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I would respectfully disagree.  Too many people I respect teach polishing the back.

Ron Hock's book is handy:  "Proper honing of a chisel relies on properly flattening the back.  As with plane irons, a flat, polished back is essential to a sharp edge." (p 125)

Ernie Conover always teaches that a sharp edge depends on both planes, the bevel and the back.  He takes both to 8000 grit.

My forty year old Stanley butt chisels have done the heavy work for me.  They frequently have received nicks.  I can always see myself looking at the backs.  Is this overkill or just good sharpening technique?  (Actually the mirror backs go back to when they were my only chisels and did dovetails as well as rough work.  I would still polish rough chisel backs.)

Ken

Welcome back, Ionut.

Ken

Rob, I think it's premature to start losing faith.  I probably lob as many ideas into the ether as anyone.  I would not call the process willy nilly.

I don't see the process as being all that difficult.  Each portion of the forum has a locked message from Jeff.  The messages state that they were originated by Jeff.  I assume you can edit, delete of add, Jeff?

A second locked message might be entitled "quick start guide" or something similar.  I would suggest keeping it locked so that it always appears in the top of the first page.  No need for frustrating searches.  And, being locked, but editable by the forum moderator, would keep it manageable.

Speaking only for myself, I would be quite comfortable turning control over to Jeff.  I don't believe it would impose a large work burden for him.  With copy-paste from the pool of ideas, editing should be minor. Personally, I don't care whether I would receive any name notation or not for what I contribute.

I would not expect the "first draft" to be the end all.  That's the beauty of future editing.  For the record, if I should happen to notice any fumble fingered typos, I would send the editor a private email through the forum.

I consider this a work in progress.  While I don't think we should procrastinate a lot, I see no need for immediate speed..

Jeff, any thoughts?

Ken

Good point, Herman.

I've noticed more products coming with "'quick start guides".  I think that's a great idea.  Naturally I want to commit the 437 safety possibilities to memory,  but only (sometime) after I use the machine.

I believe if a new user can consistently sharpen a chisel and a kitchen knife well, that can form the basis for sharpening anything else within the range of the Tormek.  All of the basic skills are present with these two tools.  Preparing the stone; setting the bevel, including checking it with the Sharpie; knowing when to use the coarse or fine grading setting; and honing with the leather strop.  other posts have correctly noted the importance of listening to the cutting action; feeling the stone; and watching the water flow over the tool.  All of these are part of successfully sharpening a chisel and a kitchen knife.

Confident with basic Tormek skill, the new user can more intelligently benefit from studying nontormek specific material such as Leonard Lee's and Ron Hocks's books.  (Herman, you will find that Leonard Lee recommends a certain "toothiness" for a kitchen knife edge.  He doesn't want the edge polished super sharp.  He prefers a little grabbiness to catch things like tomato skin.  He recommends using a 1000 grit stone and no further.) That kind of related information, as well as Ron Hock's discussion of bolster thinning and the general discussion of steel and edges in both books is certainly useful in a Tormek education.

The forum can be a great source of information for things like how to put a specific grind on a turning tool.  No one loses anything by sharing experience, good or bad.

My thought for the forum "quick start guide" would be as an aid to help the new user achieve the skill and confidence with the Tormek, chisel and knife.  That could easily be the difference between a Tormek user and  one who has a Tormek in a box on a high shelf while using dull tools.

The guide should be readily available.  (That's why I suggest making it like the welcome messages.)  It should not involve having to use the search function.  (often another frustration).  It should be available to anyone who finds the forum, regardless of whether one purchases a Tormek, a competitor's product, or no product.  An interested person should realize that a Tormek is a very versatile tool, which also happens to have a modest learning curve. (Anyone who is able to access the information online should know about learning curves from the computer.)

It should also not be too long.  I had best end here.

Ken

I happened to visit my former local Tormek dealer last weekend.  (I moved out of the area last summer.)

The dealer now has a new huge store facility (six or seven acres of store).  For the first time I saw a T3 in their small Tormek display.  The T3 was still in the box on a lower shelf, but at least it has made it to the shelf.

