Recent posts

#1

Drill Bit Sharpening / Re: History of the twist bit

Last post by John Hancock Sr - Today at 04:21:23 AM

The intro is not quite correct. There have been many refinements over the years which is patently obvious but otherwise quite interesting.

#2

Drill Bit Sharpening / History of the twist bit

Last post by Ken S - Yesterday at 11:03:59 PM

For those with a deeper interest in twist bits:

https://youtu.be/E02vkgwyzjw?si=qLfyFYfjoE2z7zOj

Ken

#3

General Tormek Questions / Re: Angle Master Degree Differ...

Last post by tgbto - Yesterday at 10:35:54 AM

As a side note, you can also get an accurate value of this offset if you use one of the many calculators available (calcapp, tormekcalc, etc.) by both changing the diameter of the wheel to 254mm *and* reducing the distance to top of the wheel by 2mm.

#4

Drill Bit Sharpening / Re: SPAs on Twist Drills

Last post by John Hancock Sr - Yesterday at 03:51:47 AM

That can be a life saver (figuratively of course) for larger holes on lower power drill presses where the burr on the underside of the material can catch and stall the machine. 

#5

General Tormek Questions / Re: Angle Master Degree Differ...

Last post by Rossy66 - May 20, 2026, 11:40:29 PM

I apologize if this is a stupid question but, I was wondering if anyone knows the degree difference on the angle master setting of 250mm to the middle scale of 10"?

It's not stupid at all. If you play with the model here, you'll see that for a given setup (USB height set, projection distance set), the difference in angle when the stone diameter varies from 250 to 254mm is about 1 degree. So for a given position of the WM-200 on the wheel while resting on the flat of the blade, the angle read on the WM-200 should be off by the same amount.

Thanks for the info and link

#6

Knife Sharpening / Re: SG-250 - Oil Better Suited...

Last post by tgbto - May 20, 2026, 05:37:30 PM

The work being done can be measured by the material being removed (bonds being broken within the steel) and the generation of heat. You need to maximise the first and minimise the second. We want as little heat as possible and as much material removal as possible for maximum efficiency.

Agreed 100%.

To complement my response to OP's objection, the Higher MOH of the abrasive relative to the material being ground allows it to scratch said material. In doing so, there is resistance to the relative motion of the abrasive and the material. This resistance is precisely friction, and overcoming it generates heat (due to resistance to gliding at the molecular level AND to the the energy released by the breaking bonds within the material AND to the wear within the abrasive).

Lubricants work by separating surfaces. A lubricant that would work so well that there would be no resistance to the relative movement of the abrasive with respect to the ground material would also prevent the abrasive from scratching the material. For grinding to be effective, surfaces have to be allowed to come into contact. Where they come into contact, the kinetic friction coefficient depends only on the surfaces, not the lubricant.

Machinists know that a dry bit removes material much faster than a lubricated one. Unfortunately, it also breaks down so much faster that it is impractical to use it dry.

Water for the Tormek is a good compromise : it properly transfers heat away from the point of contact, lubricates a bit but still allows grinding to happen quickly enough.

TL/DR : the better the lubricant, the less abrasive and steel come into contact, the slower steel is being ground.

#7

Tormek T-1 and T-2 / A good video presenter from th...

Last post by Ken S - May 20, 2026, 05:12:15 PM

I like Ukulele Jay's videos. He is an experienced barbecue chef who sharpens his own knives, an ideal T1 user. Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/CRoeRtjUymE?si=T7RUW27F0u-12gAe

Ken

#8

General Tormek Questions / Re: Angle Master Degree Differ...

Last post by tgbto - May 20, 2026, 11:14:55 AM

I apologize if this is a stupid question but, I was wondering if anyone knows the degree difference on the angle master setting of 250mm to the middle scale of 10"?

It's not stupid at all. If you play with the model here, you'll see that for a given setup (USB height set, projection distance set), the difference in angle when the stone diameter varies from 250 to 254mm is about 1 degree. So for a given position of the WM-200 on the wheel while resting on the flat of the blade, the angle read on the WM-200 should be off by the same amount.

[Primary Facets]

#9

Drill Bit Sharpening / Re: SPAs on Twist Drills

Last post by Rossy66 - May 20, 2026, 12:28:17 AM

Dan Heil contacted me by eMail and noted,

You can grind a SPA by setting the (DBS-22 clearance angle) to 90 degrees.

I tried it and that indeed worked ... exceptionally well!  Here is the resulting grind on a ½" drill bit.

This is a really big find by Dan as SPAs are really good on larger drill bits, and as noted on GadgetBuilder,

Secondary Point Angles ... extend drill life, improve hole finish and minimize the exit burr on through-drilled holes.

You can also see that the secondary facets are quite a bit rougher than the primary facets. This is due to using a different grinding wheel, making this a faster process

Primary Facets	Started with DC-250 diamond course grinding wheel (drill was in bad shape) Finished with DF-250 diamond fine grinding wheel
Secondary Facets	Used DC-250 diamond course grinding wheel
SPAs	Used DF-250 diamond fine grinding wheel

That's really cool.

#10

Knife Sharpening / Re: SG-250 - Oil Better Suited...

Last post by Rossy66 - May 20, 2026, 12:26:32 AM

Has anyone tried using Tormek ACC with the SG? It has cooling properties like water, and also has anti rusting properties.

Ken

I noticed that when I started using ACC with my SG250, it stopped getting brown spots on it which I assume was some part of metal partial stuck to the wheel.