Jeff Farris and others,
What jig is best for sharpening 8-10" mallet woodcarving gouges using a T7?
It seems the Tormek is used by far more turners than carvers, wonder why?
Thanks in advance
Greg
I am a very amateur carver. I use the SVD-185 for larger gouges, & the SVS-32 for smaller ones. Both work extremely well for me.
Note, the SVD-185 has been replaced with the SVD-186 & the SVS-23 with the SVS-38. Both are similar to the original ones, only better.
Rich, thanks for the information. There are so many jigs it's easy to get confused.
Greg
Greg and Rich,
The Tormek seems an ideal sharpening system for carvers in many ways. Many carving tools have a small amount of usable blade length. Accurate jig use to assure minimum steel removal and consistent bevels is essential. The slow moving cool wet wheel insures that none of the precious tool edge is overheated.
I am continually searching for good Tormek training materials. Steve Bottorff's Sharpening School DVD is outstanding for knives and scissors. Many of us have relied on Jeff Farris' you tubes on chisel, knife, and scissors for years. They are an essential starting point. Jeff also did an excellent video series on sharpening and using woodturning tools. You can watch the sharpening portion online (google tormek you tubes). The DVD from Tormek includes very well done sections on using turning tools as well as all the sharpening. Also included is a book. This information kit should be a part of every Tormek turner's active library.
The amount of training material available for Tormek woodcarvers is, unfortunately, very lean. The only video info I am aware of is on the tormek.com website. Just click on the individual jigs and accessories. You should do this. There are also two films featuring carvers on the website which you would enjoy. All of the Tormek Friends videos are well done and interesting. The Tormek turner's DVD is primarily geared for turners. I am a hope to be again turner and purchased the DVD before the jigs. I refer to it periodically and have found it useful in many ways.
Greg, you should email support@tormek.se and see if you could download the handbook prior to purchasing your Tormek. The handbook is our Bible and will answer many questions. I have three editions of the paper book nearby for ready reference as well as the latest edition on my ipad. The handbook is the only written source of Tormek carving tool sharpening I am aware of.
I should add that reading through the woodcarving posts of this forum should prove valuable for you. As a practical suggestion, I suggest noting the poster's name and date for retracing your steps. I occasionally print out especially useful posts.
I have complained for a long time about the need for more in depth training videos. Woodcarving, in my opinion, suffers most from the void of training videos. Not being a carver myself, I am also unWare of any third party videos or schools. Carvers, please help.Hopefully other carvers will post.
Ken
I sent an email to Tormek asking about the lack of training/how to videos for woodcarving gouges that are available. I got a response from Stig in about 30 minutes. See below:
Dear Greg,
Thank you for your mail.
We are well aware of this and will do more videos further on, for woodcarvers and also more for the hunters/outdoor enthusiast.
Tormek is a small company and everything takes a bit longer but we always try to listen and improve the system and how to show the benefits.
We started doing some films and will keep on doing this and woodcarving is a group that deserves more info.
This is one arbout a Swedish woodcarver, Carsten Nilsson (http://tormek.com/international/en/about-tormek/tormek-friends/)
Sincerely,
Stig Reitan
Good post, Greg. Tormek is responsive, however it is a very small company. I believe two facets of the training shortage are a very small company and a network of importers and dealers which carries many brands and products. In the past, many, if not most, of Tormeks were purchased at woodworking shows after being demonstrated by a knowledgeable salesman/dealer. Today we are lucky if a dealer devotes more than one percent of the store to Tormek. In this environment, a customer is fortunate to find a really knowledgeable sales person.
Ken
Not sure about the sharpening, but the carver I know, thinks the leather wheels and honing often, are the more used bit.
After talking to the resident Tormek expert at Affinity Tool (Tormek Distributer), the only jig needed for carving gouges both palm and mallet is the SVS-32 including V tools. If you have bent shaft gouges you will need the SVD-186.
Greg
Good info, Greg.
Ken
Hi,
Page 48-52 in the handbook is very informative. Called "Which jig should I use?"
Also on the webpage http://tormek.com/international/en/which-jig-should-i-use/
Sincerely,
Stig
Greg,
I forgot to mention the Tormek jigs for knives. If you do any whittling, these can be really useful. The base is the SVM-45. Really well designed and you'll find much in the knife sharpening forum on its use.
There is also a SVM-00 for small knives which is invaluable. For those knives with fixed, small blades & large handles (relative to the blade ... I.e., chip carving knives), this jig really makes sharpening a lot easier and more consistent.
I sharpen & hone on a std stone & the leather stropping wheel, but am considering the purchase of a Japenese water stone (the SJ-250). Can't speak to its value at this time.
Tormek is a big investment, but worth it. I got my grinder in 2002, and it's still running like a champ. The only thing I've had to replace is the grindstone.
Good luck.
Kind regards,
Rich
Good post, Rich.
