Topics

[SB]

I've seen a number of posts regarding the question:  

Should one invest in diamond grinding wheels or go with the SG grindstone?

From my experiences with all 6 grinding wheels (SG, SB, SJ, DC, DF, & DE), I have come to believe that a better question is

Should one invest in diamond grinding wheels or go with the SB grindstone?

I find that I use the diamond grinding wheels for harder metals like 

• Wood turning tools (usually HSS)
• Carbide inserts for wood and metal lathe tools
• Drill bits

These were previously sharpened using the SB grindstone.

And, I use the SG grindstone for almost everything else.

So the question to be answered is,

What do you plan to sharpen?

If the tools to be sharpened are harder steels, then go with either the diamond grinding wheels or the SB grindstone.  Do note that the SB grindstone can be regraded, so I believe it is comparable to the DF + DE grinding wheels.  And the SB is lower cost than the two diamond wheels.  

If you are not needing to sharpen tools with such hardness, go with the SG grindstone.

If you need both, my advice is to start with the SG & SB grindstones.  Eventually, the SB grindstone will wear down and need to be replaced.  Then you can consider getting the diamond grinding wheels.


I welcome thoughts and feedback on experiences from others. 

I've seen that a number of US stores have the SJ-250 on sale at  $459, down from $510.

[DBS-22 Plate]

I am in the process of designing a goniostat for the Tormek, and am seeking feedback.  This jig is designed for sharpening these types of tools:

• Single point cutting tools for small metal lathes.
• Engraving bits used in rotary cutters, especially as driven by a router type motor on a CNC machine, and
• Tools for ornamental turning, especially on rose engines.
• End mills

The picture below shows the parts I've designed so far.

The parts are:

• DBS-22 Plate (item #2, p/n 2350, shown in gray).  This slides left / right on the base of the DBS-22.

• Goniostat Base Plate (blue).  The final one will need some form of marking to show the angle for setting.  The drawing below shows shows the tool fence with the pointer at the top and the locking knob removed.  This angle would read 90°, and the fence can be rotated left or right as needed.

• Tool Fence (red) - used to set the angle for grinding the edge.  The tool or tool holder would be held against this when sharpening.
   
  The bolt coming up thru the Goniostat Base Plate is a T-Slot bolt from McMaster-Carr (p/n 92770A113).  I had to turn the shoulder down a little so that it did not protrude too much above the surface of the Goniostat Base Plate.  The area noted in red below is what was turned to the the same as the screw shaft.

• Plate Angle Gauge (yellow) - used to set the angle of the plate (DBS-22 and Goniostat Base Plate) on the USB.  This would also have indicator marks.  They are simulated at 15° increments in the drawing below.  There are no rollers on the design (like on the TTS-100).  That would be an improvement which would be welcome.

• Round Tool Holders (green) - these are used to hold tools for sharpening which have round shafts.  They have a 60° nose angle to allow the held tool to be ground up close.  The hole in the top is for a 6mm set screw to hold the tool's shaft in place.

The sizes shown on the right are the ones I will use.  3D printing the 8 of them will take a while on my 3D printer, which is pretty slow. There are two generic ones shown on the left.  The left-most one is 25mm square and would be drilled for holding bigger tools.  The other one is 15mm square and would be drilled for holding smaller tools.

These are videos of the goniostat in use.

• https://youtu.be/7UShseLaNI8?si=XE2Nq1f4dvdIp4Pc
• https://youtu.be/xmIeUmbD2pU?si=g-4b0Y7l3e4fEYCc

I recently re-sharpened my Two Cherries 40mm carpenters chisel after a project.  My process was:

• Clean up the edge using the SG-250 grindstone, graded to a rough grit
• Sharpen the edge using the same SG-250 grindstone, graded to a very fine grit
• Hone on the leather wheel
• Hone on a paper wheel using red rouge
• Hone on a paper wheel using jeweler's rouge

When I grabbed one of them today to use it again, I slipped and it cut me pretty badly.  The picture below shows how easily it was to splatter blood (yes, it is my own blood).

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So, two take-always:

• The Tormek is more than adequate for sharpening chisels
• Be careful handling those sharpened tools.

