Heads up - New Tormek Jig

[Grumpy John]

Just received this (http://www.tormek.com/en/jigs/dbs22/index.php) in an email. Looks interesting, but no mention of price:no:.

[Wongdai]

Wow. Complicated looking piece of kit.

[rsser]

Pick a number and double it.

[mkypenturner]

Just received this (http://www.tormek.com/en/jigs/dbs22/index.php) in an email. Looks interesting, but no mention of price:no:.
i have known about this jig coming into the market for about 3 months
as i work in a hardware store and had a rep from promac the importer tell me about it back then but told me that because it wasnt going to be released for a few months (was told september ) not to say anything the only thing he did mention that it would be approx $300 or there abouts as he had no costings at that stage just that it was coming

[hughie]

John, If you lived closer I could teach to sharpen drills by hand in about 15mins. Save your money and do it by hand.
Tormek will charge you a second mortgage for this one:U

[Grumpy John]

John, If you lived closer I could teach to sharpen drills by hand in about 15mins. Save your money and do it by hand.
Tormek will charge you a second mortgage for this one:U
Thanks Hughie, but I don't need one. I was a fitter & turner for 40 years so I'm quite capable of sharpening a drill freehand. My ageing eyesight makes it a bit difficult to sharpen anything smaller than 4mm though :D.

[mkypenturner]

Thanks Hughie, but I don't need one. I was a fitter & turner for 40 years so I'm quite capable of sharpening a drill freehand. My ageing eyesight makes it a bit difficult to sharpen anything smaller than 4mm though :D.
its range is 3mm to 22 mm from a quick browse

[DJ’s Timber]

John, If you lived closer I could teach to sharpen drills by hand in about 15mins. Save your money and do it by hand.
Tormek will charge you a second mortgage for this one:U

Knowing what Grumpy John does for a living or did do, I'd be willing to bet that Grumpy John already knows how to and probably does or can in fact freehand sharpen drill bits already.

I can also freehand sharpen bits myself and whilst it is handy when on site, I still find that those that I sharpened by machine will out last those done by hand for a hell of a lot longer and in most cases will do a cleaner hole as well.

All I'm saying here, is that whilst it may cost a few dollars to buy said jig, it would probably pay for itself over the lifetime of you owning it, as for some and I speak from experience here as well, some will never be able to grasp free hand sharpening bits.

[Grumpy John]

Well said DJ. The use of jigs in sharpening is all about consistency and minimising metal removal. There are many turners out there that are capable of freehand sharpening their chisels and gouges but use a jig to maintain the angles they prefer with minimum waste of material..

[NewLou]

Gidday

Im a metal fabricator n yeah i can sharpen bits and yeah they without fail only go to the grinding wheel once their blunt as a ^&%(&*&)-0 in the workshop.................

As with all these kind of skills to get great consistent results requires constant practice and application and truely in reality even the gun bit sharpeners in our workshop use a rough enough is good enough approach that will produce a bit thats just shaped n sharp enough to get the job done @ hand afterwhich it invariably ends up blunt again............

Personally I think freehand bit sharpening is a great skill to have under the belt in the field where it can get you outta trouble in a pinch but other than that give me a drill doctor........ jig ............or whatever any other day of the week you'll get sharper bits that last longer and give better results!

Regards Lou......................

[Ed Reiss]

Neat attachment for the Tormek...if you have one and, like someone mentioned you have a spare 300 bucks laying around doing nothing:doh::no:

For a $129 bucks a Drill Doctor can be had and it does a terrific job of grinding the correct geometry required to sharpen a drill bit to spec. I love my unit...wouldn't do without it.

Check it out at
Drill Doctor (http://www.drilldoctorstore.us/?gclid=CJD3qLX40KMCFRto5QodJ3c5qw)

[rsser]

Drill Doctors are pricey out here Ed I'm afraid.

I've used one of those cheap jigs that present to the grindwheel side (yeah, I know) and they're not too bad on larger bits. Wouldn't cope with small ones.

