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#1
Hand Tool Woodworking / optimized workflow and growing...
Last post by jimmyboy - Yesterday at 11:34:50 PMhi all,
I recently started working with a t-8 and ran into a number growing paints. I'm also very curious what people have found is the most optimal workflow when sharpening multiple tools. My interest is primarily for hand tools, but I plan on sharpening other things like my kitchen knives as well. I foresee usually working in batches so I'm especially keen on finding an efficient workflow.
Since I just got the t-8 I wanted to setup all of my and tools with it, which amounted to about 24 chisels and plane blades. It ended up taking me most of the day. I figured it would be inefficient to regrade the wheel for each tool, so I grouped my tools by bevel angle, then set the machine up for the first tool, used a stop block to set a reference for the projection, worked through each tool at the 220 grit, using the stop block for each new tool, then graded the wheel for 1000 grit, and finally worked back through the tools.
My first issue was it took a really long time to re-profile all the tools, despite repeatedly regrading the SG-250 to 220 grit. Some of the larger tools like 1"+ chisels felt like they were taking 15-20 minutes to grind the hollow bevel. Later in the process I suspected I needed to re-true my wheel, which I did, after which it cut A LOT faster. So lesson learned there: use the truing tool to coarse grade the wheel for more rapid material removal.
Second issue is I tried to minimize regrading time by grinding all of my tools at the first grit, before proceeding to the second grit. As a result I ran into a fair amount of trouble trying to set the machine up to the same conditions. Even with the stop blocks and precisely measuring the height of the universal support, the tools bevel was never in exactly the same place when I went back to grind the second grit. This was exacerbated with some of my Japanese chisels where the sides aren't quite square to the blade, or even parallel to eachother. At any rate I ended up with a lot of setup fiddling. I'm not sure what the solve is here. I suspect even if I had tried to grind the second grit before proceeding to the next bevel group, I wouldn't get the tool back in the jig exactly the same. Ideally you would leave the tool in the jig the whole time, but having to regrade for each tool seems like the wrong approach.
The last issue I ran into was with the honing. Because of my workflow, and already experience issues getting the tools back in the jig exactly the same, I didn't have confidence in using the jig to hone the bevel side. I also couldn't find or come up with a great way to hone the flat side. I ended up free handing both sides and just carefully sighting down the side to ensure I was contacting the blade where I wanted to. This ended up working out fine, as I was able to deburr and had some shiny and wicked sharp tools at the end. Still I felt there must be a better way. Has someone designed a jig that lets you easily reference the flat side exactly tangential to the honing wheel? Feels like a simple enough design, just having a flat platform tangential to the honing wheel, with a positive stop block that references the universal support to fix the angle.
Kind of a long post I know. If you got this far thanks for reading. Overall still very impressed with the T-8. Had a lot of fun working with it, and I know keeping everything sharp from here on out will be a breeze.
I recently started working with a t-8 and ran into a number growing paints. I'm also very curious what people have found is the most optimal workflow when sharpening multiple tools. My interest is primarily for hand tools, but I plan on sharpening other things like my kitchen knives as well. I foresee usually working in batches so I'm especially keen on finding an efficient workflow.
Since I just got the t-8 I wanted to setup all of my and tools with it, which amounted to about 24 chisels and plane blades. It ended up taking me most of the day. I figured it would be inefficient to regrade the wheel for each tool, so I grouped my tools by bevel angle, then set the machine up for the first tool, used a stop block to set a reference for the projection, worked through each tool at the 220 grit, using the stop block for each new tool, then graded the wheel for 1000 grit, and finally worked back through the tools.
My first issue was it took a really long time to re-profile all the tools, despite repeatedly regrading the SG-250 to 220 grit. Some of the larger tools like 1"+ chisels felt like they were taking 15-20 minutes to grind the hollow bevel. Later in the process I suspected I needed to re-true my wheel, which I did, after which it cut A LOT faster. So lesson learned there: use the truing tool to coarse grade the wheel for more rapid material removal.
