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Just out if curiosity, why do you want to?  I mean what are you making holes in ice for?

Probably, but that would need specialist tooling which is unlikely to be widely owned by the likes of us.  I spose you need to take the wheel off and lay it flat then dress it with some kind of flat abrasive block.

Lap the lap so to speak

That's a good one Ted. I have the same problem in fact.

What you're referring to is called a "business case" in other words feedback from a market that helps quantify the likely profitability of a given investment strategy

There may be another good reason why its worth submitting an improvement request though. A lot of manufacturers have a formal process through which they gather, categorise and document improvement requests. It's one of the intelligence channels that feeds their R&D inputs. Requests are grouped, ranked and analysed for return on investment.  If the numbers stack up, they have a chance of being implemented in a future upgrade.

So whilst apparently isolated, your request is still probably worth submitting since it may be the one that tips the balance in favour of Tormek doing it

This is conjecture based on my knowledge and understanding of certain manufacturer market intelligence management approach. What I don't know is whether or not Tormek employ such a system.

Jeff Farris on the other hand has very direct experience of Tormek's marketing strategy. He may be in a position of knowledge to comment on how their R&D process is managed

I agree re the lack of information. It's almost like the T3 is the "guilty secret" of Tormek that everyone is so embarrassed about they don't want to be associated with :-)

Probably conceived in response to competitive pressure from copying manufacturers, but no one wants to go there. Thus no one really invests in developing collateral around it

Rob

I must say whilst never wanting to put the dampers on anyone wishing to enter the Tormek world, I also agree that using the T any model to shape large metal blanks is gunna cost you time and blisters!

For major shaping operations like you suggest you would be better off with something much more aggressive. The Tormek is excellent for occasional big shaping and then fast and fine sharpening. For example I re ground a finger nail gouge yesterday. New shape, probably took 20 minutes. Now to sharpen, it takes twenty seconds. But after the shaping my arms were aching, fingers a little worn etc. I'm not a big fan of dry grinders but for fast steel removal, that's the appropriate direction.

Rob

 

I haven't Jeff. Was it those books that the Russell Crowe movie was based on?  I recall seeing that move in which, surprise surprise, no carpenters made any appearances.

You're right though this is now hideously off topic. However Ted will doubtless appreciate the profound wit and sophistication of this illustrious forum......

We recently took the kids to see HMS Victory (we live in England).  This was the flagship of the British Navy that beat the Spanish Armada in 1588. It's hull and structure are all made from old English oak. Some of the beams are of a breathtaking size.

We were lucky enough to see where the ships carpenter had his workshop. It was deep in the bowels of the vessel and you couldn't even stand up the headroom was so low. The tools were the rudimentary wooden planes, draw knives etc.  Part of his job was to repair parts of the hull or rigging after cannon fire damage!!  With no power! While at sea! By candle lamp light.  Can you imagine how much skill those shipwrights had.

Funnily enough HMS Victory is still a Commissioned Naval vessel ie its funded out of budgets intended for ships still in service. Apparently it was the only way the Navy could fund its maintenance. So she might just take to the seas at any moment if some despot mis behaves :-)

I agree. I've been manipulating wood for nearly 40 years, sometimes assembling it into houses, sometimes furniture and sometimes turnings.

In my view there are two branches of wood working that are the "high ground", instrument making is one and ship building the other. Both seem capable of bending, finishing, shaping wood in ways that defy reason and certainly defy the rules of grain!

I've done a little of both myself (helping friends) and have huge respect for the skills needed

You've never seen a proper wooden jig till you've been inside a luthiers shop believe me

Good man Ted. I'm certain you won't regret it. Check here often for any issues it really is a fabulous knowledge resource.

The jigs and techniques take some patience to skill up but if you're an instrument maker doubt you'll have much trouble. I have a guitar luthier friend and I've never seen so many jigs as in his workshop.

This is the place to come when the dvd's and books don't solve the problem or if you want to do something a bit "off piste". There are people in this forum that have forgotten more about sharpening than Ill ever know!

For something so bad Ted it sure has a lot of other manufacturers copying its design! ( but with inferior parts)

My advice would be to spend a few months letting it settle while you use it and come to appreciate how just downright useful it is. If you're still not convinced after a while, the second hand market is sufficiently buoyant for you to recoup most of your cost

Like Herman, I am just a customer, nothing vested in Tormek.  If you keep it, and use it, I have little doubt the issues you perceive as problems today will fade and be replaced by a growing value that gets built with every tool you sharpen. That's the way it is with all good tools. After time and use, the respect builds until they're an old friend, indispensable.

You're not even on your own, this forum is a really useful resource for all manner of sharpening questions. The combined experience of the contributors runs into hundreds of years. When you buy into Tormek its far more than a tool purchase, you're joining a community of positive enthusiasts whose advice and knowledge really boosts your confidence when the manual falls short or you're in a tricky situation.

Rob

Not just sharp but completely free of plaque :-)

 

The honing wheel is supple. It knocks down high spots, but also reaches down into low spots. Consequently, it also softens the line at the back of the bevel. This makes for a tool that glides on the material to be cut. As an experiment, take a couple of similar tools, grind them equally on the SG-250, using both the fast cut and then the fine cutting graded surface, then take one to a high grit (4000 to 6000) bench stone and finish the other one on the leather honing wheel. In my experience, you can get a razor sharp edge with both methods, but the leather honed tool will move through the material being cut more gracefully.

I experimented but with a practical focus. I was turning natural edge bowls tonight and the cutting of the last few mm of bark on the inside can be the make or break of the project.  That bark has little support from either side and often wants to tear off kind of spoiling the effect of the natural edge.  One helpful avoidance strategy aside of CA glue is a very sharp bowl gouge so you cut cleanly and don't tear the bark away. I sharpened my favourite 3/8 gouge, honed etc. I then left the universal sppt on the honing wheel side. Went back to the lathe and before the tool dulled too much re-honed with fresh compound, no grinding, honing only.  That was enough to maintain a razor sharp edge.  Just had to be careful you didn't wait too long between hones.

What was noticeable was as you suggested Jeff, the tool did cut more gracefully, it positively slid through (oak in this case) and in addition to preserving most of then bark edge, it also significantly reduced tool marks and therefore the whole scraping/sanding effort needed to finish.

I then tried it on a fruit wood and I kid you not, was able to go from the gouge straight to 0000 grade wire wool to finish...no sand paper at all. 

Marvellous