What's the proper procedure for rehoning a plane blade or chisel on the Tormek? When it dulls, do I sharpen on the wheel at the coarse level or the fine level? Also, someone recommended that I use a combination of stones and the Tormek. When the blade gets dull, they recommend going to an 8000 grit waterstone to get it sharp again. Once the hollow is gone, I can go back to the Tormek to reestablish the hollow (which is good for plane blades, as it eliminates plane marks.) Thanks!
I think it depends on how dull your plane blade gets. Normally we go back to the coarse graded stone. It shouldn't take much.
As to combining the Tormek with waterstones, that's your call. You can certainly refresh the grind with the Tormek once the micro bevel becomes macro.
I would suggest trying the entire process with the Tormek until you become proficient with honing. At that point, you can make a more informed decision on which method you wish to use, rather than favoring one because you are not comfortable with the other. Also, there is no rule against using both depending on the tool and use.
Ken
As Ken said, it depends on how dull it is. You can do everything you need to do with the Tormek. If you think you need the slightest of touch ups you can just hone on the leather wheel, but in my experience that doesn't do much. You can also try the grindstone prepared fine and see if that raises a burr. If not, go to coarse.
The only time I use a bench stone is if I want to do a touch up and I don't want to bother with setting up the Tormek.
After much thought, I decided to edit/cut my post. I will probably repost it after more testing. For the present, I believe new users would benefit most by mastering the traditional Tormek technique. If they eventually decide to include other techniques, having a solid background in the traditional technique will serve them well in their explorations.
Ken