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Well, finally got some time to finish this small collar idea tonight...... And gotta say it's much nicer than just the straight cut off version.
Turned a little nub on the end of some acrylic blank I had laying around here...but if i were too do it all over again, this could all be done with the stock collar piece chucked up in the lathe...I just felt I cut the first one a bit short anyway
Still no laser line, but i think i did better keeping to the LOC

Operation feels very very smooth. Setup was the same as mentioned previously with my template. Pivot point seems to remain on the side of the shaft (on the side towards the tip), not in the center of the jig shaft

As I hope you can see in the attached pic, the bevel width looks pretty good.
Bevel angle isn't perfect, but it's close all along the length (sorry, i don't have any fancy accurate measuring tools for that).
With the exception of a couple extremes (user error), the bevel width is 1 to 1.4mm. Again, without any serious measuring tools, i think this seems about right for the difference in blade thickness at the heel, belly, and tip


At this point I think i can do pretty well with this collar and setting up something to mark the LOC, with just a bit of practice.
Definitely finding it MUCH easier to keep smooth/even transitions and bevels than the wide stock collar was, so for this part I think I'm now satisfied 

(apologies for the crap pictures, don't have any good options for resizing here in my phone too meet the attachment size limits while still keeping good detail)

P.S.
Also don't be thrown off by the crazy wide marker on the blade. I wanted to be sure to cover all the old grind experiments, so I just went with a really fat marker right up over the bevels and onto the face

Looks good! (Stylish too.)   

With a stop collar, a "laser LOC" isn't as necessary.  You can setup the knife in the jig, then set your sharpening angle with the AngleMaster (or however you do it), then just draw a line on the stone (or a reference point next to it), and with the power off, just check and see how the knife moves in relationship to the line, and adjust it in the jig, if needed.  Experience tells me that after a few knives, you'll be able to set the knife in the jig, pretty much where it needs to be... especially now that your two pivot points are much closer together.  The laser becomes more important when there's really nothing else to keep the same point on the stone (freehand or collar free). 

I like it.  Bevel looks good too.   

Aha! I knew I was missing something... Forgot to follow that link to the laser guided setup after finishing reading that post lol

I still gotta get around to ordering a laser line, but I'm thinking it'll be easy enough (and cheaper) to mount a rod through a hole drilled in the top of the machine. Not needing to buy another usb, and leaving both usb mounts free to use. Just as a thought 

Thanks for sharing this idea!

Thanks.  No doubt there's better ways of mounting the laser... this just happened to be what I had.  I do like taking it off though, or sometimes just pivoting it out of the way.  Yours is a good idea... although you'll need a flat surface to stick the laser to (if you get a magnetic one).  The USB I was using has a "flat side" (not all do), but even with that I ended up adding a wider flat piece of metal... worked a bit better.

Plus the tool test with mounting holes tapped into it, and the vertical usb and the laser mounted to that, and the digital angle finder....
Not that it's a big deal, or a bad thing, just made me chuckle a bit

I think I'm missing something here though.... How are you seeing the angle?
I get that the angle finder can easily adjust from your starting point, but how do you find what angle the wheel is hitting the blade when the blade is kept parallel to the table? This would change depending on the height of the usb, right?

Ah... good point... forgot about the tool rest.  (I didn't tap it.. just drilled and bolt/nut combo).  Digital angle finder... optional... although you would need some way to find level. (I have one from other stuff).  I've also used a simple bubble level (as long as the machine is level which it usually is).

The angle is set based on the Laser Guided thread.  You adjust the USB to set the knife parallel to the angle you want to sharpen at.

Really not as complicated as it's sounding...     Maybe when Tormek puts together a "Laser Guided Knife Sharpening Kit"... it'll be easier.   

So, is there still some combination of lifting and pivoting depending on the slope from the belly to the tip? Or do you keep it flat and just pivot to stay at the line, since there's no collar stopping you from moving it further forward now as you rotate?

It's a very interesting approach to changing the "angle of attack", so to speak, to make the process more comfortable. .. But man, that's a LOT of parts to combine for this setup lol

Depends on the knife, but the short answer... most knives I can just rotate the knife, keeping it parallel (or "flat"), and keeping it at the LOC.  Nice not dealing with the collar at all... like anything else, just takes a bit of practice.  Like sharpening freehand on a stone, I can tell if a knife needs a bit of adjusting in the belly/tip area, and can adjust accordingly.  I liked how quick I could get thru the block of knives... just clamp and go.  About as fast as freehand, with the benefit of a bit of a guide.

It's actually only 3 parts (2nd USB, 2nd Tool Support... basically a "Bench Grinder Mount" kit)... and the rod, (and a way to put it together... I used what I had avail.... hose clamps).  (eBay can be your friend here).

But I have to say I have never lubed anything on it, and am concerned that I may have ruined the beast. It seems ok, but I wonder what kind of drama getting the wheel off and replacing it with the new EZlock shaft would introduce in my life. My inclination is to leave it and continue to work as is.

I can tell you from my own experience... I didn't pay much attention to my first Tormek... used it off and on for over a decade with basically no maintenance.  Only this year, I cleaned and lubed it... and it turned out fine.  So, unless it was abused somehow, I'd say odds are in your favor... they seem pretty durable.  (If nothing else, you could attempt to remove the wheel... that'll give you an indication of the shape it's in).