Second issue is I tried to minimize regrading time by grinding all of my tools at the first grit, before proceeding to the second grit. As a result I ran into a fair amount of trouble trying to set the machine up to the same conditions. Even with the stop blocks and precisely measuring the height of the universal support, the tools bevel was never in exactly the same place when I went back to grind the second grit. This was exacerbated with some of my Japanese chisels where the sides aren't quite square to the blade, or even parallel to eachother. At any rate I ended up with a lot of setup fiddling. I'm not sure what the solve is here. I suspect even if I had tried to grind the second grit before proceeding to the next bevel group, I wouldn't get the tool back in the jig exactly the same. Ideally you would leave the tool in the jig the whole time, but having to regrade for each tool seems like the wrong approach.
The last issue I ran into was with the honing. Because of my workflow, and already experience issues getting the tools back in the jig exactly the same, I didn't have confidence in using the jig to hone the bevel side. I also couldn't find or come up with a great way to hone the flat side. I ended up free handing both sides and just carefully sighting down the side to ensure I was contacting the blade where I wanted to. This ended up working out fine, as I was able to deburr and had some shiny and wicked sharp tools at the end. Still I felt there must be a better way. Has someone designed a jig that lets you easily reference the flat side exactly tangential to the honing wheel? Feels like a simple enough design, just having a flat platform tangential to the honing wheel, with a positive stop block that references the universal support to fix the angle.
Kind of a long post I know. If you got this far thanks for reading. Overall still very impressed with the T-8. Had a lot of fun working with it, and I know keeping everything sharp from here on out will be a breeze.
#2
General Tormek Questions / Upgrading a T2000
Last post by JohnG - Yesterday at 07:32:29 PMI bought a t2000 about 20 years ago and I decided that I would do some upgrades as I was struggling to get consistent results. The general appearance of the machine was poor as the paint was peeling off and the steel chassis was rusting underneath. I started with a strip down and treated the rust and repainted with dark green smooth Hamerite as there is no RAL number available for the original green . The nylon bearings were good with no play but the drive shaft was a bit rusty so I invested in a stainless steel easy lock replacement . Considering the price of the original machine I am surprised that it did not come with a stainless steel shaft as a steel one was always going to rust with a whetstone! The original wheel was a little down in diameter -21 cm so I treated myself to a new wheel . The old honing wheel was still in place but beginning to crack and the drive wheel was also the original plastic and again cracked. A new leather honing wheel was fitted and a metal drive wheel. I had often struggled to get my plane blades and chisels to grind straight in the past so I went for the new improved chisel and plane blade Tormek guide and a new "f" arm with micro adjustment. I followed the instructions of oiling the leather honing wheel but I am not really happy with its performance in that it is very sticky - perhaps I used too much of the Tormek supplied oil. As to the grind wheel - there is a bit of side to side wobble but the grind surface is running true and barely needed any trueing up with the diamond trueing attachment . I don't really understand why a new wheel has a slight wobble unless the centre hole is not exactly perpendicular to the flat side. My reading on the subject says that a slight wobble is acceptable but not if you want to use the flat side of the wheel! So all put together and ready to sharpen all my plane irons and chisels( about 30 in all). Mostly ok but one or two of the chisels and plane irons still ground to an angle despite using the new guide and following the instructions to the letter and watching the YouTube videos. I was really hopeful with all the time and expense(not inconsiderable) that I would have ended up with a machine which would perform like new but I still have some niggles. In retrospect I think I should have just gone for a new T8 - but then the wheel may still have wobbled and the honing wheel would still be sticky!
#3
General Tormek Questions / Re: Is there a way to prevent ...
Last post by BPalv - August 23, 2026, 05:52:04 PMSame as above... forget to every now and again... still annoying.
#4
General Tormek Questions / Re: Is there a way to prevent ...
