Messages

Jeff,

I would trust a Starrett square before I would trust most new planes.  Try checking your blade from both sides with your square.

Ken

Fred,

Try this.

http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/index.php?target=part&partsProdID=193&catID=6

Ken

Steve,

I just read Chris Schwarz's blog on the Popular Woodworking site.  Just for possible future reference, there is a guy making replacement handles for the Lee Valley bevel up planes.  some people like the feel of the LV plane handles, some don't.  Hopefully you will.  LV certainly makes some fine and innovative planes.  I hope you enjoy yours.  Keep us posted.

Ken

peter,

The real treat with the dry grinder is using the diamond dresser with a Norton 3X 46 grit wheel.  As we say up over,  it's a real "go getter".

Ken

Peter,

Your down under tool looks a lot like my up over tool.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=55075&cat=1,43072,43080&ap=1

Yes, "Works a treat  "

Ken

This past Saturday I spent a day in Holmes County, Ohio.  One of my favorite haunts is Keim Lumber in Charm.  Keim caters to local contractors and small shops in the area, which has significant a Amish and Mennonite population.  (Among other things they sell air powered routers.)

In their dealer display I saw a T3 for the first time. I was impressed with the smaller model.  I certainly don't regret purchasing my T7.  I like the larger diameter grinding wheel, the heavier duty motor and the metal housing.

However, for someone needing a wet grinder with space and weight constraints on on a very tight budget, the T3 looked like a good choice.  It would provide the Tormek "burn free" wet grinding; the much more comfortable grinding for older hands; and the Tormek quality and versatility in a smaller, lighter and less expensive package for home use.

Without the constraints, I would certainly opt for the T7.  In a more constrained environment I would favor the T3 over other choices.

Ken

Well noted, Peter.  Most of us, myself included, often neglect due diligence researching of past posts before posting.

So, give us some follow up.  How do you now maintain your grinding wheels? 

Ken

ps Please continue to post; the forum works better with more participation.

David,

I have not tried the TT-50 with my dry grinder.  (My dry grinder is a venerable Sears 6" high speed model. I used it recently to remove decades of mushrooming from a splitting wedge.  The three something Norton 46 grit wheel did a fine job of removing a lot of metal quickly, and heating the shop!)

My concern with using the TT-50 is the speed of your grinder.  Even at 1750 RPM, it is almost twenty times faster than a Tormek. I have used the TT-50 with my Tormek stone with good results.  It does look a little "bouncy" for use at higher speeds.  In fairness, it was not designed for high speed work.  It might work.  If you try it, you might end up needing to replace it.  I wouldn't try it.

I would try using simple measuring tools to check for squareness and flatness.  A small machinist's square will tell the tale if your wheel is dressed square.  Use it from both sides of the wheel to double check.

Once squareness is established, you should be able to place the square along the universal support bar and see if it is square to the side of the wheel.

An alternate method is to use either inside calipers of feeler gages to check parallelness between the bar and the edge of the wheel.Check along different points of the edge of the wheel.  The caliper of gage should have the same feel on the left as on the right.  Using inside calipers lets you check the bar at the working distance.  Using a piece of wood as a feeler gage is probably accurate enough.

I don't have the obsession with speed that some Tormek users do.  Watching Jeff's video where he shaped a turning tool in the Tormek didn't seem to take all that long.  I would lean toward just using the tormek on a day which was not busy.  It I didn't have my Tormek, the BGM-100 would be a fine choice.

Keep us posted.

Ken

I thought I would wait until your basic question was answered before interjecting this.  Brian Burns has written a very good short book about double bevel sharpening.  Brian is a guitar maker, who has to work with wood subject to a lot of tearout.  He has developed (not invented, he traces the idea back to 1825) some fine sharpening techniques using double bevels (the second bevel being on the back of the blade).

His book discusses bevel angles for planer and jointer blades, including how to determine the angles.  his website is: lessonsinlutherie.com

The book is about fourteen dollars, including postage.  Brian is good about answering emails.

I believe you would find his book a useful reference.  A recent article in Fine Woodworking referred to Brian's book, but merely scratched the surface.  The book has a lot of good information.

Ken

You are more than welcome, Robin.  I'm glad you followed through on your project.

Ken

Gary,

My DMT mini hone set arrived yesterday.  Nice tools!  They look like they will be useful for many small tasks.  They are well made; inexpensive ($20) for the set of three; take up almost no space. 

Thanks for the tip.

Ken

Robin,

I'm glad the extended support bar has worked for you.  I checked out your website.  Well done.  It looks very professional, yet friendly.  Offering the mobile service seems very smart.  I'm sure a lot of businesses appreciate the convenience.

Best wishes for you and your business.

Ken

Rather than try to guess what Richard Raffan might say, I decided to email him.  ("Contact" on his website, richardraffan.com)

Richard promptly and graciously replied, and allowed me to post his reply.  Here it is:

Ken,

These days I have my Tormek set up with a platform fixed on the vertical rest for my skew chisels: the wheel comes to the chisel. And on the other side I use the horizontal rest for gouges, mainly so I don't have to adjust the skew platform.  I prefer the wheel coming on to the tool as I don't hone, and I used the vertical approach because I found that easiest at the time and I could well have been shown that by Geoff Brown.
I might add that I do very little turning these days and now use my Tormek mostly for knives. I'd go with what Jeff Farris recommends as he'd use the Tormek more than anyone and knows it inside out.

As far as updating photos in books:  it's a nice idea but generally deemed far to expensive. Typos and major errors in editing are corrected at the first reprint but that's about it. I'd love to upgrade all my publications on a regular basis but it's not feasible.

I'm not sure this does much to clear the air, but feel free to post on the forum. Cheers, RR.

Richard Raffan

David,

I have one of these to dress my dry grinder wheels.  It works well and is inexpensive.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=55075&cat=1,43072,43080&ap=1

The BGM-100 is designed for shaping (as opposed to sharpening) turning turning tools.

By the way, good choice in a dry grinder.

Ken

My first impression when I saw the EZYlock was that it was a lot of nicely engineered and machined stainless steel for fifty-nine dollars.  I am still impressed with it.

Ken