Setup.... Part 3?...

I've pretty much settled in on using this as my current setup... sort of a combination of several ideas.  (See attached picture).

• The USB that the knife jig rides on, moves straight up and down in the vertical holder (left side of top pictures).  I got a 500mm bar, and attached it to the upper USB, for enough length to sharpen using the knife jig.
• I sharpen with the knife level, using where it contacts the stone to set the angle.  Since I'm sharpening with the knife level, I can set it with a digital angle gauge (as in the picture), or, I also measured the distance between the 2 USBs for various angles, and can just set it with a caliper.
  
• I use a laser as a guide, so I maintain the angle by sharpening just below the laser line. (From the Laser Guided thread).
• I removed the stop collar on the knife jig... this allows me to keep the knife along the laser line. (Basically a "guided freehand" or platform guide - similar to other guided sharpeners).  (Shown in the bottom 3 pictures). (From the later posts in the "To pivot or not to pivot" thread).
• I can easily move it between the T-4 and the "Supergrind" as needed.

Anyway, so far, so good.    The nice thing is, if you're sharpening several knives at a set angle, there's no need to measure or adjust anything.  I did that yesterday... sharpened a block of knives at a friends house, various shapes & sizes all at 15 deg.  Just clamp the knife and start sharpening (and the belly/tip setup isn't as critical, within reason, since there's no real pivot).  (I'm still debating this setup vs. the setup I had in Reply 25... with some modifications I have here).  (Still a Work In Progress).

One little "bonus" of sharpening with the wheel turning away... the water never "rides up" on the knife and travels down the blade... less mess. 

Comments/feedback welcome!

Having the grinding wheel true and dressed is at least as important as having flat water stones. You have the other essential part of truing, a microadjust universal support. Many very light passes with the truing tool carry the day.

Step two is to spend some time really mastering the stone grader. I was surprised after I really ran the fine side of the stone grader for a long time, at least a minute. My grinding wheel was noticeably finer. Learn what the extremes are with your stone grader. Incidentally, the extreme coarse grade on your SG-250 grinding wheel is directly after truing.

I speak from experience. Becoming fluent with the truing tool and stone grader did not come early or naturally for me. The effort was well worth it.

I believe part of the allure of the SJ-250 is from not fully mastering the stone grader and the leather honing wheel. Only after mastering these two tools can someone make an informed decision about the SJ-250.

....

Ken

I like this part.  It may also be worth pointing out that, while the Japanese waterstone may take an edge to the "next level"... great edges were being produced long before it arrived.

With just one machine, I can't really see swapping stones as being a time-efficient way of sharpening.

Welcome to the forum.

Does your Tormek have the EzyLock setup?  It makes stone swapping pretty quick and easy. 

Worth the upgrade if you need to change out stones very much... or to store, clean etc.  (I went for years banging the nut on and off with a wrench and hammer... the EzyLock is just a simple twist to loosen, and comes right off.  Love it).   

Added a simple piece of flat steel, to better hold the laser...



... makes it a bit more stable and versatile.  (Just drilled a couple of 1/2" holes and used the adjusting screw and a "stop collar" to hold it on).

(Still not as cool as Jan's though).   

Post removed... link no longer valid.   

I may be getting a third machine soon.

Do you sharpen commercially?  The jig on the T-2 will require taping the sides of the blades to avoid scratching... just curious if that'll matter to you or not.

It is tempting... 

I'm interested in learning about your kenjig.  Could you post a link, please? 

Rick

Click the link in my signature... kenjig reference is in there too.   

I am wondering if the lack of a point on the scale changes the angle much.  If so, it might be good to add a degree or two to compensate.

If you mean lack of a tip?... shouldn't make a difference... you're just measuring the straight part of the blade.  You do have to position the blade properly in the clamp to correctly sharpen the tip (as shown in the manual).

The thickness of your square might make a difference though... not sure how much.  Also, the measurement should be taken as close to the stone as possible... in your picture it looks like you're ½ way up the side of the scale.  (Measuring on a curve sorta changes the rules of what I was used to, if that makes sense... my experience anyway).

Fisrt. Is there a conversion of the tables to inch dimensions?  If not, I can do it, but it would be nice to avoid duplication of other's work.

Rick

After I spent a bit of time here... I found it easier to start using a metric ruler.  (May sound like I'm kidding, but it made it much easier to follow and try out the different ideas).

You're correct that you need to make the adjustment... but you need to adjust the other way.  ...

I would also mark the edge with a Sharpie marker, and make sure you're removing metal where you want.  (Manufacturer numbers and reality are often two different things).

Wow.  I struggled with this one, about increasing the angle.  Took me a while.  Went to my CAD program and drew it out, but that didn't make it for me.  It was in staring at the diagram and visualizing the blade angle and imagining aligning the Angle Master flat to the blade.  It is elevated relative to a parallel line, making the AM move to a high angle position.  Thanks.

I do use a Sharpie on all the edges, including drills.  Really helps. 

Rick

The easiest way I figured it out... was to take a knife that had a taper, but had a flat near the heel, set it up on the Tormek at XX deg. on the flat part, then moved it to a tapered portion of the knife... to see that the AngleMaster went to the higher setting to maintain the same angle.  (Like you, in my head, it seems it should go the other way).