Messages

HI,
I use the Flexcut Gold Polishing Compound, you just apply it like a crayon and it does a wonderful job and dosn't make as much of a mess when applying than the tormek compound.
I use the tormek compound as well.

HI
I teach a sharpening class at Woodcraft on the Tormek and had a student that bought one specifically for sharpening salon sissors. 

There is a learning curve at first so practice a lot on some junk ones until you get it right but the end result was light years better than the people he had been sending them out to.

A saw the man a year or so later and he had goten good enough that he had started doing sharpening for other people and he said that he loved it. 

When he told me that Salon Sissors can cost $500. or more I knew that he had been doing it right.  There is so many more particulars when doing precision shears than a turning tool, but in the end he said he loved the Tormek and wouldn't let anyone do them from now on 

I sold him his mashine 

  :-[Ahhhhhhhh PEOPLE, Ok here is a little education about Ceramic.

A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling.[1] Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous (e.g., a glass). Because most common ceramics are crystalline, the definition of ceramic is often restricted to inorganic crystalline materials, as opposed to the non-crystalline glasses.

So in other words ceramic is basically Glass, or a form of it, so NO! it won't have a burr when sharpened, it won't bend, and yes it will brake if dropped!

Ok imagine this, taking a hammer to the top of your toilet, no it's not gonna dent it will shadder and you're gonna have a mess.

For those good ol boys out there that remember and use Crock Sticks, they are ceramic rods that are amazing for setting that final edge on a properly tuned Knife.

OK, as for sharpening a ceramic knife I would personally use the new black stone because I feel that the consistency of the abrasive is more even. I would have the stone turning away from the knife edge because you don't want any areas and flaws in the stone surfice to be jamming into an esentially glass edge. I bet that If you were to compare both methods under a micriscope you would see very small chips in the edge that has been sharpened toward the blade v.s away because of flaws in the stone.

Also a side note the cheaper the ceramic the more brittle it is,  The stuff at Woodcraft is really! Brittle, I work there to 

Hopefully I have enlightened a few 
Have fun sharpening, I do 

WOW!
What a question ! You do realize a question of what is the best lathe is like askinh what is the best Puckup Truck, or something like that, it is all opinion based.

Ok.... That being sed, here is my opinion.

1. First look at the company.
There are some great lathes out there, but will they be there in 10yrs when you need parts, ex..  Robusto, Serious, VB, Vicmark etc..
These are great lathe makers but are they a great enough lathe and company to make it with todays economy. Paying 10k for a lathe and not being able to find parts or service makes it junk!
 Jet, Powermatic, Oneway, Delta, Grizzley, General etc.. are all companies that will probbably be around for a while because they have other things to sell besides lathes. Not everyone can afford a 10k Vb36, or Robusto, Serious, Lathe.

2. What is your price range?   $200-$10,00+

3. What kind of turning do you want to be doing?
I work at a Woodcraft and I am a lathe instructor and one of the first things I tell people on the size issue is, you can do evenything a small lathe can do on a big lathe, a small lathe can't do evenything a big lathe can do. You can turn pens just as good or better on a huge lathe as a small lathe, you can't turn a tree into a vase on a mini lathe  
A lathe is an investment, a cheep lathe will only frustrate you and make you not like woodturning.

4. Bigger is better  (In Wood Lathes )  
If you have the space, Bigger translates into more stability, more weight and less vibration, and more virsatility.   You get the idea !


Ok so here is the part that I give my top 2 picks  
Top of the line will have to be Oneway. They are made in Canada. A secure company that is well established and has great customer support, and they don't just make lathes. Look at moste Professional turners and they all have a Oneway Lathe. You hardly ever see them for sale, and if you do they are usually selling for close to full price, even after years of use. Thay are an investment that holds there value.

My next choice is Jet.
They are a great company that makes really quality products. They are well established and that means you will always be able to find parts.  We use jet lathes at Woodcraft and I have one and they are reel "Tanks".

5.Lathes not to get.
I Do not like the VB36 or the Robert Sorby lathes because of their tubular bed desigs. It makes using modern turning asessories like a bowl steady or a Deep Hollowing rig imposssible.
They are both good lathes but I would never buy one, or any lathe with the tube beds, because their virsitality is limited.

So my favorite lathe that is in the price range of most people wanting to upgrade from a mini is the Jet 1442. It has a semi variable speed drive, it is all cast Iron making it resist vibration and it is all backed by a Great company that will be there in 10yrs...............I Pray  

I could go on and on.....Sorry
Adam

HI
What I have done is just rigged up a system similar to the one used for the Wolverine Jig by Oneway.
It uses a tray at one end of a bar to cradle the end of the turning tool as it rests against the tormek stone and is rotated back and forth.
Setup is not as quick as the Tormek jig but I like it a little better because I am able to put more pressure on the tool while sharpening.
I just used a foot or so long board and put some small nails in one end in a half circle shape making a "poor mans" Wolverine Jig. the other end I just clamped to a table and moved the Tormek forward or backwards to set the angle.
Simple and cheep 
Adam

HI
Yes the tormek Jig will work. be sure to get the new tool setter that is used to set all the Fingernail gouges, it comes with a book, and there is a Jig setting in there specifically for setting the Elsworth Gouge.
It is really important if you don't have the Fingernail gouge setting Jig to get it. It makes set-up and repeatability SUPER easy and acurate every time.
But the Jig settings are as follows For the Elsworth grind,   Jig setting 6 (the turning jig has numbers 1-5 marked on it, 6 is just the next notch), 65mm protrusion, and set the tool rest to the first hole on the setter Jig, and you should be all ready to go. I use it all the time on my Pro-Pm Elsworth Gouge, best gouge i gave ever used so far, and my moste used !
It does an amazing Job !
Adam

Hi
So if the new stone is the equivelant grits as the other stone, 220/1000, how is the Black stone not quite as smoothe?

And i'm not quite sure I understand why Carbon steel that is a softer metal than HSS would cut slower.

How much faster is an exotic alloy steel going to cut on the new v.s. the old stone, and it enough to justify a cost of near $200.

 

Hi all I am new to this forum but I have been using the Tormek for about 4 yrs. I work at my favorite store Woodcraft, so I get to try/buy lots of new and cool stuff.

Ok,, well I just got the new Tormek Black Silicon Stone and I am still on the verdict wether i like it or not?
I have sharpened about 5 tools; 2 fingernail gouges, 2 chissles, and one plane blade, and I can't tell wether it is faster or not.

The stone feels like it cuts and sounds different, it seems it cuts almost slower than the origonal, and when I grade it, it dosn't feel like it did anything. Am I doing something wrong, or is it going to feel way different? Can the stone grader ware out on the rough side? I know it can on the smoothe side

If this stone is intended to cut faster, is it going to load up faster and I will have to grade more frequently?

Has anyone used it and what are your thoughts?

Adam