Ken
Well I made the call and invested in a T7 this morning. It won't get here til the middle of March due to the number of units being bought due to the 10% off sale.
Rich, I invested in the hand tool kit, I'll use all of the jigs except the axe jig but who knows what the future holds. My hobby is wood carving so I'm sure the knife jigs will come in harndy keeping my 10-12 carving knives sharp😎.
Greg
Enjoy, Greg, and do continue to post your questions and your successes.
Ken
I'm glad to see that there are other folks finding it difficult to navigate the "which jig to use" question. I bought the T4 after much research. I read the manual that comes with the machine and am a little more confused than before. I carve with a mallet to start and finish with micro chisels. My largest tools are 35mm at this point, some bent, some spoon, a couple skews of different sizes, intermediate size tools, some palm tools, and some micro carving tools. I bought an SVD-186 jig to start and, after reading the manual, wonder whether I need the SVS 50, the SVS 32, and the TTS 100 to keep everything where it ought to be. I called my woodworking supplier (knowledgable and 25 years of history with me) for advice and they told me to freehand it. All these tools are a big investment and worthless when not sharp. I was hoping for an accurate, repeatable way to sharpen these tools. Has anybody had experience sharpening the whole range of carving tools?
Hi,
Sounds much worse than it actually is.
On page 49 in the handbook you have detailed info for tools for woodcarving.
You have the answer in your questions, you need the SVD-186 for curved gouges/swan necked tools or back bent gouges/shallow bent, straight tools under 38 mm are sharpened on the SVS-38 and Square chisels with SVS-50.
Sounds like your set-up of jigs would be SVD-186, SVS-38, SVD-110 and maybe the SVS-50.
If you have carving knives you need SVM-45 and maybe SVM-00 if you have knives with small blades.
In general I think its lazy by a retailer to say that someone should sharpen their tools freehand. If the clerk has the experience himself he/she should not think that someone else can do it. It takes years to learn doing it freehand and have ruined many dreams of becoming a good wood artist. Even most professional turners/carvers this days are using jigs. The cost of jigs are cheaper in the long run than buying new tools that you are removing a lot of steel on during freehand sharpening.
Read the manual, sharpen some tools by following our guidelines and its like learning to ride a bike. When you know how to do it, you don't forget.
Sincerely,
Stig
Welcome to the forum, Rusty1.
I have had a T4 for almost two years (and a T 7 for seven years). I like both. In my opinion, the T4 is very well suited for carving. It has much more power than a carver will ever need, and it is light and compact. I purchased a thirty dollar single ball bowling bag for carrying it, which makes it extremely and pleasantly portable. (If you would like to learn more about using the bowling bag, post a new topic. I will gladly share my ideas on this.)
Any grinder, wet or dry, needs a method of truing and dressing the grinding wheel. In my opinion, no T4 should leave the store without a TT-50 unless the owner already has one. The TT-50 is a very well designed essential tool. Too many "gremlins" have snuck up on me because of a wheel worn untrue. Truing the wheel takes very little time and very little wheel diameter. It is a skill easily learned and will pay a nice return in your sharpening.
No Tormek should leave the store without a turkey baster. :)
I thought the SVD-185 used with the TTS-100 was Tormek's pinnicle combination. It was until the SVD-186 replaced it. The SVD-186 is the one Tormek jig I have used which I recommend purchasing to replace an existing jig. You will be pleased with it.k
As you sharpen your carving tools, keep a little notebook noting how much the tool protrudes from the jig and the distance between the top of the universal support and the grinding wheel. Also note the bevel angle.
The next time you sharpen that tool, you can use these settings for exact repeatability.
Keep your grinding wheel graded fine; you don't want to "convert your chef's knives into paring knives". :)
Keep posting.
Ken
Ken,
I have found the Tormek profile labels to be a great way to quickly resharpen a tool. When I use a jig other than the SVD-185/186, I simply write the jig's designation (e.g., SVS-50) on the label also.
The ones I use are from Tormek and look like the picture below. I tried using a label maker and taping them onto the tool, but they always came off. The Tormek ones stick on very well to the grommet.
(http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w419/richcolvin/TOR-PL01-z_zpsbsfgklmt.jpg) (http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/richcolvin/media/TOR-PL01-z_zpsbsfgklmt.jpg.html)
Kind regards,
Rich
The Tormek labels are the one item that is a bit harder to find, as they don't carry them in the stores where I saw the jigs and such. They are an easier find online.
At the risk of giving the store away, I think replacement labels would be great "goodwill" candidates to be given by importers and/or dealers to customers. They are inexpensive and can be mailed in a standard letter envelope?
As a temporary substitute, masking tape will do the job.
The labels are a great idea.
Ken
Its true the labels are not that easy to find.
The shop where I purchase often did not have them. I asked why? Now they added these little things.
Normally I use them for turning tools.
Rolf
I get them from Amazon. With Prime, there is free shipping.
Useful post. Thanks, Rich.
Ken