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Messages - Tormek moderator

#1
 Use this forum to share and/or learn how the Tormek works when sharpening scissors.
#2
We have established this bulletin board forum so that Tormek owners and prospective owners can communicate with other owners. You are welcome to join in the discussion of any aspect of the Tormek system, from how to use a particular jig or accessory to the best way to store and maintain the system. 
#3
General Tormek Questions / Re: i have a dirty stone
September 29, 2014, 04:02:12 PM
Getting back to the original question...yes...the coarse side of the stone grader is the answer. Works on the side of the stone as well.
#4
It all depends quite a bit on the type of carving tool under discussion, and the type of work it is being used for. I found most carvers got very excited when I pointed out two things to them. If you take a mid to large size tool, and hold a straight edge from edge to heel of the bevel, the hollow is barely perceptible. Yet when you lay the tool on the work, you get a very positive feedback from the tool as to when you have both front and back of the bevel on the wood. It is actually easier to feel when your tool is on plane than a flat bevel is, and the hollow is so slight as to never weaken the edge.

For others, "riding the bevel" in carving means being able to stay on the bevel while introducing a smooth curve. For this type of work, the bevel actually needs to be slightly convex, rather than straight or concave. I've always achieved this on the Tormek by tweaking the Universal Support in a tiny bit after the bevel is established. Then grinding again, removing the heel of the bevel....sometimes even doing this heel removal twice. When you then take it to the leather strop, you'll polish out the hard lines and leave a flowing curve.

Good luck in your decision. Unfortunately, there's no perfect answer, but this one gives you a very versatile system that is very easy to work with.
#5
Wood Turning / Re: SVD-185 Leg Sleeve Settings
August 23, 2014, 04:13:22 AM
Some people like to round over the heel of the bevel on detail gouges (and some do it to bowl gouges). By pulling the collar back, you can grind the primary bevel, then slide forward and soften the heel.
#6
You guys have done an admirable job of covering all the salient points, but I think Herman got on to the most important one. Knives hardly ever need the faster cutting action of the grindstone. If your grindstone is graded properly (or alternatively you use the SJ stone) it's relatively difficult to change the profile of a knife.
#7
Are you still working with the 1/4" chisels? Did you see everyone's advice to start with wider tools first?
#8
If you're in the United States, you need to contact Affinity Tools. Their contact details are linked from the Tormek main page.
#9
In the photos, you're assuming the old bevels are perfect, and it appears to me they are not.

If you try to correct a .006 deviation by torquing the Universal Support, you will undoubtedly waste time and effort and cause yourself a great deal of frustration. That amount of deviation can be corrected by moving your thumb from the middle to the long point edge.

You are going to have to give up on the idea that every component is in perfect alignment and the tool comes out perfectly. You are dealing with an abrasive. The cutting action will change as the stone is used. It is not, nor will ever be, completely uniform in cut across the surface or through it's depth.

Quit worrying about getting the stone out of true with the stone grader. The stone grader is an absolutely essential piece of the puzzle. I promise you, if you rely on finger pressure and leaving the short point off the stone, checking the results while working, you can create a perfectly square edge on a grindstone that is badly out of alignment with the Universal Support. I have done it thousands and thousands of times. I'm not condoning leaving your stone in such a condition, just pointing out that perfect alignment does not guarantee success, but misalignment doesn't preclude it.



#10
General Tormek Questions / Re: US-105 questions
July 22, 2014, 03:04:16 PM
The drilled and tapped end was introduced at the same time as the SE-76, which from memory was around 2007.
#11
Kenny,

With regard to the Universal Support, make a habit of placing your thumb directly above the vertical rod with the micro-adjuster on it, pressing down, while you tighten the clamps. This will maintain the plane of the horizontal bar to a reasonably tight tolerance.

Further to that issue, I know that you can introduce a variance in that angle by torquing the end of the Universal Support. However, in actual practice I think you'll find that when making normal adjustments the variance is quite small.

With regard to clamping in the jig, here's a procedure I would like you to try. Index the tool against the edge as designed. Bring the clamping bar down and secure it, paying attention to keeping it parallel to the base. Grind the bevel and check it. If it is skewed, increase the clamping pressure on the long point and decrease the pressure on the short side. Make the adjustments in small increments.

This was the procedure to "dial in" the SVH-60. I'm pretty sure it will work with very narrow chisels in the SE-76.
#12
Can we nudge this discussion back in the direction of helping Kenny get his edges square with the Tormek he's already acquired? Thanks.
#13
This issue has been around for as long as I've been around Tormek.

First, in defense of the company and the marketing department, their degree of exaggeration pales in comparison to just about any other consumer product made anywhere in the world.

If every eventual pitfall were discussed, the instructional videos or books would have to be 10 hours or 1000 pages. Further, in these days when published material appears everywhere, if a video were produced specifically for owners, it would be a matter of hours before that material would be made available to the broader market, potentially scaring off future customers.

Let's compare sharpening a square edge on a Tormek to hand cutting dovetails. You get a set of outrageously expensive chisels and an equally high-priced fine toothed saw (or two), read a book (or two) and start. Unless you're a far better hand with saw and chisel than I am, your first joint will be somewhat comical. In fact, I would go so far as to say your first dozen joints might be less than optimal. Are you going to blame your chisels and saws? I bet not.

Straying from the company line, I personally prefer the original SVH-60. It was much, much easier to screw up with it, but it also had some "tweakability". You could roll the tool in the jig slightly simply by torquing down on one side of the clamp and backing off the other. However, no matter how many times that was explained, customers demanded a more accurate and less variable design. Thus the SE-76 was developed. Referencing from the flat face of the tool, rather than from the beveled back gives a much less variable clamp, however it demands that every other variable be just as accurate. The tool faces have to be perfectly parallel. The grindstone has to be perfectly parallel to the Universal Support. And, the reference edge has to be perfectly straight. Also, the finish of the grindstone has to be perfectly uniform.

If I were guessing what Kenny's problem is, my first guess would be that the tool is squirming away from the reference as he tightens the clamp. I know that's the thing that happens to me the most. Also, with very narrow chisels you can roll the tool in the clamp if you don't bring the clamp down evenly...a little bit makes a big difference, as someone mentioned earlier.

The answer has already been brought up, you have to monitor the edge as you're grinding. Check it, if it is out a tiny bit, apply a little extra pressure concentrated on the long point. If it is a lot, run the short point off the edge of the grindstone, leaving only the long point on, then blend it back into a straight line.
#14
General Tormek Questions / Re: changes
July 09, 2014, 02:16:44 PM
As mentioned in another thread, I'm not gone...just using the label "moderator" instead of my name, since I haven't been the public face of Tormek for some years.

You guys are going to make me blush if you keep this up.  ;D
#15
As Mark Twain once wrote, the news of my demise has been greatly exaggerated.  ;D ;D

For the time being, I am still moderating the forum. I can promise you that Tormek management greatly values this forum as an educational environment and watch its content closely to read the opinions of Tormek customers.

That said, I'm not completely in the loop on the T-4, but I it's not hard to piece together the sequence of events. Magazine publishers are notorious for pushing their editorial calendar further and further forward. They also press manufacturers hard for new product information so they can scoop their competition.

So, while Wood magazine told Tormek the article would appear in September, here it is, landing in readers' mailboxes on the 4th of July. The product may not even be in production yet, but even if it is being manufactured, the distribution pipeline is still full of T-3s. You certainly can't blame Tormek for keeping the focus on the product that is current. Tormek typically introduces product in the early fall. Expect to see announcements on the main page and in your e-mail later this year.