Messages

Elizabeth,

Welcome to the forum.  There is an old Spanish proverb:  "No se ganó Zamora en una hora."  (Zamora was not won in an hour.  The battle of Zamora, I believe in 1492, was the last Moorish stronghold in Spain.)

Give yourself the luxury of a much of a much longer time period to learn sharpening and turning.  With regular work, you should be amazed in a year.  It is worth the effort.

Best wishes,

Ken

Brett and Herman,

I finally bought one of the Tormek covers.  It works well, although I suspect the old bath towel I was using before worked just as well.

Yes, Alan's Tormek did seem to "field strip" very easily.  Probably by the seventeenth take, Alan could do it blindfolded.  It was likely stainless, and the wheel looked like it was almost new.  None of this detracts from the video.

I can see where Tormek might not want to show a video of Herman using a hammer (and perhaps some appropriate language) to remove a rusted shaft.

Removing the honing wheel is probably overkill.  I would prefer this to some of the horror stories of encrusted wheels.

When I changed my shaft, I found a 19mm box wrench was a better fit than 3/4".  I wish I had drawn a simple diagram of how the thing went together when I disassembled the shaft.  I was able to reassemble it, but only with an element of luck.

Ken

I have never read any posts about a Tormek unit needing repair of just being "shot" from overuse.  The troubles seem to develop from carelessness and/or idleness.

Here in the upper midwest, it is standard operating procedure to "winterize" the lawnmower and run the gas out of the snowblower at the end of winter.

Good machinists always wipe their tools and gages with an oiled cloth before returning them to the drawers in their toolboxes.

Chefs clean and dry their knives before returning them to the slots in the wooden blocks.

Why do Tormek users leave their grindstones sitting in dirty water?  Why do we allow our honing wheels to become encrusted?  We clean our finish brushes, which cost a fraction of a Tormek grinding or honing wheel.  We clean our saw blades.  Why do we allow our Tormek units to get into such states of disrepair?

We are reluctant to use the stone grader for fear it will wear out our precious grinding wheels, the same wheels which sit in swarf water until the water evaporates, leaving a rusty shaft.  (Don't count on the stainless shafts not rusting in this environment; stainless will rust in the presence of rust....the metal particles floating in the water.)

Dumping the water trough and wiping it clean is such a simple and quick task.  We don't lubricate our oilstones with used crankcase oil.  Why do we soldier on with swarf laden water with the Tormek?

Watching Alan Holtham change the shaft on his Tormek made me realize how simple it would be to remove the honing wheel after use.  I believe the great forum debate about oiling or not oiling the leather wheel would not be an issue if the honing wheel was removed after use and placed in a ziplock bag.  Diamond paste users do this regularly.  Why not us?  I'm not talking about doing this before lunch.  How many times do our Tormeks go unused for long periods?  If we stored our honing wheels in the ziplock bags, dust and sawdust would not be a problem, and dried honing compound would certainly be much less of a problem.

For those who regularly move their Tormek about (mobile sharpening services or commuting to a shop), the EZYlock shaft makes removing the grinding wheel a snap.  In fact, for longer periods of storage, maybe we should routinely remove the wheels.  The shafts and "innerds" would stay very dry, and no tension would remain on the driveshaft bearings.

Lots of use, but no abuse.

Ken 

Three new youtubes with Alan Holtham have recently been added to the Tormek website.  They are well done and useful additions to the existing demos done by Jeff.  They are well worth your time.

Ken

Joel,

I think many (most?) of us, myself included, have wondered the same thing about going back and forth with the stone grader.  Going back and forth seems counter intuitive.  However, it seems to be the nature of the beast.  We are accustomed to changing between individual stone grits.  Being able to change the grit of a single stone often doesn't compute with our background.  With practice you will develop a rhythm.  You won't miss the overheated blue edges.

Welcome to the forum.

Ken

Is there a good reason not to restore the knives as serrated?  I recently sharpened my Henckels serrated bread knife using micro abrasive (3M high tech sandpaper) wrapped around a dowel.  For smaller serrations, a file or triangular piece of wood with diamond paste should work.

Ken

Jeff,

I should preface this post by disclosing that before retiring, I worked for the telephone company for thirty five years.  I'm not a big fan of spending lots of money each month on "custom calling" features.  However, I have found voice mail valuable.  In my opinion, it is much more reliable than answering machines.  It even works (and can be accessed by another line (land or cel) when the primary line is out of service.  When coupled with caller ID, it can be very useful in not missing business calls.

Ken

Gipper,

If using the WM200 seems iffy to you, here's an alternate method:

Perhaps like you, I am somewhat of a tinkerer.  I use the TTS100 turning tool gage.  Its two point contact (which I believe is patented) compensates for wear of the wheel. 

Set the universal support bar to one of the two settings.  This becomes your fixed distance.

Place your chisel in the SE76 jig and use the WM200 or black marker technique to get the angle you wish.  Note the protrusion distance from the front of the SE76.  Make up a "gage block" for this protrusion distance.  I use a piece of cardboard with a pencil line.  Note the angle on the gage block.

The next time you set up your Tormek, set the universal support bar using the TTS100 and set the protrusion distance of your next chisel using your cardboard gage block.  Your bevel angle should be consistent.

If you wish, you can make up gage blocks for different angles, such as paring chisels instead of struck chisels.

The handbook shows a very similar method using wooden spacer blocks. 

I like methods which are accurate, but do not rely on ongoing measurements.

Ken

Good thought, Herman.

Ken

If you follow Jeff's advice, you will have increased your knowledge/skill.  It will be time well spent. 

Please do so and do post your results.

Good luck,

Ken

When I first bought my Tormek, I had trouble using the WM200.  I almost made a new pointer with a longer bearing surface. (I still may someday.) Before I had a chance to do that, I happened to set up my Tormek outside in very good light.  I found the WM200 much easier to use in very good light.  (The same might be said for most precision tools, especially with older eyes.)

From your description, it sounds like you are having more problems than the WM200.  Is the back of your chisel properly flattened and polished?  From your description "and old abused chisel" I am skeptical.  I have flattened and polished the backs of numerous chisels.  It is a lot of work, especially with oil stones.  Even with faster cutting water stones or sandpaper, it is laborious enough to make one reluctant to abuse the tool.

I would suggest you make certain the back of your chisel is dead flat and polished like a mirror.  The sides should be parallel, as well. The chisel should be in fine condition, except for sharpness. Only after that would I even think about working on the bevel. 

Make sure your wheel is well dressed and square with the universal support bar.  Likewise, make certain you are working in very good light.

At this point, I believe you will find your WM200 is working much better.  (Make sure it is not loose.)

Please post your results, good or bad.  That's the way we all benefit from this forum.

Fortune favors the brave.

Ken

follow up.....The knife is cutting much better.  Yesterday I was cutting a day old bagel.  The knife cut the bagel very well and keenly/cleanly took a thin slice out of my index finger tip.

Ken

Yes, I do.  Both Ionut and Jeff have helped push the limits of the Tormek and opened new possibilities.  I a grateful they are both part of this forum.

Ken

I meant my comment in a light hearted way.  I also believe all concerned are reasonable and serious.  It certainly livens up the forum.

Ken

Steve,

I think a nick deserves dressing the wheel with the TT-50 to make sure the wheel is as coarse as possible.

Lie-Nielsen grinds a 30 degree primary bevel on its chisels.  On chisels whih will be struck, that seems like good nick prevention to me, or at least a better defense.

You might ask your carpenter to be a bit more careful, too.

I have found over the years that dry grinding often imparts a nice blue finish on the blade..... Make a mug of coffee and enjoy your Tormek time.

Ken