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It's possible that the previous sharpener did not have the stop ring all the way up the shaft. Or, the settings on the SVD-185 were continuous, not discrete like the SVD-186, and were subject to eyeball error.

Mike

They all look like spindle gouges to me, too, with the possible exception of the second picture. Since you are just starting out as a turner, pick a gouge and shape/sharpen it to the standard profile as shown in the Tormek manual - 2-65-A. Notice that those settings are for standard profile spindle and bowl gouges. The bottom gouge in your pictures looks like a version of a spindle roughing gouge, so sharpen it as one. Spindle and bowl gouges can be used for spindles and bowls, with the exception of any gouge that has a flat tang instead of a round shank - those are for spindle use only. A flat tang is not strong enough and can break when used on a bowl, possibly causing injury.

If you are in the USA, check here to see if you can find a local club. The members there will be able to provide lots of help. https://www.woodturner.org/page/Chapters

Be careful, woodturning is quite addicting.

Mike

Mike - Do you use the 1200 grit diamond wheel?

I have the 1200 grit wheel, and if I was turning as often as I would like to, I would definitely be using it. My local club brings in two expert turners each year and I always sign up for classes. (Stuart Batty and Sam Angelo this coming Spring - looking forward to it.) It seems that is when I get to do most of my turning for the year. I take my Tormek to the classes, but I use the SB stone graded fine for that, mostly so I don't have to educate the other class members on the proper use of the diamond wheels.The other class members mostly use the clubs' high speed grinders, but some enjoy trying out the Tormek and its jigs.

Mike

Given how quick it is to resharpen turning tools with the Tormek, and how little metal is removed from the tool,  both Glenn Lucas and Nick Agar recommend frequent touch ups, so the 1200 grit diamond wheel works great for that. If you let your tools get very dull, or you reshape your tools often, then you're going to need a coarser wheel. If you do reshape often, it's probably cheaper in the long run to buy a second tool.

Mike

Here is a tip from Glenn Lucas's July 2017 e-zine:

"The new Tormek diamond wheels go on sale this month. They are offering three wheels which are coarse 360 grit, fine 600 grit, and extra fine 1200 grit. Having tried and tested each of them, if I was to choose one for every day fine sharpening of my woodturning tools, it would be the 1200 grit. Make sure your jig settings are accurate so that you hit the right spot every time.

It achieves an incredible edge in seconds. I recommend using it with water and their anti-corrosion additive, this helps keep the wheel clean and prevent magnetic filings sticking to the tool edge. The wheels stay flat with no dressing and are a dream to use. I have been using the 600 grit for over one and a half years  with superb results and was keen to try the 1200 grit.  If you have to reshape your tools then an additional purchase of the coarse wheel would be a good idea. It is quite effective at material removal.

Make sure to read the instructions as there are some great tips how to easily prolong the life of your investment."

Glenn is a world class woodturner, and was a beta tester of the diamond wheels for Tormek. I tried to find a link to that e-zine, but couldn't find it.

Glenn's website: https://glennlucaswoodturning.com

Glenn is also a Tormek Friend: https://www.tormek.com/usa/en/about-tormek/tormek-friends/

Mike

I was able to find my old SVS-50 closed seat. It is 10mm longer than the newer seats, so reduce your projection by 10mm and you should get the right bevel angle. There is some parallax error in the photo - the aluminum and zinc seats on the right are the same size.

Mike

It looks like you have the older version of the SVS-50, with the squared off closed seat. The newer version has an angled closed seat, and I don't know if that is causing the protrusion to be wrong. There are directions on how to modify the closed seat, but I can't find them right now. Maybe another forum member will chime in.

Mike

I measured the bevel angle of my oval skew ground with  settings 20-65-B at 30 degrees, and the bevel angle of a flat skew ground with 20-55-B at 45 degrees, both matching the chart.

Mike

It may just be the picture, but the skew angle appears to be greater than 20 degrees. Please check your jig settings one more time. Alan Lacer and Allan Batty, both woodturning pros, recommend a bevel angle of 40 degrees. The 30 degree bevel is going to dull rapidly unless you are only turning softwoods, and will prove more prone to catches. A 40 (39 degrees, really) degree bevel angle will result in bevel widths that are 1 1/2 times the thickness of your skew chisel, a bit harder to measure on your oval skew than a flat skew, but useful for eyeballing the correct bevel angle without a protractor.

This video by Allan Batty, is great for new skew users. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfeLAHQSbqk

Mike

I had the privilege of taking turning classes from Glenn Lucas and Nick Agar, both Tormek Friends https://www.tormek.com/usa/en/about-tormek/tormek-friends/. Glenn rarely honed his gouges and Nick regularly honed. The profile wheels are important to honing, since the burr is going to be inside the flute.

Mike

Oneway sells a balancing system for bench grinders which may, or may not, be cheaper than having the wheel flanges engineered.

https://oneway.ca/products-category/sharpening-grinding-jigs/Balancing%20Systems

Mike

Has anyone tried the T2 knife holder on a T7 or T8?

Mike

It was a pretty good shake, but aside from the mess of stuff falling off of shelves, no real damage. Anchorage came through pretty well, the worst injury I have heard of was a broken arm, and some people cut by flying glass, but no fatalities. I was here for the big one (Magnitude 9.2) in 1964 - that one was like huge, slow ocean waves and this one was like having a freight train speeding by outside the window.

Mike

This might work even better. Plastic, so no worries about spilled water, adjustable height legs, easily carried. I bought one a few years ago at Costco, but I don't know if they still carry it. Also available cheaper without the adjusting legs.

https://www.amazon.com/Keter-Folding-Workbench-Sawhorse-Capacity/dp/B00JU6SFP2/ref=asc_df_B001CWX26Y/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167135477708&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7674727276189681887&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033848&hvtargid=pla-466445506792&th=1

Mike

Using the Resellers link on the Tormek website, I was surprised to find that there was a local reseller here in Anchorage. He sold me a T-8 without added shipping charges, so you might try checking to see if there is a reseller near to you. Here is the link for US resellers:

https://www.tormek.com/usa/en/resellers/

Mike