Messages

Another welcome, Paul.  Great job removing your shaft; patience and skill, quite a winning team. 

I swapped out the shaft on my original Tormek.  In my case it was an upgrade from a stainless to a stainless EZYlock shaft.  I really like the EZYlock, and think you will, too.

If you transport your Tormek, you will find the new shaft makes it much easier to remove the wheel.

I also second Mike's comment about your photos.

When I arrived in Ohio from New Jersey, I had to learn the midwestern dialect.  Either "the bomb diggity" is a carryover from the pioneer days or I'm still in the last millennium and language has moved on.  Mike, would you please translate for us Neanderthals?

Again, welcome, Paul.

Ken

I relented. I just called the 800 number on the Sharptools site (and reached Advanced Machinery).  The helpful rep took my order over the phone with no problems.  My jig ($32.00 + shipping =$38.95) will be shipped today.  I consider that very good service.

I still don't like the way the price was jacked up on Amazon (by the same dealer) or having to use Google check out if I had placed the order online.

I will post again after I have a chance to use the jig.

Ken

I've waited long enough for my local dealer to stock this jig.  None yet.  I checked on Amazon.  $39.95 plus shipping through Advanced Machinery.  I can see $32.00, even if they tack on shipping.  That's what it sells for at Sharptools, which is now Advanced Machinery.

Sharptools only has payment via Google, at least online.  I tried to order one, and could not get past the google account.  Call me contrary, but I just want to order it from the dealer.

Advanced Machinery doesn't list the jig alone on their site.  There is no shortage.  The supply has been rerouted to the package deal with the T7.

This customer is not a happy camper.  I have decided not to purchase the jig until the dealers get their acts together.

Ken

I tried visiting my Tormek dealer while visiting my former area yesterday.  No SVM-00 in stock yet.  Nor is it listed in their online catalog.  That surprises me, it is one of the largest hardware stores in the country. 

Ken

Good points, Rob.

In addition to the price memory banks, I believe as we mature we (sometimes) realize that more and better is not necessarily more productive.  If we examine two dovetailed drawers, the appearance and joinery will reflect the skill and care of the maker, not the brand or cost of the tools involved.

We are sometimes unrealistic about the quantity of work we will do with tools.  One of the very subtle marketing tools for the old premium dovetail jigs was being able to make forty drawers in an hour.  It appealed to our inner consumer.  In reality, most of us won't make more than forty drawers in our lives.

My grandson just awoke.  Back on duty.

Ken

Herman,  I think we need to factor in our intended uses to get an idea of how we feel about price.  It seems to me chisels are no different than anything else that way. 

For letting in an occasional hinge, the big box chisels are certainly very adequate.  Someone who likes to hand cut dovetails might be more particular about the feel of a chisel and willing to pay more.

My old Stanley 60 chisels have served me very well at modest cost for many years.  While I have never intentionally abused them, they have occasionally seen some rough duty.  They have been used for things when I would not want to use a premium price chisel.

The problem with our generation is our memory data banks are filled with too many prices from years ago.  Having bought a house for twenty thousand dollars, paying that much for a car seems ridiculous.  Having bought a set of three nice old Bedrock planes for thirty five dollars, new planes seem quite dear.

Off topic:  I listened to a bit of NPR Science Friday.  The speaker was  Nobel Laureate Physicist who discovered the universe was not only expanding, but at a more accelerated rate than before.  I don't think we should let the universe get any larger until we can at least plug in our Tormeks when we visit Rob.......

Ken

Glen,

While having a broken part is never a blessing, you can learn a lot about your tormek from this.  I found replacing my shaft with the new EZYlock an interesting learning experience.  I was amazed with how many of the Tormek parts seem standard hardware/industrial parts.  I thought that was clever design.  I was also quite impressed with the design and machining of the shaft.  The Tormek people seem to really put the quality where it's needed and balance cost with standard parts where they fit well.

Ken

I have part of the box which came with my grandfather's Stanley 750 chisels circa 1935.  The prices ranged below and above a dollar, depending on the size.

I recall the Stanley 60 chisels I bought in the early seventies as being plus or minus ten dollars apiece.  This was when tuition, room and board for a year at a private college was less than three thousand dollars and when I bought my first house for twenty thousand dollars.  (It was an older two story three bedroom home in a respectable neighborhood.)

Now most Lie-Nielsen chisels cost fifty five dollars.  However, they come with either A2 or O1 steel, nice wooden handles, and backs which need very little attention.  I can't say the same for my faithful old Stanley 60 chisels with plastic handles and backs which are now flat after much sweat equity.

I, too, am reticent to spend that much for a chisel.  Likewise, I hate to spend twenty thousand dollars for a new car.  However, compared to the cost of everything else, I don't believe top drawer chisels are over priced (at least not more overpriced than everything else).......

Ken

Clever jig. Robin.  Good show!!!!

Ken

A ps:  Since this thread was written, Lee Valley has introduced a very nice line of chisels with their new wundersteel.  Omitting them from the original posts was only because they were not marketed at the time.

Ken

I recently reread this thread. 

Steve has apparently moved on, but the information is still valid.

Jeff, have your Lie-Nielsen chisels ever ventured beyond the leather wrap?   I have since added two more (5/16 and 7/16) to my solitary 3/16.  They are still waiting to be called to duty.

Ken

No one has mentioned the surface feet per minute difference with the smaller diameter wheel.  Besides having a more pronounced hollow grind, the smaller (worn down) wheel would cut more slowly due to the reduced surface feet per minute.  That may or may not be a problem for you.

Ken

I'm going from memory on this.  I recall the US and Canada standardizing on 60 Hertz and 115/230 long ago, when 27 different standards existed in Great Britain.

I suspect the reason for so many power standards was national defense.  In the event of invasion, the French army would not be able to use their Cuisinarts and would probably leave.

Ken

Bummer is right.  I guess that makes my mallet a collector's item.  It's a nice, simple tool.  It worked pre Y2K and still works well.

Ken

Rob, I bought a Black and Decker mallet at aWoolworth's in London on a long ago trip to England.  It works fine in North America.  Maybe we just need to be more careful with our tool selection....

Ken