Tormek Expectations

[jsawduste]

For Christmas I received the Jet JWS 10.

From what I've been able to research both in person and via the internet. The Jet version is very comparable to the T-8. The support bar interchanges as does the wheels.

My usage is primarily woodworking tools. I'm not much of a turner so we are talking plane blades and chisels.

Having had a Supergrind many years ago. I opted for the DF 250 (600 g) right off. The mud, speed of cutting and general maintenance of the AL/OX wheel was something to avoid.

Taking advantage of holiday pricing. Several Tormek jigs have been added as well. The SE77, MB102, SVD110, SVS50 and the Jet Profiled leather wheel.

Currently I use several jigs with DMT 300/1000 Diamond. Then move on to Shapton ceramic all the way up to 16,000. Don't know what grit standard these companies use so direct comparison is difficult.

Herein lies my question. The tools I'm planning on sharpening range from modern A2/O1 all the way down to 1800's era molding plane blades. 

Flat plane blades are easy enough to jig. The single bevel skew blades are a different story. Thus the attraction of the multi jig.

What level of sharpness can I expect with the Jet/Tormek compared to the Shaptons ?

Is the DCF @ 600 g a good compromise to recreate a bevel on say A2 ? I have other jigs to create micro (secondary) bevels on the Shaptons with repeatability if the Tormek won't sharpening to that Shapton level.

Would I be better to switch to the CW220 then strop by hand or switch back to the leather wheel ? 

What is a good approach for the 1800's steel ?

Sorry for all the questions but my application needs are quite wide and I don't know how best to approach.
Perhaps changing to the DC 250 Diamond wheel with the CW 220 ?

Lastly, I'm vision impaired. Thus making use of jigs is paramount. Spinning carbide and bodily appendages don't get alone well. Nor do dull tools.

Thank you for all the help and patience.

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, John.

Let's start the conversation by talking about good lighting. For many years, my workshop was a poorly lit garage. I made the mistake of prioritizing acquiring tools over good, very good, lighting. Then one day I set up my Tormek outside in what photographers would call open shade lighting. It was very bright but not high contrast. I purchased a good LED task light and my sharpening improved.

Start with a single bench chisel. 3/4" is a good starting width. Use your DF-250 as a diamond wheel with a light touch. Before I purchased my Tormek T7 in 2009, I sharpened with oilstones, waterstones, and sandpaper after the customary friable white 80 grit six inch grinding wheel. I used hollow grinding and a microbevel. With the Tormek SG-250 andleather honing wheel I did not need the labor saving microbevel. Electricity didthe work.


Slow speed wet grinding works best for resharpening as opposed to reshaping. I classify really dull tools as border line reshaping jobs. When doing repetitive tasks like hand chopping dovetails, you can feel the difference when your chisel first starts to loseits keen edge. This is the time for light resharpening, frequent, minimal metal removing. If you do a lot of dovetailing, a second freshly sharpened chisel of the same size is much more useful than having eleven different sizes. Do not move on from this first chisel until you are completely satisfied that it is sharp. Speed will come with time.

Did your Jet machine come with the standard aluminum oxide wheel? I am not familiar with  the Jet machines. Are the Jet wheels gradable? I use my SG wheel to sharpen my 1891 vintage Stanley jack plane iron and my 1909 vintage Bedrock irons. I have never tried sharpening them with diamond wheels, so I can't speak from experience. My gut feeling is to use the ACC solution with your DF-250 wheel. (I never use my T8 diamond wheels dry or without ACC.)

Don't be in a hurry to purchase more grinding wheels. Onceyou master your present wheel, you will know from experience if you want or need any more grinding wheels.

Be patient.Study the Tormek online youtube classes. Do not be shy about posting questions on the forum; you are among friends.

Ken

[jsawduste]

Ken,
Thank you for the response. Been out of town and am just now catching up on things.

I understand your comments. There was plenty of questions and speculations in the original post.

Now that the holidays are over. The best course of action is to do just as you said. Take a tool to the wheel and learn how to use the machine.

The Jet does have the stone grader to change from coarse to fine. That said, I'm not sure how much I'll use it with the Diamond wheel in place.

Definitely will use water with an additive to protect and maintain the Diamond.

In a nutshell, I'm curious of the sharpness level obtained from the use of Jet/Tormek jigs and honing.  Compared to using the Shapton ceramic stones. 

The Jet is going to open new doors to sharpening tools that are difficult to jig on flat stones. I see the two systems complimenting each other rather than replacing.

As I get more experience. there will be better questions forthcoming.

Thank you for the warm welcome !!