Thread: Experiences with the Tormek systems

scheppach wetstone grinder with acc | Power Tools | Gumtree Australia Logan Area - Marsden | 1125161527

No affiliation. I saw the ad today and thought of you.

A pretty sweet deal I think. I have no use for it myself.

The Scheppach is not in the same league as the Tormek, as many others on this forum can attest after buying the scheppach then wishing they had spent the extra on the Tormek

Originally Posted by markharrison

scheppach wetstone grinder with acc | Power Tools | Gumtree Australia Logan Area - Marsden | 1125161527

No affiliation. I saw the ad today and thought of you.

A pretty sweet deal I think. I have no use for it myself.

That's expensive. You can get a new one for less than that.W868 | TiGer 2500 Wetstone Grinder | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au
I have one of those. Nowhere near precise enough.

Have a look at the accessories.

Ring up Jim and get a half speed grinder with CBN wheel, you will love it. I reckon two minutes max from blunt to sharp and 30 seconds to freshen up the mini bevel on a stone.

You may well be right. I've never seen one.

However, describing Tormek as a quality item? Perhaps those built more recently than mine. I could not say.

The axle (and other parts) rusted on mine and had to be replaced after a short period. Considering this is an item that, by definition, operates in a wet environment should rust so quickly and be unusable left me with a less impressive opinion of their quality than you.

I use both the Tormek and diamond / wet stones. The Tormek for bulk of my re sharpening whenever needed and in between I use the wet stones, flattened with a diamond plate before use. The in between is more honing then sharpening. The Tormek was a good investment in my opinion.
cheers

Originally Posted by markharrison

You may well be right. I've never seen one.

However, describing Tormek as a quality item? Perhaps those built more recently than mine. I could not say.

The axle (and other parts) rusted on mine and had to be replaced after a short period. Considering this is an item that, by definition, operates in a wet environment should rust so quickly and be unusable left me with a less impressive opinion of their quality than you.

Earlier models did not come with the stainless steel axle. Mine did ... but still the chassis is pretty rusty. Anyone have an unused chassis?

Regards from Perth

Derek

You're right. Mine was made before someone in Tormek said maybe making axles from uncoated carbon steel was not such a great idea! What did they save per unit? A dollar?

These are not complicated machines. There aren't even any bearings. Mind you, given the slow speed of the machine, bushings in place of bearings is not an unreasonable engineering compromise. Except, that at the price of the machines, one has a reasonable expectation of it being better than it actually is.

Originally Posted by markharrison

Have a look at the accessories.

I think the only jigs that are not part of the standard package are the planer jig and the knife jig.

Originally Posted by markharrison

Y. There aren't even any bearings. Mind you, given the slow speed of the machine, bushings in place of bearings is not an unreasonable engineering compromise. Except, that at the price of the machines, one has a reasonable expectation of it being better than it actually is.

I think your machine must be very old indeed.
From the Tormek site:
The maintenance free industrial quality motor with ball bearings, maintains a constant speed even under full load. Stainless steel main shaft with EzyLock.
http://www.tormek.com/en/machines/t7/

The process of sharpening begins with the realisation things are not as good as they could be.
By the time the required jig has been set up on the machine and the tool set in the jig, a good man on a stone would be back at making shavings.

The first thing you will think when you buy a tormek is: heck, I paid so much and I can't even do any honing?? The problem is that you can't use the tormek for honing. With all the cheap diamond lapping wheels you can buy today on ebay, the best thing to do is to buy a Worksharp, so you can sharpen and hone your tools quickly, just by changing the diamond wheel.

Uncle Peter, I know that I could never get a blade sharp enough for my needs on a Worksharp, based on the (diamond) grits available. These plates will also wear out.

In my opinion, nothing beats the edge off a waterstone. The issue is 'what can be done to minimise the time in honing?'. The answer so far is that one hollow grinds the blade, and does so in a way that leaves an absolute minimum of steel to hone. In other words, the hollow must reach to the edge of the bevel. This has not been the province of a high speed grinder until the advent of CBN wheels, since all dry grinder wheels (except CBN wheels) create too much heat to avoid burning the edge. The Tormek makes this task very easy. The speediest setting on the Tormek is the coarsest one - 220 grit - which is the only setting I recommend if you follow my method. A CBN 180 grit on a high speed grinder will produce as fine an edge as the Tormek, in a fraction of the time. Both do the same job, with the Tormek a little safer in less experienced hands.

This is the kind of hollow grind and microbevel you will expect ...



Here, the hollow has been face down on the waterstone and run back-and-forth a few strokes only. I could even get away with one stone (13000) when the hollow is like this. It is not fragile either. I have not experienced one chipping.

The first sharpening is frighteningly quick - a few seconds. The speed remains through several honings, since the microbevel does not become appreciably larger. Eventually, when it is large enough to slow you down, you just refresh the hollow. This is why I state that the Tormek is faster than a dry grinder with a common white, blue or pink wheel. They are leave an edge where one needs first to straighten it with a 1000 stone, and the edge is thicker (= more steel to hone). The Tormek makes up in speed when honing for it slower (but more accurate and cleaner) grind.

Regards from Perth

Derek