Messages

If this is the stone wheel SG-200 then yes, it can be trued with the trueing tool TT-50. Depending on what you are sharpening it may not matter that much but you should get a TT-50 in any case to keep the stone in good condition.

S'il s'agit de la meule en pierre SG-200, alors oui, elle peut être rectifiée avec l'outil de rectification TT-50. Selon ce que vous affûtez, cela n'a peut-être pas beaucoup d'importance, mais vous devriez dans tous les cas vous procurer un TT-50 pour garder la pierre en bon état.

Has anyone looked at any of the Tormek clone jigs such as Jet?

My son bought me one of these

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood-wet-stone-grinder-plane-camber-jig

Have not had a chance to use it yet but it seems quite good. I may give it s short appraisal once I use it.

There is a new Tormek Sharpening class up on the Tormek Innovation Sharpening on their YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOM931z3YPM

Unfortunately, anyone reading what you quote from me out of context might think it reflected my opinion

Sorry, that was not my intent, hence the quotes. I was making an observation on the design of the Tormek that it in and of its very nature was a general purpose machine evolved from previous powered and unpowered machines.

I use the table trick outlined in the Tormek knife sharpening class. This seems to work fine for all of the small knives I sharpen. There is the occasional pesky knife that is too tricky to fit the SNM-00 which I sharpen freehand.

"The Tormek was not created as a knife-sharpening equipment. Knives are kind of an afterthought."

While this may or may not be true, it is true that the primary motivation was to create a machine for easily sharpening woodworking tools. The concept of a natural grinding wheel rotating in a water bath is as old as the hills and goes back to antiquity, possibly to the bronze or iron age. There were even powered machines pre Tormek. These were mostly general purpose machines and designed for sharpening in general, not specifically "wood working" tools. The Tormek was not a new concept but, like most good inventions, an evolution on the wet stone sharpening wheel. Whether or not it was intended to sharpen edges on non-woodworking tools it was certainly based on a universal natural stone grinder.

Further to the point there is a sticker on the 1982 model, SA250, illustrating the direction of grind and hone showing a picture of a kinife being sharpened. So from very early on the idea that it could be used to sharpen knives was clear.

If you are sharpening a "dull" knife then it only takes a few minutes. If you are reshaping or removing deep nicks than it does take some time. The DC-250 makes short work of really badly worn knives but I would use your belt to fix damaged knives still them go back to the Tormek to finish the edge. I had a knife with a 2-3mm nick and I re-shaped the edge (at 90 deg) on a belt sander then came back to the DC-250 to re-establish the bevel which did not take long, then finished with the DF then DE before stropping.

Freehand should not be an issue for you. The jigs are designed for edge leading but freehand you obviously want to turn it around to edge trailing for convenience.

The speed does make it slower but it is really only noticeable on badly worn or damaged knives.

As for the rattling water tray I had the T7 and now have the T8 and I have not had any rattling but I am sure it could be easily remedied if necessary.

I found the Tormek Sharpening Class on the drill guide really helpful. They also talk about rotating the drill slightly for dull drill bits.

https://www.youtube.com/live/kUrJOQryFEg?si=BetD8broNZp5niU3

i hate blunt tools whatever they are

I hear you. My father-in-law decided to scrape up the leaves and twigs and throw them into the hopper. You can imagine what the included gravel did to the blades. That was pre-Tormek so I did the blades freehand on an 8" grinder using a tool rest set at the appropriate angle. I now have the planer blade jig so may try them in there if they will fit, but they may be too thick, I need to check.

I suspect that they "hollow grind" specification is probably written by some documentation guy and not really someone who understands the engineering. I can jsut hear the conversation;
Doco guy: How do you finish the the blades
Engineer: Oh, on a grinder
Doco guy: So what sort of grinder
Engineer: We use a machine with a 100mm stone but it can wear down to 75mm before we replace it
Doco guy: so what do you call the finish that type of grinder leaves
Engineer: Hollow grind
Doco guy makes note: "So hollow grind 100 - 75mm

As Rick says you don't need to be too fussy with chipper blades. An 80G wheel is more than good enough, 120 if you are super fussy. All you need is an edge really. Mounting an Aluminium Oxide wheel on the T8 is plenty good enough. I'll probably try this myself next time I sharpen my blades.

John Jr is an experienced hobby woodworker (along with many other skills). He will make very good use of it. He has wanted one for a long time so it will get a lot of good use.

My new T8 arrived today. My son inherited my old T7 and is busy buying new jigs for it

If you are referring to the new magnetic interlock switches found on modern machinery then no, foot switches will not work on those machines. They work on a combination of relay and switch. The mechanical switch applies power to the relay which in turn powers the machine and holds the switch contacts closed. Once power is removed the relay de-energises and falls open. The only way to turn the machine back on is to physically close the switch again. The idea is that if the machine is running during a power outage then the machine will not come back on if the power is restored. Not that the Tormek would offer any hazard in that situation

I believe that many country's electrical standards now require these switches on new machines. The only way around this is to replace the switch with a non-interlocking switch or to bypass it, both of which could be violating the local electrical standards. Either that or by a second hand model without an interlocking switch.

Make sure that the water tray is not too high. As Ken says, just wind the tray up until it is just high enough, not too high.

One of the issues I found is that when I am sharpening longish tools the water runs along the tool and spills out over the machine. My son printed this for me on a 3D printer. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4791736 This helps a lot.

So what, in your opinion, would be too steep of an angle for diamond/CBN

It is not only the angle you need to consider but how likely it is to slip. The face that the scissors are close to 90 deg, often quite thin and are held against a flat surface making it prone to slipping make them super tricky on coated wheels.  Wood turning scrapers are at a similar angle but they are thicker and much less prone to slipping makes them a safer proposition. It is really a combination of factors. I think that the jig used for scissors is partly to blame.