Howdy folks. Thanks for letting me join the forum.
I'm considering adding a Tormek to my shop. I'm a woodworker. I am looking at the Tormek for regrinding primary bevels on chisels and plane irons. I will not use it for actual honing. I am quite happy and efficient with honing on my waterstones. As you know, after a while, microbevels grow pretty large and the primary bevels needs to be reground. I have been doing this on a diamond plate but it is very slow going, and I don't want to put the wear on my diamond plate.
For this purpose only, primary bevels, I am trying to decide if the Tormek is a better machine than a slow speed grinder with an 80 grit CBN wheel.
After a lot of research I have the following concerns:
Even with the square edge jig, it can be fiddly to get a square edge on the Tormek
Tormek stone needs to be dressed, requiring a $100 tool on top of the kit
Some say the Tormek takes a very long time to regrind a primary bevel, say on a 2 3/8" wide plane iron
It seems like a very expensive overkill for use only to grind primary bevels
I have used a slow grinder with CBN wheel at a friend's shop to do a few primary bevels on plane irons as a test. I found it very easy to get a square edge, quickly, without burning the steel. Obviously some Kentucky windage and a light touch are required. To me it seems the only advantage to the Tormek for me would be that there is no chance of burning the steel.
I am asking for input on this. How long would it take on a Tormek to take a plane iron with a primary bevel ground at 30 and regrind that to 25? Does anybody have any advice for me regarding this decision? Thank you
I'm considering adding a Tormek to my shop. I'm a woodworker. I am looking at the Tormek for regrinding primary bevels on chisels and plane irons. I will not use it for actual honing. I am quite happy and efficient with honing on my waterstones. As you know, after a while, microbevels grow pretty large and the primary bevels needs to be reground. I have been doing this on a diamond plate but it is very slow going, and I don't want to put the wear on my diamond plate.
For this purpose only, primary bevels, I am trying to decide if the Tormek is a better machine than a slow speed grinder with an 80 grit CBN wheel.
After a lot of research I have the following concerns:
Even with the square edge jig, it can be fiddly to get a square edge on the Tormek
Tormek stone needs to be dressed, requiring a $100 tool on top of the kit
Some say the Tormek takes a very long time to regrind a primary bevel, say on a 2 3/8" wide plane iron
It seems like a very expensive overkill for use only to grind primary bevels
I have used a slow grinder with CBN wheel at a friend's shop to do a few primary bevels on plane irons as a test. I found it very easy to get a square edge, quickly, without burning the steel. Obviously some Kentucky windage and a light touch are required. To me it seems the only advantage to the Tormek for me would be that there is no chance of burning the steel.
I am asking for input on this. How long would it take on a Tormek to take a plane iron with a primary bevel ground at 30 and regrind that to 25? Does anybody have any advice for me regarding this decision? Thank you