[joe greiner]

Before you get over-confident about hand sharpening, have a squint here: http://www.woodworkforums.com/f13/drill-sharpening-guides-53073/

The link in my post #4 doesn't work anymore. Here's the revised connection: Choose The Best Drill Point Geometry : Modern Machine Shop (http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/choose-the-best-drill-point-geometry)

Cheers,
Joe

[Wongo]

You've got to be drilling a hell lot of holes to need to sharpen your drill bits. I bought a set of HSS bits 6-7 years ago and they are still sharp as.

[NewLou]

On the other end of the spectrum ive blunted Sutton HSS bits in 1/2 an hour...................

[Wongo]

What were you drilling?

[NewLou]

Bisalloy.................

:rolleyes:

[hughie]

but I don't need one. I was a fitter & turner for 40 years so I'm quite capable of sharpening a drill freehand. My ageing eyesight makes it a bit difficult to sharpen anything smaller than 4mm though :D.


sorta heading that way my self. :C just bought gouge sharpening jig :U.
Tormek makes some good gear, but........... they know how to charge.

[Ed Reiss]

What is the going rate for a drill doctor out your way Ern?

[TTIT]

What is the going rate for a drill doctor out your way Ern?Last time I asked they were still over $300 which I can't justify.
My old man showed me how to sharpen bit's freehand when I was about 8yo - reckoned if I was gonna play with the grinder, I might as well be doing something more productive than making arrow-heads from welding rod stubs :B Once I've had a go at them they'll drill a hole no worries, but I seriously doubt there's anyone out there who can sharpen them precisely enough by hand to cut as they were intended, that is, both edges cutting a full swathe at the same time. When it only takes a bee's tit of difference in the height of the cutting edge to stop one edge from ever doing any work, you'd need micrometer eyes (or a jig) to get them equal. Thats my 2 bobs worth - back to my corner now :C

[Jim Carroll]

Just had confirmation the drill jig is going to be RRP $395.00

They will be available mid September so get your orders in now.

[Mike B]

Just had confirmation the drill jig is going to be RRP $395.00

Ouch! That is just a bit high.

$200-250 I could justify but $395 is a lot of new drill bits at the rate I go through them. I can see it's a complex jig but someone is definitely making a hefty profit along the line!

[Wongo]

That is reasonable. I'll take 2 please. One for my metric bits and one for my imperial bits.

:U

[Grumpy John]

Last time I asked they were still over $300 which I can't justify.
My old man showed me how to sharpen bit's freehand when I was about 8yo - reckoned if I was gonna play with the grinder, I might as well be doing something more productive than making arrow-heads from welding rod stubs :B Once I've had a go at them they'll drill a hole no worries, but I seriously doubt there's anyone out there who can sharpen them precisely enough by hand to cut as they were intended, that is, both edges cutting a full swathe at the same time. When it only takes a bee's tit of difference in the height of the cutting edge to stop one edge from ever doing any work, you'd need micrometer eyes (or a jig) to get them equal. Thats my 2 bobs worth - back to my corner now :C


I've fluked a near perfect freehand grind a couple of time Vern, but usually one side's doing a bit more work than the other. That's the main cause of drills cutting oversize, never had one drill undersize :rolleyes:.

[rsser]

I don't like to think what the Tormek drill bit jig will do to wheel wear. At $250 a pop.

Course you could always whack it on the BGM and dry grinder.

Are they gunna cope with that poxy Viper geometry?

[Grumpy John]

Ern, bring a viper bit with you next time you're over and I'll have a look. I wonder if it can handle brad point bits, if so it'll be worth the money :D.

145710

[Big Shed]

Certainly not one of the cheapest drill sharpening jigs on the market!:o

TORMEK Drill Bit Sharpening Jig (DBS-22) (http://www.tormekshop.com.au/prod193.htm)

Looks very versatile though, but as Ern said previously, I wonder how the stone will stand up to this.

[NeilS]

Looks like I'm going to be staying with my old $19 special.

146142

No doubt not as versatile as the Tormek jig, but it seems to manage my standard drills OK.

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