Diamond wheel course speed

[AndrewG]

Hey all, thinking of buying a course diamond wheel. I mainly only use my tormek for grinding primary bevels back to 25 degrees on my plane and chisel irons (repairing dents etc also). I find the standard wheel a bit slow, will I see much improvement in speed with the course diamond wheel? Many thanks!

[Ken S]

Hi, Andrew.

To answer your question, it will help if you provide some context. How many plane blades are you sharpening, and how often? The other question is, have you optimized your SG-250?

I started, like you, using my Tormek for my chisels and plane blades. At the time, I was using primarily a set of a dozen Marples Blue Chip chisels and five old Stanley bench planes. I eventually gave the Blue Chips to my nephew. I noticed that I only used about five of the set. I confess to being a bit of a collector. Of my five Stanley planes, the numbers 4,5, and 7 would be more than adequate. I only sharpen my own tools. Does this sound close to your sharpening?

For many years, I had sharpened using oilstones and then Norton water stones without complaints. Now I do the entire process on my Tormek using the SG. Have you tried using your Tormek for the entire sharpening and honing process? One argument against this is based on grit size. In my opinion, grit size is overrated in importance, as is the supposed "hollow grinding" effect. Having a properly dressed grinding wheel and grinding pressure are under appreciated.

There is nothing wrong with benchstone sharpening. It is just a slightly different way of thinking. If I was without my Tormek, I would put my water stones back in service. That said, it is important to keep the SG in optimal condition. (The online classes on the Tormek YouTube channel cover this well.) Start with using the TT-50 truing tool often and lightly. This will solve a multitude of problems. It also leaves a rougher wheel surface, ideal for dents. Use your stone grader often and liberally. The edges grade more effectively than the flat surfaces. Se it for both the initial coarse grinding and the finer grinding.

Do not skip the fine grinding step. Than use the leather honing wheel. It is probably best to start with the control of jig mounted honing. No need for an FVB for woodworking tools.

Compare the all Tormek method with your Shapton stones. You can often touch up using just the fine graded wheel and leather honing wheel.

After all this, you can make an informed decision based on your own experience. Is the amount of time save with the coarse diamond stone worth the investment costs in a coarse diamond wheel?

Keep us posted.

Ken

[AndrewG]

Hi Ken,

Thank you for the detailed reply. I use the tormek for either damaged edges or when the secondary bevel gets too big and need to grind back to the primary angle.

I have two sets of chisels (8 in total). I set for bench work and one set for dovetails. I have about 8 hand planes (I've culled a few, left with what I believe are the essentials). I do detailed woodwork so i like having specialty tools where needed.

I've had a few plane irons recently where I purchased second hand planes and the previous owner had attempted to grind a bevel and it was all over the place. I had to completely grind back to 25 degrees and it took me a very long time. I use the grading tool (course) regularly when grinding. And also i do change to fine when I've achieved the desired angle.

I have tried sharpening totally on the tormek, and results were excellent. I really like the leather wheel, gives a nice finish. But i haven't done a side by side comparison with the shapton stones also. That's a good tip!

I'd like to get a diamond or CBN wheel and I've ready there faster than the standard wheel. The idea of being able to reestablish a primary bevel quickly is very appealing.

Thanks again

[RichColvin]

Andrew,

I do a lot of semi-fine woodworking on my bench, and wanted an easy way to quickly resharpen my bench chisels.   This thread on the forum discusses some great insights I got from others for a way to use the SE-77 with the TTS-100.

      https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=4971.0

The 3D-printed jig works wonderfully.  You can get the plans for that on the Sharpening Handbook site:

       https://www.sharpeninghandbook.info/indexJigs.html#ProjJigTTS100

This is probably useful for you to get a chisel reshaped as you are noting. 

Rich