Today I experienced an interesting find relative to the correct grindstone to use for sharpening for an old chisel.  The chisel of note is an old Stanley 1 1/2" wide chisel I inherited from my grandfather.  He passed away in 1985.  So I know the chisel is over 40 years old, but it is probably closer to 75+.

All that matters as it says that this chisel is definitely made from high carbon steel.

I love using this chisel for all the nostalgia reasons, but also because it works so well.  Recently though, I nicked the blade when using it on old wood (I hit a hidden nail). 

The process I wanted to follow was:

• Re-profile the ground surface, removing the nick, using the coarse diamond wheel (DC-250).
• Sharpen the chisel using the fine diamond wheel (DF-250).
• Clean up the grinds using the extra fine diamond wheel (DE-250).
• Hone the edge using red rouge on a paper wheel.
• Hone the edge using jeweler's rouge on a paper wheel.

What I found was that step 1 was taking a LONG time.  So, I switched over to the tried-and-true process:

• True the traditional grindstone (SG-250), and then re-profile the ground surface, removing the nick.
• Re-grade the traditional grindstone to around 250 grit, and then clean up the surface scratches.
• Re-grade the traditional grindstone to around 1000 grit, and continue cleaning up the surface scratches.
• Do a final clean-up of the cutting edge using the Japanese waterstone (SJ-250).
• Hone the edge using red rouge on a paper wheel.
• Hone the edge using jeweler's rouge on a paper wheel.

I found that the 2nd process took about 30 minutes, and I achieved the desired sharpness on my chisel.  After applying camellia oil, this chisel is ready for business again.

I was surprised at the difference I saw in the time required.  It reinforces what Ken has said so many times:  the original grindstone is not dead.

Brad Winesett posted this idea on the AAW Forum (https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/easy-tool-honing-with-the-tormek.20909/#post-215910).  I think it's an awesome idea and am making my own version. 

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I love using the Tormek for resharpening my wood lathe tools, and I am always looking for ways to make that ever more efficient and speedy.  I have found that sharpening these tools almost always uses the A or B setting on the TTS-100 (only a few tools don't use this approach).  The use of the TTS-100 is a great innovation by Tormek to standardize that setting.

But, it is a bit annoying to re-set the USB each time I need to change from the A to the B holes.  So, I purchased two new USBs and attached a collar to them where the vertical setting is locked into place.  A picture is below.

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Now, all I have to do is drop the correct USB into the Tormek, set the tool's projection in the correct jig, and then go to town.  I am now back using the lathe quickly.

And since it is so simple and quick, I sharpen often.  This is key for making lathe work easier and the results are better.

The USBs I purchased are the US-103s designed for the Tormek T-4, but they work extremely well for this.  The legs are the same length, and the shorter horizontal bar (10mm less) is not an issue for turning tools.

Next year, Tormek will be celebrating 50 years of providing us with the superb sharpening system we call a Tormek.  We need to find a way to thank Torgny Jansson, so please respond to this posting with your favorite thoughts or ideas about his wonderful invention.

In some parts, I use flat head screws which need an 82° chamfer to the drilled hole.  As the counter sinks for that are usually quite expensive, I wanted to resharpen a drill bit to do that job.

I was able to modify my DBS-22 by adding only one new hole and get the desired results.  Pictures below show the overview.  Details and instructions are at:  https://www.sharpeninghandbook.info/indexJigs.html#DBS22.

The new Tormek KJ-45 jig makes for an easy time when resharpening my Japanese weeding sickle. Really nice innovation.

I was sharpening my wife's paring knives today and found that the SVM-00 jig (held in an SVM-45 jig) is a great way to hold the knives.  As the knives are symmetrical side-to-side, this really made sharpening them easier!  This little jig is one that I think is often ignored.

I've been re-sharpening my chisels a lot lately.  I think there must be a way to use the TTS-100 Turning Tool Setter to make the sharpening process faster.  Using the diagrams below, I'd like to come up with a formula for the projection based on the desired angle.

There are 3 key measurements:
  * When using the B hole on the TTS-100, I measured that the USB is set to be 17 mm away from the grindstone. 
  * The distance from the USB to the SE-77 where the top of the chisel is held is 25 mm.
  * The width of the SE-77 is 35 mm.

