Thread: Advice on sharpening jigs

Originally Posted by tony_A

I am after a bit of advice from some experienced wood turners about the tormek setup and also what works for them

Tony

Welcome, Tony.

The CBN wheels are very good.

Can't comment on the Torment jigs myself, but someone who has them will probably chime in soon.

I would say you wouldn't go too​ far wrong with either a Woodcut ( ie TruGrind) or Vicmarc jig. Mine is similar and I feel no need for anything else.

Good to see you are considering sharpening jigs from the get go. Good move!

Stay sharp!

Neil

Good advice Tony.
Although I would be a slow at buying a Tormek, they have their place. But if going to buy a CBN wheel it may well negate the need for a slow speed water grind.

Thanks for the comments. From what i have read (if I can remember it correctly) cbn wheels on a bench grinder work well for gouges and scrapers. A bit of bur on the sharpened edge seems to be an advantage for these tools. Some people like a sharper edge on a skew chisel to give a good finish.
As I have both a tormek and a bench grinder I was thinking of getting the tormek jigs and the mount to use them on the bench grinder. Should cover all bases.

I have cbn on both my High speed grinder and the Tormek. I also have the BGM 100 for both wheels of the High speed grinder. I can go from the High speed at 80 or 180# to the Tormek at 280# (or what ever it is, I cannot remember atm). I am a lazy turner . . . I sharpen for the least amount of time possible . . . 20 seconds for a touch up of a gouge or 40 seconds for 1200# diamond paddle for my skews. Did I mention that I really detest sharpening, hence the Tormek with the SVD-186 Gouge Jig, which is better than it predecessor by a factor of 100. Wood floors or rubber mats also help save any tools that jump point first to the floor . . . DAMHIKT

The TruGrind jigs are very useful. They certainly make easy work out of repeating a grind.

If you need finer than 80 and 180 grit CBNs, which are available locally, you can get 320 and 600 from WoodTurnersWonders.

If you are after some pleasurable videos, watch "the woodturners" on Facebook. They aren't lessons, but simple videos of a maestro at work. Very illuminating.

Tony A,

As I have both a tormek and a bench grinder I was thinking of getting the tormek jigs and the mount to use them on the bench grinder. Should cover all bases.

The Tormek jig for the bowl gouge is wonderful. What you are considering above is the "hot set up".

My first "good" lathe came with an 8 inch 1725 RPM grinder and Oneway Wolverine and Varigrind jigs. They work very well. Later, in a weak moment I bought a barely used Tormek with a slew of jigs and accessories.

I rarely use the Tormek for lathe tools. It is wonderful for plane irons, bench chisels, scissors, etc.

Thanks for the comments. will be clicking the buy button on the above shortly.
Tony

Have been using the Tormek 186 jig for about 6 weeks now and find it gives an excellent result on gouges. Not too much of a learning curve either. Haven't got a tool rest set up to be able to use it on the bench grinder but will get there one day. Have found that as long as the heel of the gouge is taken back with a bench grinder the Tormek is quite quick sharpening the edge, couple of swipes and it's done. It's faster than I was expecting. The slowest part of the whole process is getting the grinder out and putting water in the tray. Having said that, if you have a new gouge that hasn't been sharpened that takes a while. Have had a few go's at free hand sharpening on the bench grinder when a tool needed a quick touch up but I have a bit to learn there and it is good to have a jig to bring the edge back to the correct angle next sharpen.
I find the bench grinder is definitely the go for scrapers

Hi Tony,

I am really interested to hear that the 186 is working for you. I have one and the Tormek but I find it gives the strangest shape ever seen in a bowl gouge, very, very sharp but very aggressive too. It must be me. I've had to regrind on A Vicmarc slow grinder with CBN wheels (at my local woodturners society) to correct the shape. I'll just have to watch that dratted video a few more times!

David

G'day David
I am new to wood turning and have been watching numerous videos. Vid's by Stuart Batty impressed me with his skill, finesse and knowledge. His preference is for a bowl gouge with a 40 degree bevel and 40 degree sweep on the wings. As a starting point for my foray into wood turning, this is the grind I have been aiming for. Setting the gouge at 65 mm protrusion and No, 1 setting gave me a 40 degree bevel angle. To get the 40 degree wing sweep I don't use the full range of rotation, about 180 degrees does it.
The heel of the wing and the point of the gouge seem to grind faster than the flat of the wing tending to give a convex curved edge on the wing. I have found it can take a bit of careful grinding focusing on the high point to straighten the edge up.
I bought a new 5/8 P&N gouge which came unsharpened and unshaped. I reckon it took at least half an hour to shape and sharpen. That was not fun and a jig on he bench grinder would have been handy for that.
Tony

[QUOTE=tony_A;2025390]As a starting point for my foray into wood turning, this is the grind I have been aiming for.

.....

tending to give a convex curved edge on the wing. /QUOTE]

Tony

It is a very good idea to start with what works for an expert like Stuart Batty and go from there.

If you are getting a convex edge on the wings something in your jig setting is not quite right. See if you can get a local experienced turner to have a look at your settings.

Taking a gouge that has already been ground to the preferred profile and adjusting your jig to achieve the same profile is another way of achieving the desired settings.

Thanks Neil
I feel that the convex wing is more related to operator inexperience and once I noticed it was happening and adjusted my technique I have been pretty happy with the results. I also noticed it was easy to get a little rounded notch at the start of the wing, next to the tip. Again, once aware of it I watched the grind closer and prevent a repeat.
Tony