the handbook. I find the development of the Tormek fascinating. My earliest edition (yellow cover) seems to be from around the late 1990s. According to my copy of edition 8, my much used copy which came with my T7, my yellow cover edition predates edition 4.

My yellow cover edition includes the Super Grind 2000 and the Super Grind 1500. The 2000 came with the man made wheel we now call the SG-250. The 1500 came with the natural stone mined from Gotland Island off the coast of Sweden. These were the original grinding wheels used with the early Tormeks.In their unaltered state, the man made stones are faster cutting than the natural stones. The stone grader made the man made stones finer grit, like the natural stones.

The housings were all square, with only one pair of vertical sleeves The Super Grind 2000 and 1500 both featured the new "quick release" plastic locknut for the leather honing wheel. This made it convenient to switch to the EA-240 aluminum oxide impregnated deburring wheel.

In general, I believe the use of jigs has advanced the Tormek. However, in this era which predated many of the jigs, skillful use of the universal support bar often saved the day. I think these skills are still useful for situations which don't work well in the jigs. The SVD-110 platform was not yet in the production line up.

I was hoping to get even earlier information from Tormek. Apparently Tormek no longer has early information. I think that is unfortunate. If anyone has any earlier information, either in print or digital, and is willing to post or share it, please let me know.

Ken