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Thanks. The next step is to build a portable trolley/bench that I can store all the bits and pieces on and leave it there. Currently I place a half sheet of MDF on the bench, lug the T8 to it and sharpen. Having a trolley will be great addition eventually.  I've had a few of the students have a go at sharpening. It's something that piques their interest.

Jan - I know the feeling. I've got a few of my dads old planes which once sharpened, have been awesome.  Sharpening and using his old ,Stanley No.7 was fun. His old No.5 is my go to plane.

Hi Tormek Users. It's been a while since I've been on the forum so I thought I'd drop by and give an update on the T8 I bought at the end of last year. I got it for my school workshop so I could sharpen chisels and planes in bulk at any time and make sure I'd have a consistent sharp edge. 

Thanks to the advice of those here, it's been working really well. I've gone through a bunch of chisels and have recently started on the Planes. It's made a HUGE difference having the Tormek on hand. My students have really enjoyed using well setup and sharp tools. Their success has been great to watch. I've gone through all the Stanley No.5's and have a bunch of No.4's to get through next.

I couldn't be happier with the T8. It's slow going but the consistency has been well worth it.

https://flic.kr/p/SBv8ZV



Lewis

Thanks RobinW, Jan and Ken.

Robin - I'll try a few chisels out at 30 degrees. If it makes no/not much difference, it should be quicker and easier to maintain it. Most of the timber we use is pine with the occasional hardwood thrown in. As I get more experienced, I'll start experimenting with some the secondary bevel.

Jan - Hopefully, if I can find some interested enough students, they can do some sharpening when they need it. It would give them a few more skills and save me some time.

Ken - Again, thanks. I'll read through the document and see what I can come up with. I'll experiment with your ideas and see if I can make them my own. If I discover anything, I'll share my ideas back on the forum.

Ken, Do you work for Tormek? If you do, thanks for your awesome advice. If you don't, you deserve to be knighted.

So...The courier arrived today. I had a class in the afternoon so I had to wait a few hours before unpacking and setting up. I took my time and became familiar with the machine and parts. The first thing I did was oil the leather and rub some compound in. Seemed easy enough. After that, I figured the truing tool out and probably took off a bit more than needed to but no harm done.

I found the Anglemaster, set a chisel up in the jig to 25 degrees, used a sharpie on the bevel and went for it. My first impressions of the Tormek have been fantastic. It was slow, I expected this but I was setting a new angle.  After setting the new angle, the chisel had a new life in it. I graded the stone and polished the edge a bit more and then used the leather wheel by hand. I found it quicker than setting the jig up again.

I'm extremely happy with the edge it helped create.  A few practice cuts on some pine told me it was ready to go. Money well spent for easy (slightly slow) results. I suppose that's my only complaint. The speed.  However, once the new angles are set on the chisels, it shouldn't be hard to maintain with a protrusion jig of some sort.

I've attached a picture of my first chisel. The top is what I came from and the bottom is freshly honed. I'll have my work cut out for me to get through the rest of them but the results will be worth it!

Thanks Ken.

We call it Design and Technology over here. I've been teaching it for 3 years.  We have students from grade 7 (12yrs) to grade 12 (17yrs) going through our program with a variety of projects going on. I'm not quite sure of the system in the States. Our school year consists of 4 terms of about 10 weeks and starts around January 30 and finishes around December 10. Yr's 7/8 have mandatory subjects and we cover basic timber, metals and plastics. As they go up in the years and choose the subject, we give them more complicated projects with a couple of free choice projects (in a simplified nutshell).

This year, I've got some of my older students making longboards, cosplay weapons and side tables. One of my senior students got to design and make a rocking chair. It's a simple one but it turned out really well. We get a bit of variety which keeps me learning plenty of different processes.

One of my aims to get get my younger students completing a few projects with some finer woodworking skills. Another aim is to foster some awareness and appreciation of fine woodworking in the younger years with the hope it stays with them as they get older. Having sharp tools is high on the list of making this happen. I know how frustrating using dull tools can be.

Awesome. Thanks for your info. Lots of reading, learning and practice to do. I used a Tormek a few years ago but that was only doing a couple of chisels for my major design project at uni.  It helped get the edge I needed with some additional honing on a stone.  My aim is to have the Tormek setup and have a few higher grit stones for some additional honing if needed.

All of the chisels we have are these ones:


It should make it easy to make some jigs to help measure the protrusion and keep that angle the same.
Eventually I'll get the jigs for the turning tools and if I'm feeling particularly brave, the jointer blades as well.

I hope you have the opportunity to spend some quiet time with your Tormek before being deluged with students and a deadline for sharp tools.

Do not be concerned about wearing out your precious grinding wheel. Like brake shoes, it is consumable. What is precious is your students.

We are close to the end of our school year and there will only be a a small amount of students that will need chisels. I'll try a few out and keep them aside for those who need them. I'll have plenty of practice between now and next year - I've got a few projects in mind that will require chisels and having the Tormek will make all the difference between a mediocre and a great join (I hope!).

The only thing I get concerned about wearing out (in regards to sharpening) is the chisels themselves. I've never had  good technique with a bench grinder and always seem to wreck the angle and burn the tool. Hence why I've gone down the path of the T8.

Again, thanks for the info, I'll continue searching the forum and watching videos. I'm feeling a big frustrated waiting for the courier to show up!

Hi Tormek experts!

I've just put through an order for a Tormek T8. I should have it in a few days. It's for my school so we can stop sending all our chisels, plane blades etc to a sharpener at the end of the school year for a new edge. I'm keen to get in the habit of touching things up often to avoid the cost of professional sharpening and so my kids can have the best edge possible when they need it. I'm pretty excited to see what it can do in person.

I've watched heaps of videos and I think I get the idea but they always seem to take one chisel through the process of sharpening.  I suppose my concern right now is having to setup the angle for each chisel. I'm hoping there are some simple ways to set it up once and put all the chisels through it. Is it as simple as leaving the jig on the rail and pushing each chisel down to meet the stone to set the correct height in the jig?

Do you have any tips and techniques to take a couple of dozen chisels and plane blades through the sharpening process?

Thanks in advance!