The values I measured for P (projection) are:

   20° bevel angle, P = 49 mm

   25° bevel angle, P = 44 mm

   30° bevel angle, P = 38 mm

But, I would prefer to have a formal to calculate this.  So this is a request of my geeky friends to help me find such a formula.  Anyone?

[Tormek Jig numbers]

I was updating my quick reference on the Tormek part numbers.  I changed the colors so that replaced jigs are shown in black vs. the new ones in blue.  It quickly showed me how few jigs have had to be replaced -- clear evidence to me of how much engineering and design go into their design. 

Thank you to the Tormek engineers!


Tormek Jig numbers
* DBS-22 Drill Bit Sharpening Attachment
* RBS-140 Round Blade Sharpening Attachment
* SE-76 Square Edge Jig
* SE-77 Square Edge Jig
* SVA-170 Axe Jig
* SVD-110 Tool Rest
* SVD-180 Gouge Jig (old — replaced by SVD-185)
* SVD-185 Gouge Jig (old — replaced by SVD-186)
* SVD-186 Gouge Jig (old — replaced by SVD-186R)
* SVD-186R Gouge Jig
* SVD-110 Tool Rest
* SVH-60 Straight Edge Jig (old — replaced by SE-77)
* SVH-320 Planer Blade Attachment
* SVM-00 Small Knife Jig
* SVM-45 Knife Jig
* SVM-100 Long Knife Jig (old — replaced by SVM-140)
* SVM-140 Long Knife Jig
* SVP-80 Moulding Knife Attachment
* SVS-32 Short Tool Jig (old — replaced by SVS-38)
* SVS-38 Short Tool Jig
* SVS-50 Multi-Jig
* SVX-150 Scissors Jig


Tormek Accessory numbers
* ACC-150 Anti-Corrosion Concentrate
* ADV-50D Diamond Truing Tool (old — replaced by TT-50)
* ADV-D Exchange Diamond Bit for TT-50
* AWT-250 Advanced Water Trough
* BGM-100 Bench Grinder Mounting Set
* CW-220 Composite Honing Wheel
* EM-15 Edge Marker
* HB-10 Tormek Handbook
* HTK-00 Storage Tray for Hand Tool Kit
* HTK-806 Hand Tool Kit
* LA-120 Profiled Leather Honing Wheels
* LA-122 profiled "discs" (leather honing wheels)
* LA-124 narrow profiled "discs" (leather honing wheels)
* LA-145 Leather Honing Wheel
* LA-220 Leather Honing Wheel
* MB-100 Multi-Base
* MH-380 Machine Cover
* MSK-250 / MSK-200 Stainless Steel Shaft
* OWC-1 Tormek Converter
* PA-70 Honing Compound
* RB-180 Rotating Base
* RM-533 Rubber Work Mat
* SP-650 Stone Grader
* SVD-005 Upgrade kit for SVD-180
* T8-00 Storage Tray for Tormek T-8 Accessaries
* TC-800 Tormek Case
* TNT-00 Storage Tray for Woodturner's Kit
* TNT-300 Woodturner's Instruction Box
* TNT-808 Woodturner's kit
* TS-740 Sharpening Station
* TT-50 Truing Tool
* TTS-100 turning tool setter
* US-103 universal support for T-3 & T-4
* US-105 universal support for T-7 & T-8
* US-430 Universal Support Extended
* WM-200 AngleMaster
* WT-200 Water Trough (old — replaced by AWT-250)
* XB-100 Support Base (plate and knobs only)


Tormek Stones
* DC-200  Diamond Coarse
* DC-250  Diamond Coarse
* DF-200  Diamond Fine
* DF-250  Diamond Fine
* DE-200  Diamond Extra-fine
* DE-250  Diamond Extra-fine

* DWC-200 Diamond Wheel Coarse

* SB-250 Blackstone Silicon Grindstone
* SG-200 Original Grindstone
* SG-250 Original Grindstone
* SJ-200 Japanese Water Stone
* SJ-250 Japanese Water Stone

Here's a really cool plan for making a low cost cart for your Tormek.

https://www.woodsmith.com/newsletter/2021/09/16/convert-an-old-grill-into-a-shop-cart/

Kind regards,
Rich

Nice video of a Tormek user!

https://youtu.be/1pxSrLTSZ3Q

A few days ago, Chief Warrant Officer (ret) Rick Laws sent me an eMail with an attached manual from the U.S. War Dept that was issued back in 1945. 


