Messages

Hi KSMike and Ken,

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to post back and help me with this problem.

To answer KSMike, I think the bar is bent sloping downwards. So the part where it's held by the Tormek is high, and the part where it ends, is low. I understand what you mean by the bar truing the stone exactly, even if there's a slope to it. Although, I wonder, what if the slope isn't exactly straight? What if it starts high, goes low, and then comes up high again? Not sure if that would cause a problem.

Concerning the jig, I was wondering about that myself, actually. The problem with the jig is that I have to trust the the edge of the jig is at a perfect right angle, because the way that it works is that you just push the blade up against the wall of the jig, and that's that. There's no adjustment for the jig wall or anything, So what you've got, is what you got. I make sure that it is snug up against the wall, but that's really all I can do. I mean, honestly, the problem could be with the jig itself. Maybe the wall is not straight.

The picture that you post is very good. Thanks for posting it. If I was acheiving results like this, it would not be a problem at all for me. It looks like you're high on the side and low in the middle. I could true that up with a couple swipes on the Japanese water stone and have a perfect blade edge, no problem. I don't know how you are acheiving that edge on this machine. Mine doesn't work like that.

To answer Ken, I am planing the most difficult and most challenging thing that one could plane (as far as I know of at least), which is violin ribs. They are extremely difficult to plane because the blade likes to bite into the flames of the maple and take out huge chunks. If everything is not exactly precise, your work will be ruined.

Yes, I agree with lateral adjustments. I definitely adjust it laterally with a small hammer. However, with the precise nature of the work that I am doing, it's only acceptable to adjust the plane a fraction of a hair, because the plane blade needs to be fully supported by the mouth. If it is not, it will bite into the flames. If I was planing some other type of wood, I would be made in the shade. I can plane poplar all day with a sub-par plane, but ribs are a different animal.

So I'm not sure what I will need to do. May have to sell it, which would be unfortunate, because I probably will only get half of my original investment back. Need to think it through.

But thanks for your responses. I really appreciate the help on this forum!!

So, what we're looking for is the cracks of light shining through. I am using a machinist square which is perfectly square. You can see the bar that is supposed to be square is not square, therefore, when I hone, it makes the wheel not square, and then the blade is not square.

Sorry, youll notice that I switched blades halfway through. I did it on two different blades, and both came out the same. The rust does not effect the blade on the last pic, because I took off the rust by rubbing the edge of the blade on fine sand paper on a piece of granite. This did not distort the original angle.

Also notice that the angle of light shining through on the bar, is the same as on the wheel, and is the same as on the blade. This distorted angle follows through consistently it seems like.

Hi All,

I took a couple of pictures to illustrate my point. Is there a way to upload images to this thread?

Thanks

Hi All,

I am really starting to dislike the honing device for the tormek. The reason being is that I am relying on the metal bar that goes over the wheel in order to true the stone. The problem is that the bar is not straight, so every time I hone the wheel, it makes the wheel uneven no matter what I do, and, not to mention, screws up my valuable planing blades, and wastes my time.

Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a solution? I need VERY PRECISE sharpening for my plane blades, so that I can plane curly maple. And when I say precise, I mean PRECISE. They need to be sharper than a razor, perfectly flat, and the angle of the blade needs to be square. I'm coming to the conclusion that the Tormek is just not designed for this level of precision due to the bar used for honing. It's too flexible, and the nature of the bar is just lacking the for precision honing. I think if they used a stronger metal and made it square instead of round, then you could get precision honing, but I just don't think you can achieve precision honing with the current setup. 

Am I wrong? Am I missing something here? Maybe there's something I can do?

Thanks!
G

Hello,

Does Tormek ever take hardware upgrade suggestions? I would really like them to produce a stone that could be used for sharpening in-cannel gouges. That would make my life a LOT easier. I think they could produce it similar to the honing wheel, just with a sharpening stone:

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/tm11111/?inMed=GSTORE&gclid=COH0gKOssrUCFUfNOgodtkYAFg

Is there someone I could forward this hardware request to? It's probably a pipe dream, I know. But it would be very useful for my work.

Thanks,
Ted

Hello,

I know there's a lot of sharpening that goes on, on the side of the tormek wheel. Is there a way to flatten the side of the wheel if it become un-true?

("un-true" is probably not the best term. Sorry.    )

Thanks,
Ted

Hello,

I was wondering if this jig will sharpen a small scorp:

http://tormek.com/international/en/grinding-jigs/svd-110-tool-rest/

Scorp:
http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage2.aspx?id=2001825&ProdId=27385&

Thanks,
Ted

Yes. I'm beginning to learn the value of an apprenticeship vs teaching yourself. I began violin making thinking that I could simply pick up a book and pull myself up by my boot straps. Well, it was a good start at least.    But you gain things that you can't gain from a book in an apprenticeship. That's something I'm beginning to realize now. I think it's OK to realize that at this point, because if I had an apprenticeship from the get-go, I wouldn't have appreciated it as much.

Sorry to hear that your machine was stolen. That's a real bummer.