Thread: TiGer 2000S Wetstone - any good?

While the machine might be a good price, what will push up the cost are the various jigs for chisels and lathe tools.

I have one, the machine is good and works well BUT the stone is very soft and will wear groves in it quite easily requiring frequent dressing.

What I did was to change the stone over to a replacement Tormek stone that I got through Pop's shed. This works a treat. I also bought the Tormek jigs and stone dressing jig.

The other thing I did for easier and more accurate stone dressing was to cut a thread on the U bar and added an adjusting nut.

That gave me a Tormek type tool and accuracy for half the price of a Tormek.

Peter.

Thanks Peter. I have heard the stone is very soft and am budgeting for a Tormek or similar replacement.

I like the idea of the thread - do you have a photo of this setup?

Cheers, JK

No, but if you look at the Tormek bar here you will see that one of the U shaped extension has a thread and an adjusting nut.

This is mainly used when dressing the stone. After the first pas you adjust the nut a quarter turn and then drop the bar down. As you dress the stone you do this again and again. This allows for extreme accuracy.

Peter.

Thanks Peter!

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J_K, did you end up getting the TiGer2000s? If you did, how are you finding it after some use?

I recently bought one from H&F for $149 on special. I think it's very good value for the money. Notwithstanding the softness of the stone it's excellent at creating new accurate bevels in chisel or plane irons that have been abused. For someone (like me) without an eye to sharpen freehand it's great!

A new wheel is only $55 which I think is reasonable. I didn't bother with any of the extras as I only really need to be able to sharpen plane irons. But I have also been able to sharpen some turning chisels including skew and gouge (albeit manually) with good results.

Tony

How keen an edge does the leather honing wheel give you ?

Take note that machine has a 8" wheel, not the 10" wheel of the larger Tormek machine. Tormek also make a smaller 8" machine.

If I were replacing a wheel on a wet grinder, I would look at the CBN wheels available. However these only come in 10" diameter. If you go down that road, get one that is 180 grit.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Sam

How keen an edge does the leather honing wheel give you ?

I haven't really explored this to the n'th degree as I usually take the reshaped tool to a diamond plate for a final edge then finish on a leather strop. But looking at it I can't see why it wouldn't produce good results. You still have the same control over setting the angle between the tool and the leather wheel, and this angle remains constant while you're using it.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

If I were replacing a wheel on a wet grinder, I would look at the CBN wheels available. However these only come in 10" diameter. If you go down that road, get one that is 180 grit.

Replacing the wheel is something that will happen sooner rather than later judging by how much of the wheel material has collected so far in the water tray.

Everything I read about CBN wheels is positive so your advice is sound. My only hesitation is price. My initial research indicates somewhere between $200 - $300. Is that what you would expect to pay? If so I'm aware that long term that will be cheaper than all the waterstone replacements so it's probably a viable investment.

One question though; do you use the CBN wheel wet or dry?

Thanks,
Tony

CBN is to be used dry. Wet grinders are cool because of water. However, the CBN runs cooler and the low speed will ensure that the result off the CBN wheel is both as cool and mess free. The reason to switch to it on the Tormek (or similar) is that it is cheaper than the Tormek replacement and more durable. It does not wear out of shape, so there is no dressing or changes of setting - all good. However, the machine will need to be set up to make it work. The advantage of a friable wheel is that it can be dressed to be parallel to the tool bar. The CBN wheel cannot.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Do you actually know all the nominal grit particle sizes for all these abrasives?
What is the ratio of binder to particle quantity? Binder hardness?
If you had some notion to begin at any grit size, what is to suppose that your next selection will be of a finer grit?
I can't stand the companies that tell me: fine, medium and coarse. Rubbish.

Everything that I use is labelled. By my observation, I do seem to have a long and graded series of abrasives.

Originally Posted by Sam

How keen an edge does the leather honing wheel give you ?

I also bought the 2000. The leather honing wheel seems to work very well. I sharpened a carving knife to razor sharpness and my chisels have never been as sharp as they are now. Don't forget the paste