Last post by John Hancock Sr - August 22, 2026, 03:25:15 PMQuote from: RickKrung on August 21, 2026, 03:08:32 PMYeah, annoying. When I remember to, which is often not, I move the wheel out enough to reach in and touch the spacer to separate it from the wheel and then finish removing the wheel.
Same.
#5
General Tormek Questions / Re: Is there a way to prevent ...
Last post by RickKrung - August 21, 2026, 03:08:32 PMYeah, annoying. When I remember to, which is often not, I move the wheel out enough to reach in and touch the spacer to separate it from the wheel and then finish removing the wheel.
#6
General Tormek Questions / Re: Is there a way to prevent ...
Last post by John Hancock Sr - August 21, 2026, 02:36:08 AMNot really. It does tend to stick to the wheel when you take it off.
#7
General Tormek Questions / Re: TS-740 hooks and spill wat...
Last post by flyvert - August 20, 2026, 11:07:43 PMQuote from: tgbto on August 20, 2026, 10:18:45 AMA question though : I just watched the video on Tormek website on the TS page. The hooks seem to use two squares each on the side of the TS, and there's a quarter turn knob in the lower square that seems to lock the hook in place ?!?!Argh..... how could I miss that?
Thank you so much!!!
#8
General Tormek Questions / Re: TS-740 hooks and spill wat...
Last post by tgbto - August 20, 2026, 10:18:45 AMA question though : I just watched the video on Tormek website on the TS page. The hooks seem to use two squares each on the side of the TS, and there's a quarter turn knob in the lower square that seems to lock the hook in place ?!?!
#9
General Tormek Questions / Is there a way to prevent the ...
Last post by flyvert - August 19, 2026, 08:30:05 PMAs per the subject, is there some neat trick I can apply to prevent the spacer to come off when I swap between grinding wheels?
#10
General Tormek Questions / Re: TS-740 hooks and spill wat...
Last post by flyvert - August 19, 2026, 08:19:59 PMThank you so much - I will ask my 3D-printer friend to print a couple of those for a test!
The space in my garage is limited, especially horizontal flat surfaces other than the floor - surfaces that very quickly attract various things. As with a flat TV, a grinding wheel is best stored upright (and so far in my view) on a wall... who knows I might change my mind after testing your desk stand and finding a free spot for it?
I have been swapping wheels, packing and unpacking the SJ-250 for a long while and therefore been looking at the TS-740 with jealous eyes before I finally decided to invest in it (that stand costs more than a T8...). The idea of gathering all sharpening gear at one place and store up to four sharpening wheels on its sides was very appealing to me. It is really super stable and permit to tuck away a lot of things in its drawers.
I live near Lindesberg and plan to go visit the heart of Tormek some day in the near future, funny how I will probably burst "Hello Sebastien" if I get to see him - feels like a long time friend after watching all the YT-movies
If no one else here on the forum have some cheat to get the hooks stick to the TS-740 I will confront Tormek when visiting them (and to top up to 4 hooks for maximum storage capacity). I'll post here if/when I learn Tormek's solution.
The space in my garage is limited, especially horizontal flat surfaces other than the floor - surfaces that very quickly attract various things. As with a flat TV, a grinding wheel is best stored upright (and so far in my view) on a wall... who knows I might change my mind after testing your desk stand and finding a free spot for it?
I have been swapping wheels, packing and unpacking the SJ-250 for a long while and therefore been looking at the TS-740 with jealous eyes before I finally decided to invest in it (that stand costs more than a T8...). The idea of gathering all sharpening gear at one place and store up to four sharpening wheels on its sides was very appealing to me. It is really super stable and permit to tuck away a lot of things in its drawers.
I live near Lindesberg and plan to go visit the heart of Tormek some day in the near future, funny how I will probably burst "Hello Sebastien" if I get to see him - feels like a long time friend after watching all the YT-movies
If no one else here on the forum have some cheat to get the hooks stick to the TS-740 I will confront Tormek when visiting them (and to top up to 4 hooks for maximum storage capacity). I'll post here if/when I learn Tormek's solution.