         TM 9-867 Maintenance and Care of Hand Tools


Rick noted that he "... used this manual for soldier training and information. It is a little dated, but so are most tools used by most people."  He is right:  I have tools I've inherited from both my grandfathers.

Rick later sent me the updated versions from 2004 and 2020.  All 3 versions are available at this link ==> https://sharpeninghandbook.info/indexBooksVideosWebSites.html.

These are really good manuals to reference about the use and care of hand tools.  It is not Tormek related; however there is a lot of information that there that carries over to the use of a Tormek.

David Reed Smith (www.DavidReedSmith.com) has a number of tools he has made for wood turning, and shows how to sharpen them also.  Some of them, like the pyramid point tool and the mini cove tool are not easy to repeatable sharpen using standard Tormek jigs.

David's recommendation is to cut a notch in the tool's handle so that the handle neatly fits onto the universal support bar.  Two examples for this are:

   
• mini cove tool - http://www.DavidReedSmith.com/Articles/MiniCoveTool/MiniCoveTool.htm
• pyramid point tool - http://www.DavidReedSmith.com/Articles/PyramidPointTool/PyramidPointTool.htm

The tool's notch can be put onto the USB, and the angle set using the WM-200 and be back into business soon.  I love simple solutions, and this is a great idea for these tools.

Today I had to re-drill some screw holes on a drive pulley.  They were not deep enough, and the flat head screws projected above the surface. Using the DBS-22, I was able to quickly re-grind a ½" drill bit to a 90° point angle, and it worked like a champ!


Second item of note:  the diamond grinding wheels made this a whole lot easier!  I used the DC-250 to re-shape the bit, using it to cut the primary and secondary facets.  I was then able to swap the DC-250 out and use the DF-250 to touch up the primary facet and get a really great looking grind!The whole process took about 15 minutes, and that is because I took it really slowly (no need to rush).  And that was a whole lot faster than ordering a new drill bit.  I was back to woodworking fast.

[T-8]

I recently added a T-8 Custom to my Tormek sharpening tool set.  I believe I now have achieved the ultimate sharpening machine for the wood turner:

T-8:  So, so much to like about this machine.  The overall design is awesome, and I especially like how easy it is to raise and lower the water level so that too much is not there and splashing all around.

Diamond wheels:  It is great to be able to swap between the wheels and not have to adjust anything on the jig or the tool's placement in the jig.  This lets me get back to work on the lather faster.

   
• The course wheel (DC-250) works extremely well for setting a tool's shape quickly, especially for harder steels and carbides.  This saves the potential for losing the tool's temper when shaping the tool on a high grinder.
• The fine wheel  (DF-250) is great for getting a tool sharp, and resharpening it often when hogging off loads of wood.  And as we all know, a sharp tool is a safer tool.
• The extra fine wheel (DE-250) is great for even keener sharpening when getting to the final cuts, especially before dropping the tool onto the honing wheel.

CW-220 Composite Honing Wheel:  Initial testing shows that I can get a very fine finish on tools that need it.  Some examples include the skews, and any tools used for final passes.

SVD-186:  The jig to sharpen spindle and bowl gouges

SVS-50:  The open seat setup is used for parting tools and the spindle roughing gouge.  The closed seat is used for skews.  I recommend you buy the additional parts needed to permanently set it up as a closed seat.  These are part numbers #2200 (housing) and #7070 (mounting screw).  This way, you'll have one setup as an open seat, and one setup as a closed seat.

SVD-110:  This jig is used for sharpening the Lacer style skew chisel and scrapers.

Kind regards,
Rich

André Jacob Roubo published a great picture on how the old guys used to make their own tool sharpeners.  I am SO happy we now have Tormeks!