Messages

I agree with the wire wheel being useless on a Tormek, although there sure would be a way to attach it.

Hi Rick,

just for the fun of it, I decided to take the challenge.
I took off the knurling on the cheap pin vise on the metal lathe. Thus there is  some more space for the DBS-22 clamp to grip and it aligns easily and correctly now.
Then I took a cheap and broken 1.3mm (~0.05") drill bit still lying on the bench, installed it in the vise and decided to put on the SJ stone. Even with that, overgrinding the secondary bevels is a matter of split sceconds. The second attempt was not so bad. The actual sharpening was mostly guesswork, interrupted by frequent use of different magnifiers.

Is it worth the effort? Well, that's a question the wife would ask... Probably not. The bit is really sharp now, but I'd sure go with the standard two-facets  And that only with bits which are not easily available or urgently needed. So this was more like one of these "Because I can!" moments.

Mike

I see. So that's to be added to the numerous ideas I already borrowed/stole from Rick Kruger. 

But I take the opportunity to thank you for your SharpeningHandbook, where I also spent a lot of time and have learned a lot. What a great collection of useful information!

Mike

Hi Jason,

a knife with such a distinct curve will certainly need some pivoting.
There have been some very clever ideas for doing so.

You'll find some ideas here: https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3541.msg24461#msg24461 or here: https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3802.msg25365#msg25365.

Pivoting can help a lot, but sure needs some practice, so I'd probably not start with the Spyderco.

Mike

Rich,

thanks for the great idea with the pin vise. I gathered what I had and found two approaches.

Working with just the collet from one of the vises worked great, clamping didn't change the protrusion geometry at all. It stabilises thin drill bits very much.
(I hope 'collet' is the right term, I'm always confused by 'collet', 'chuck' and 'collet chuck', which for me seem to be quite synonymous.)

Using the whole pin vise and clamping on the knurled part of the shank works too, but seems to need more attention. The octagonal handle of the Starret vise seems to make a real advantage.

Thanks again
Mike

Ken,

with the SE-77 and blades that short the first contact between wheel and Jig will be made by the left bushing.

I would not recommend grinding there too briskly

Mike

Rick,
I really like that drill bit jig. All drill bits matching the jig got a four-facet grind now. I think that's a big advantage compared to two facets, because having a defined point vs. a chisel point helps a lot. I don't see much advantage in a six-facet geometry for my applications, as I'm mostly working with wood, so I I haven't really examined that further - yet. But I liked the article by Mr. Joseph Mazoff and I understand the advantages.

I agree that holding very small bits is kind of a challenge, but have had success with bits as small as 2.6mm, working very slowly . But that's out of the specs, anyway. Such are the bigger bits, over 24mm. There are two or three I'd like to sharpen, making a holder for these is on my possibly-to-do-list.

As for the MDF wheels, I probably wouldn't have cared much about making one if I had started with the felt wheel. There was no European source for such hard felt wheels (meanwhile there is), so I started with MDF. I actually had one on the bench grinder but didn't use it much (same feeling of danger).
Then I cut some full size 250mm wheels for the Tormek. Worked great. I never felt it should run faster.
The surface of the MDF wheel is quite like that of the rock hard felt wheel. But MDF is a lot cheaper, a good alternative for experimenting with different compounds. And I got 40mm MDF, while the felt wheel has 32mm.
But I'm satisfied with the rock-hard felt wheel, too. My current setup looks like in the picture.

On the top right you may notice one of the HanJigs I made according to the drawings of a certain Mr. Krung 😉Thanks again for that. 

Mike

Hi John,

a friend dropped off one of these just this week.
If the plane blade is long enough you can use the standard jig. While width doesn't really matter, you'll need a protrusion of at least 1" inch, if you want to achieve a 25° angle, otherwise the jig will sit on the stone.
A blade 2" long should work just fine.

Mike

A year ago I bought a T-8. That was a great decision, followed by an interesting time of learning, experimenting and improving skills. Of course there's still room for improvement as always, but that's the fun part anyway.