Ken 

Chief, I'm glad your boat finally righted.  I would suggest you write Tormek AB and nicely, but firmly grumble.  They should make things right. 

Keep us posted whether they respond or not, and good turning.

Ken

I found this in our archives, and thought it might be interesting and relevant for those who want to flatten their backs:


Hand Tool Woodworking / Re:Not just for TORMEK -- LET'S TALK HANDTOOLS!
« on: December 23, 2003, 10:16:57 pm »
Just to clarify my approach to sharpening.  I use the Tormek for grinding only, despite having had an excellent half morning's session with Torgny Yansson!

My sharpening is done on 800 and 8000grit waterstones.


Many people who come on my courses have done irrepairable damage to the flat side/back of their blades before arrival.  Please beware of rounding the flat side on hollow waterstones, or even the scary sharp method.
David Charlesworth.

The T bar could probably be held in the small tool holder.  With care, it might give a reasonable parallel surface.

What surprises me is that I don't recall seeing prior posts with this problem.  If the problem was indeed Tormek related, I would expect it to manifest itself with a number of users.

Have you sharpened these turning tools before using other methods?  Related, do you know another turner who would sharpen them with either another Tormek or a dry grinder?  If the problem is in the steel of your turning tools, I would expect the trouble to follow.

The other possibility which comes to mind is how much pressure you are putting on the tool against the wheel.  My turning tools are stored away, however, I have not noticed this glazing with carbon chisels, plane blades or high speed drill bits.

A late thought, what kind of steel are your turning tools? Today's powder technology is producing some exotic steel, which may or may not play nicely with the SG Tormek wheel.

Keep us posted.

Ken

Back to my first post:

When I first acquired my Tormek, I had a lot of difficulty using the angle master.  Being the inventive type, I devised an improved version.  I knew it would work much better.

Before I had a chance to build a prototype, I had another sharpening session.  At the time, my improvised shop was also my unheated garage.  That day happened to be very pleasant, so I set up my Tormek on my Work-mate outside.  That's a very nice way to work. The light was great. To my great surprise, the angle master worked quite well.  The problem was not the anglemaster.  The problem was trying to use it in poor light.  I had ignored the instruction book directive to work in good light.

I often read posts by new users who are having difficulties similar to mine.  It is easy to overlook the fact that all over the planet thousands of Tormeks are functioning as designed.  We overlook the obvious problem, operator error.  The problem with untreated operator error is that it all too often becomes operator frustration and soon the operator gives up in disgust.

One of the many nice things about this forum is that there are no hot shots.  None of us are child geniuses.  The Tormek is not a difficult machine to learn.  My Dad had a favorite saying, "We can be bold in doing something if we are first humble in learning it."

Let's all keep learning and sharing that journey, both the successes and the oopses.

Ken

ps My modification for the angle master would have been to lengthen the bearing surface along the blade.  (The surface at the bottom of the keystone which sits on the blade)  I would have removed the keystone on the side away from the sharp edge of the blade and made it square.  It would no longer be symmetrical; I don't think the Swedish engineers would have liked that.  I still think it would work better that way.  My real problem was trying to work in poor light.  Old eyes didn't help, either.

Herman, good thoughts.

[Do not shortcut it!]

I know ow exciting it is to open the box of a Tormek.  The energy flows and the natural impulse is to set up, grab an edged object, and have at it.

May I make a more boring suggestion?  Before setting up the machine, read the included book very carefully.  It's your book.  Don't be afraid to highlight, underline or use tape bookmarks.   

Most of the common beginner problems are covered in the book.  They are not always covered  thoroughly enough to circumvent a hands on learning curve, however, having a good working knowledge of the book will generally keep you on the right track.

If you are reading this before your Tormek arrives, make sure you have a Sharpie marker.  this simple little marker will be invaluable in your learning curve.  It will keep you on target with setting bevels. 
Do not shortcut it!

