Messages

Mat,

That was my exact thoughts as well "I have no idea".

John,

I believe you are right about it just being a novelty item. How would it get dull is a good point. That's an awful lot of stabbing. Reminds me of when I found "nuclear duct tape" for almost 100$ a roll. I mean who does that much stabbing with a cyclone knife to dull it and who needs nuclear tape for their home made reactors? Also if you need duct tape on a nuclear reactor you have bigger issues. I know the connection is a stretch, but I digress...

Antz

Ken,

I know several carpenters as well that "sharpen" chisels by tossing the old ones out and buying a new one. I did two for a friend of mine who was going to throw them out and when I said I could sharpen them he didn't believe me. He was using them for breaking off nail and screws heads. When I was done I could shave my arm hair with them and push cut printer paper. Needless to say he was speechless.

By the way has anyone noticed sharpening chisels seems to "flatten" the wheel? I started sharpening a chisel and I could feel a very slight high spot on the wheel but towards the end it was gone and upon inspection the stone was completely flat and true. Maybe a freak occurrence?

Antz

Thanks Mat,

I got the clamping collar from grainger. https://m.grainger.com/mobile/product/RULAND-MANUFACTURING-316-Stainless-Steel-Shaft-30VK80?breadcrumbCatId=5258&fc=MWP2IDP2PCP
The rod was from amazon, just a 3/8" 316 stainless steel rod 1 foot length (about 12$ US). I think you can also get the clamping collar directly from Ruland but it's more expensive. I TiG welded it with 316 filler. My first attempt wasn't that nice looking but still very functional. My second attempt came out really nice. If you buy a one foot rod you can make about 6 clamping collars. I would suggest getting several collars Incase the first one dosnt turn out well. Total coast is about the same as a brand new SVM-45.

Antz

Ps: it can be kind of tricky but if you have any welding experience it should be no problem. I also buffed it with a dremel after welding with a felt wheel loaded with the tormek compound.

I came across the very interesting article. It's packed full of information on grinding tool steels. Just thought I'd post a link if anyone is interested.
http://www.bohler-uddeholm.co.za/media/GRINDING-ENGLISH_000904.pdf

Antz

Very informative posts guys. I too like Alf just started doing chisels. My first one looked just like yours Alf but if you keep grinding until you raise a bur along the entire edge it will look fantastic in the end. Maybe I got lucky but my first four chisels came out perfectly square. Took a surprising amount of grinding but it was well worth it.

Regards,
Antz

Alf,

My first couple knives I did I had a similar problem. Another forum member Rich, advised me to just keep practicing until you develop the muscle memory. Try slow steady passes. Check out either knife grinders or sharpco YouTube videos and see how they do slow controlled passes. In time you will develop the muscle memory and the kickback issue will be a thing of the past.

Antz

I have a question. How would any of you go about sharpening a knife like this. I saw it on amazon and it got me thinking about what I would do if by chance I ever ran into one of these.

Thanks,
Antz

I also agree. The value in the FVB is also in the knowledge that Wootz shares for free. I would still be sharpening everything by hand in the "Stone Age" if it wasn't for the info he shares. A lot of people like to keep "trade secrets" but Wootz gave us the keys to successful sharpening. To me the price is worth the results. I would suggest save a little and get it when you can. That's what I'm doing. I purchased software and paper wheel support from Wootz and now saving up for the fvb.

Antz

Sharpco,

I did some research and I believe the bear cloth tape is just a brand name version of cloth backed "duct tape". That leads me to believe that any cloth backed tape would serve the same purpose. As Wootz stated just add layers and check with your calipers until you get the thickness you want. Serves a double purpose as a protective layer and a shim.

Antz

PS: during my research I found some 3M brand "nuclear duct tape" at 97$ US a roll 
I just thought that was ridiculous. How many of us need to tape up our own nuclear power plant lol

Here is my 2nd attempt at making a pivot collar. The weld are a lot cleaner and filled in. Works great.
Here's some pictures

Antz

Sam,

I think it's just a difference in approach. I know most people including myself prefer edge leading but I know Steve Bottorff of sharpening made easy does Edge trailing more than edge leading with great results. But it's hard to say one way or another why you weren't having good results with edge leading without seeing your process. Could be pressure applied, could be that your not as steady handed in that position, or maybe setting the angle master incorrectly etc. hopefully someone else comes along with some better advice as I'm only about 3 months into my Tormek experience.

Antz

Ken,

Just out of curiosity, is there a way I can tell if my TT-50 is pre or post 2019? I ordered my tormek in 2019 but it's possible the dealer had from 2018 (Grainger).

Thanks,
Antz

Thank you Wootz, I shall try that.

Thanks,
Antz

Jeff,

This post is not related to rivermans post. The pivot collar is just to better pivot the jig on the support bar to get the tips of curved blades such as skinners more evenly. About the self centering jigs and the uneven bevel issues with thicker knives, you are correct that it is directly related to the milled portion of the knife jig. Any blade thicker than roughly 3mm you start getting uneven bevels and it just runs away from there the thicker the blade is. Wootz I think had a post about having a set of SVM-45 jigs that he had custom milled to different relief Depths for different blade thicknesses. If I find it I'll update this post with the link. There are also other members that have made their own versions of a self centering jig.

Antz

Ps: I know the welds on my pivot collar are horrible! But it works!

Ken,

I always thought of the SG wheel as a consumable and never really was afraid of trueing for fear of wasting my stone. I recently been doing a decent amount of work on my tormeks and have probably trued them about 5-6 times combined in the last 2-3 weeks.

Wootz,

Good advice about always mounting the stone in the same position when removing/replacing. An easy way for me is just using label on the wheel itself and making sure it's completely horizontal. (Not as accurate as your method Rick, but works well for me)

Just wanted to mention the reason I was doing a deeper than usual cut with the trueing tool. I started off my first couple trueing sessions with really light passes and lower the bar about a quarter of a number at a time. But I noticed if I don't make a deep enough cut the trueing tool vibrates like crazy to the point of vibrating the whole tormek and the result is a wavy/hilly stone surface which requires more trueing to remove with a deeper cut.

To me it seems like there is a sweet spot with the depth of cut. Not enough and the tooth skates on the surface. Just a little past that and it vibrates like crazy leaving a horrible finish. And if you go too deep it blows out the edge of the stone. Seems like you have to cut just deep enough for the tooth to bite but not deep enough to damage the edge of the stone. I also find my trueing tool to have more play than I would like. Why they designed it like that is beyond me. Wouldn't it be better if the tooth was almost static to the jig?

Thank you all for your reply's,
Antz

PS: Rick I'll start marking the shaft and spacer location as well. Thanks for that tip.