I've sharpened a lot of knives, blades and tools. The Tormek allowed for experiments with MDF wheels, felt wheels, diamond wheels, line laser,  etc. Additional Tormek jigs like the DBS-22 were added, too.  And, oh, yes, an FVB, of course...

There also was a significant increase in the amount of peripheral equipment: microscope, BESS tester, diamond compounds, sprays ...

Examining and comparing the results was also a big challenge, and added to putting the machine to good use. And I enjoyed reading everything I found related to sharpening, like wootz' book, or anything I found on the net.

And I'm still enthusiastic about the manifold experiences and hints so generously shared in this forum. There has been a lot of development over the last year, especially with calculators and ,Tormek-math'. Keeping pace is a constant challenge but also adds a lot to gaining deeper insight. 

Meanwhile I get knives, plane blades and other stuff from friends – and I still enjoy sharpening. They enjoy getting back sharp tools 😊
I also took up woodturning together with my son, so there are even more occasions to sharpen.

One thing I learned: You can achieve great results with the standard wheel. While it's nice to have the SJ or Diamond wheels, these are not indispensable for a close-to-perfect result. There may be advantages in speed or other preferences, but the SG wheel is a great general-purpose tool. (I'm on my second SG-250 now.) It surely is the wheel I use most, despite having other options at hand.

For honing I use a rock-hard felt wheel or MDF wheel. MDF is great for experiments, as it's cheap and easily available. Cutting my own MDF wheels (and attaching them to the T-8) was one of the first projects, followed by many more, that were inspired by (or shamelessly stolen from) ideas from here: Herman's platform, KenJigs and its offshoots, like Rick's and Jan's HanJigs, to name a few. 

I just wish to thank you all warmly for sharing so many ideas and advice.

Mike

I'm not aware of different T-8 models over here, so I think the 'packaging' argument is very plausible.
Besides, changes on a machine within a series would not be Tormek-typical at all.
Mike

Hi Jordan,
after one year with the Tormek and as an owner of several different grinding wheels (SJ, DF, DE, SB) I'd suggest the follwing:

Start with just the SG-250. It's a most versatile wheel, that will suit most, if not any of your needs. Learn to master that wheel and then you'll be able to tell if you need another wheel (and which).
Of course there may be other opinions, but I'm sure the SG-250 will be sufficient for any knife. Also, when starting, you're better off with a wheel that doesn't cut as aggressively as diamond wheel.
If you like a mirror-polished edge on your knives, you might want the Japanese stone, but it's not at all necessary to get them sharp, that's just a matter of appearance and preference.

Have fun and a good time with your upcoming T-8, I'm sure you'll like it.
Mike

OK. I thought I saw a possible setup for the intended purpose here in the forum, but can't find it now.
This video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyp_sxp3OmE shows that setup around 1:16, using the side of the stone.

That works great. I sometimes use the Tormek for squaring the edges, but still carry a file with the (straight) blades and the burnisher. The first method requires a Tormek , the latter a bench or vise and some scrapwood to fix the blade, which is helpful for burnishing, anyway.

Hi John,
if we're talking about the same type of 'blade-only' cabinet scrapers, I'm afraid you can't use the Tormek for the burr.
Usually the scrapers' old burr is removed by grinding, and a new burr is raised with a solid piece of steel, round or triangular. (I think it's called a burnisher.)
So I'd say you could use the Tormek to prepare the scraper, but not for raising a new burr. Yet I don't know if that would be better than using a file.

If I misunderstood the term, just forget the above

Mike

Even better idea may be to join forces with Ken and prepare concertina booklet "How to Build  a KenJig". KenJigs for different set up parameters could be printed as jigsaw puzzles.

Jan

As much as I enjoyed the video, I shall be waiting for the musical... 

In addition to the great advice above, I'd suggest getting a decent USB microscope or a very good magnifying glass.
That helped me a lot in understanding what's going on on the edge, and often revealed the reason for the results not being as good as expected.