Messages

mGuitars,

I knew an old refinisher.  He was a real expert in his craft.  He told me that when he was apprenticing, his mentor gave him a piece of bird's eye maple and tole him to scrape it "until the eyes popped out".  He scraped and scraped, and finally told his mentor it could not be done.  The mentor was undaunted, and told him to keep scraping.  With much cursing, he continued.  To his great surprise, the eyes finally popped.

Scraping is a valuable, underutilized skill.

Ken

Robbo, a good use for the Tormek.  The real strength in the design favors sharpening over shaping.

Ken

I started using Ron Hock's suggestion of testing an edge with a plastic pen.  It works like using your thumb nail.  If the blade catches, it is sharp.  If it slides, it's back to the sharpening equipment.

Young children note my resemblance to Santa Claus.  If my white beard had sharpener's disease blotches, it might frighten the young ones.

Happy holidays to all.

Ken

Good point, Ionut.  Often the most difficult part of a task is finding someone capable of doing it and motivated to do it well. Your friend is fortunate. Life is a continuing education.

Ken

Too bad, Jeff.  If the demos were as informative as the videos on your website, they are a real loss.

Ken

Putting a hook on the scraper sounds very aggressive to me. Using the side of a chisel sounds more controllable  and less prone to chatter.  I believe the Lie-Nielsen Cabinetmaker Scraper Plane blade is often used without a hook.  It is slower, but very controllable.

I am concerned about the chunk of leather you super glued back.  It might not be a problem with the slow speed of the Tormek.  I would be inclined to replace the wheel.  Keep the old wheel in case you have any brainstorms for new uses.

Congratulations are in order to yet another "two star".  Kudos, Herman.  Keep up the good work, guys.

"one star"

Interesting post, guys.  Two thoughts come to mind:

1) Why do so many people (dare I say "we") wait until once sharp edges are not dull but blunt?  I wonder what the last hundred feet of boards run through that planer look like?

2) I believe clever people will soon be sharpening things like lathe bits on the Tormek with good success.  Would the original Tormek users have envisioned the efficient way turning tools are now sharpened on the Tormek or that drill bits can now be sharpened easily and well?

When switching wheels, is it necessary to retrue the stone each time?

Ken

This is an interesting post.  I hope more members will join in.

You may have accidentally stumbled upon an amazing discovery: an oil finish which does not need to be rejuvenated!

When you state that you are unable to remove all of the residue, are you actually removing some of the residue, or is none of it being removed?  If none is being removed, some sort of solvent might be needed.  However, if you are indeed removing some of the residue, keep going.

I like both Herman and Ionut's ideas.  I might substitute something like an old t shirt or towel for the wicking media.  I may be wrong on this; oily saw dust may not be so difficult to clean off the leather wheel.

On a lighter note,  I noticed something else in this post.  Ionut, with 50 posts, you have now achieved the status of "Jr. Member".  (congratulations!)....Herman, with 48 posts, you are not far behind.  Onward!  I have wondered if there are different status positions between "Newbie" and "Hero Member".  Does one become a "Senior Member" at 100 posts?

Sorry, I couldn't resist the curious imp in me.  Anyway, this is a good question and good answers.  I hope to read more of these.

Ken

Herman, a very useful link.  Thanks for posting it.

Ken

Thanks.  No hurry, as I will be very busy with my grandchildren for the foreseeable future.

Ken

I'm not quite sure what you mean.  Would you please explain your question a bit more?

Ken

Hi Ionut,

Thank you for your offer.  I doubt my local Tormek dealer has any of the older parts in stock, so, if your dealer has an extra, I would appreciate it.

Since I do not have one of the older jigs to look at, I am taking my best guess.  It seems the main difference between the jigs is the newer jig uses the flat back of the chisel as the reference surface against the fixed plane.  That does seem more logical, when it works. 

With a large mortise chisel:  If the jig is rotated so that it looks downward in the front position.  (This would mean the front support bar position would be grinding into the bevel instead of away from it.) The chisel is placed in the older jig with the back against the fixed plane (instead of against the movable plane).  This would mean the chisel would be slid into the jig from the direction opposite the usual way.  If this works, it would make the back the reference plane with the fixed clamping surface of the jig.

I know the last paragraph is difficult to read.  It was clumsy to write, even with English as my primary language.

The two knobs might prevent this, and have to be replaced with regular (6mm) metric nuts for better clearance.

I become fascinated with problems and occasionally find a solution for a problem which does not exist.  The older jig may work well as is if one is careful and checks to be sure the chisel is positioned properly.

The newer jig does seem an improvement for general use.  I am surprised that places like ebay do not seem to have any of the older jigs for sale.  Their owners must have decided to keep them.  Many of us are reluctant to part with old tools which have worked well, even when improved versions are available.

A large mortise chisel has a lot more steel to remove when sharpening than a smaller delicate carving chisel.  Being able to sharpen it on the Tormek seems a real work saver.

Ken

What is the availability and cost of the SHV-60?

Ken

Hi Ionut,

I have had my Tormek about a year.  It came with the newer SE-76.  I had known there was an earlier model, but had not paid much attention to it.  Using the older jig for your thick mortising chisel is very clever.  It seems a case where the "new and improved" model actually is improved most of the time, but not in all cases.  Having the fixed plane (the top of the jig) against the back of the chisel seems logical.  Keeping the opening small to allow the tool to protrude less also seems logical.  Your mortising chisel is a case of something which doesn't work well without some thought.  You have added the thought.  The older jig clearly has more potential for thicker tools.

I think the tormek is a marvelous machine.  My hands like it, too.  The Tormek lets me keep my chisels and planes razor sharp without all the wear and tear of my hands.  The Tormek is not an industrial surface grinder.  However, with creative users like you the Tormek becomes more versatile an like a surface grinder.

Keep up the good work.

Ken   

I clamped my 1/2" mortising chisel (Marples) in my SE-76 jig.  It fits nicely in the side of the opening with the square edge.  I discovered that if I slide the chisel over the other side, I can gain several millimeters of thickness.  The other edge is not square; squareness would have to be checked.

If your chisel fits that way, it would be a very simple solution to your problem.  If that still is not thick enough, you could file a slot near the far side of the jig (away from the square edge).  This would not interfere with squaring narrow regular chisels.  The slot would not have to be very deep, only deep enough to accommodate the thickness of your mortising chisels. The less deep, the better. The width of the slot should only be wide enough to fit your widest thick mortising chisel.  Spending the time to make sure the edge of the slot was square would be well spent.  If your chisel required a deep slot, you might want to file some of it on the main part of the jig, and some on the movable part, to spread the stress.  Using a file with safe (no teeth) edges would help.

This would allow you to use your SE-76 jig for your mortising chisels, without interfering with regular chisels.  It should require no extra parts.

Ken