Do not try to avoid using the stone grader.  I include myself in the large group of (foolish) users who tried to avoid using the stone grader in the hope of making my precious grinding wheel last longer.  The wheel is a consumable.  It is designed to be worn down and replaced.  A key word here is "eventually".  That might be a very long time.  Has anyone on the forum actually worn out a wheel through use?

Before leaving this topic, the way to stretch the life of a wheel is regular and careful dressing.  Using the whole surface of the wheel instead of wearing a narrow groove helps, too.


I must leave to pick up my granddaughter at school.  I hope this gets the ball rolling.  Please feel free to comment and add.

Ken

Herman, I don't believe you will be disappointed.  While they both cover sharpening, they are enough different that I believe both are worthy of space in our active libraries.

After you have a chance to read through them, please post your thoughts.  It would be nice to hear more thoughts on them than those of that "ken s" guy.  (I know as much as he does, and that's not bragging.)

Ken

Jeff, I heard a journalism prof discussing laptops and tablets recently on NPR. (National Public Radio, for you Brits, similar to BBC)

Anyway, to paraphrase his comment in my native telephonese, he stated that the tablets are quite good at receiving, whereas, the laptop is better at transmitting.....

Ken

For those of you who are considering purchasing Forstner bits:  Do yourself a favor and look at the high speed steel bits sold by Lee Valley.  They should hold their keen edges for a very long time.

Also, a note to Rob:  As I recall, you are a turner.  You could turn tapered blocks, similar to replacement socket chisel handles, to mate with the inner taper of your Forstner bits.  Use diamond paste.  That should restore your Forstner bits to their former glory.  (Keep the blocks for future touchups.  Store them in a sealer plastic bag to help preserve the diamond paste.)

Ken   

Herman, I applaud your Yankee ingenuity.  With embarrassment, I must admit I chose a less noble path when I needed another adjustment nut. Instead of Yankee ingenuity, I chose to use Yankee dollars.  I ordered a replacement part from sharptoolsusa.  (from the sharptoolsusa website>Tormek>replacement parts>T7)

66   US-105N Adjusting nut with scale for Universal Support   1   $ 7.00

While it was not the course of least cost, the nice people in Missouri gave me excellent service, even though I used Yankee dollars.

Ken

ps You are certainly picking up steam.  You have blasted through senior member, and I look forward to you becoming the first hero member from Texas!

Jeff,

This forum reminds me of the sleepy little Ohio towns after fracking was discovered.  From time to time I look at the "more statistics".  Recently it seems like a tsunami has hit the stats.  Like you, I think this is exciting. 

I am one of the prime grumblers about the lack of good training materials. The videosvyou have done are quite good, but don't completely quench our thirst for knowledge.  I realize we are handicapped by living in an age when when the most complex mysteries are solved within an hour filled with commercial messages.  IMHO, the most effective training material should also be the simplest and most easily accessed. 

I have found the search engine only partially useful.  I think a more effective solution would be having a couple posts made like the welcome posts.  I would suggest one for Frequently Asked Questions and another for Less Frequently Asked Questions.  Things like grinding squarely, using the stone grader, and lifting the knife handle to form the tip bevel would be under FAQ.  Things like thinning the bolster on a knife, or cambering a plane blade might be under LFAQ. (Turning tools, Planer blades and maybe hand tools should have FAQ and LFAQ, also.)

My suggestion would be  to address specific issues in regular posts first.  Then, the relevant posts would be edited and combined into a clear answer.  (A nice touch would be to list the poster's name with the post.) 

I would suggest you, as forum administrator, be the one with permission to access, edit, and add to the issues. In addition to being the moderator, you have the respect of the forum as both an honest spokesman and someone who has spent a lot of time in the trenches. With "copy, paste" from good posts, the work involved should be minimum.

By having the FAQ and LFAQ posts appear below the welcome posts, they would be quickly and easily accessed by both members and the curious who are investigating whether or not to invest in a Tormek.  If I was looking, I would print them for my reference.  I could see them as being of great value in getting new members up to speed with avoiding most of the pot holes. 

Welcome to the brave new world........Oz may never be the same.

Ken