For Tormek Owners...

[toolmanJimmy]

has anyone tried that new Truing Tool Advancer sold by TallowTree Mfg. in USA? According to a few posts I've read they are really good. I'm thinking about buying one because I hate pushing that truing tool with my finger. I know they ship them worldwide. Just wondering if anyone in here has bought one yet. Thanks.

[journeyman Mick]

Jimmy,
if you are the manufacturer/sales agent for said product please just come out and say so in the "buy sell swap" forum as your post looks like a very transparent attempt to promote said product. The forum rules (you have read them, right?) allow you to promote your product in the appropriate forum and you could even post some pictures of it so we know what the hell it is that your talking about. As long as you don't flood the place with your ads I'm sure most people (and the administrators and moderators in particular) won't object.

Mick

[toolmanJimmy]

Sorry, Mick. Didn't mean to come off as a salesman. I was looking at all the different forums online to see if anyone had purchased one of these things. I knew they were new but had not really heard much. I guess it makes no difference what anyone says now since I have one coming. (Of course NOW I'll hear plenty, right?). I'll be back to let people know what they are like.

Sorry about the mis-understanding.

Jim

[journeyman Mick]

Jim,
my apologies for suspecting you of spruiking. We have seen it before though, "hey folks, has anyone tried xyz,? I've heard it's pretty good". So please come back and let us know:
what it is
what it does
what it looks like
what other colours it comes in :eek:

and maybe tell us about yourself, post some pics of your work etc etc

Mick

[toolmanJimmy]

Hi Mick,

I am retired and I do mainly some knife sharpening as kind of a sideline just to keep me out of wife's hair. I live just outside of Chicago, IL. I had my Tormek for about 2 years now and I have learned a lot from forums. Never even bothered with forums before but found a lot of useful stuff on them. And, of course, I listen to what people say about different tools, machines and stuff. Which is why I came here. Sorry, I don't have any pics of my razor-sharp knife edges.:eek: . The smilie says it all LOL.

Getting back to my original post, I don't know too much about it. All I know pretty much is what I've read. That it is supposed to improve upon what it is I dislike about the Tormek...truing the wheel. I love my Tormek but truing that wheel is what I don't have the patience for. For me it is not a pleasant experience. Tooooo slow! Anyway. I took a leap of faith and ordered it. Should be here in a few days. If it's as good as what they say it is, I'll be overjoyed!! I'll have to let you know later.

Thanks for asking!

Jim

[toolmanJimmy]

I just received my new Truing tool advancer today. I only have this to say...I LOVE THIS THING! For anyone thinking about buying this, buy it. You won't be sorry.
That's my review..hope everyone likes it.

[outback]

weirdyagitit?

[toolmanJimmy]

I had to read and re-read that before it jumped out and slapped me.

I got it from www.tallowtree.com (http://www.tallowtree.com). I also saw they had them on eBay for the same price as their website.

[toolmanJimmy]

For Tormek owners, how do you sharpen extra long knife blades? I do it but sometimes the bevel gets screwed up. Is there a secret to this?

[toolmanJimmy]

Forgot to mention..the reason my bevel gets messed up is because I run out of Universal Support. It's not long enough to do longer blades.

[Cliff Rogers]

I sharpen long blade knives as it says in the book but I'm talking about blades of only about 12" (300mm).

How long are the ones you are trying to sharpen?

[toolmanJimmy]

I've had a couple of knives that I'm pretty sure were custom made. Probably 15-16" maybe? One post I read said that they used 2 of the knife jigs on one blade, but I never quite got the hang of that.

[Cliff Rogers]

I just use one, position it about the middle & keep the blade square to the wheel & flat on it until I get to the curve at the tip.
That requires you to keep the jig on the rest & swing the handle while keeping the blade as flat as possible on the wheel & try to have the part of the curve being ground square across the wheel.

Hope that makes sense.

[toolmanJimmy]

Cliff,

If I'm reading that correctly it sounds like the procedure for a normal length blade. The problem I'm referring to is when the blade's length is such that I run out of Support before I reach either end of the blade. (I hope that once I press the "Submit Reply" button I realize that I mis-read your answer.)

[outback]

Thanks for the supplier name.

I don't got no long blades like that.
For stock standard ones, I find, depending on how long, and the radius of the curve, you need to place the holder in a different position. Otherwise, the bevel angle alters when you do the swingy uppy thing.

Maybe you need a custom holdererer with extra length, always the way, just an inch or two short. :D

[Cliff Rogers]

...problem I'm referring to is when the blade's length is such that I run out of Support before I reach either end of the blade....

Arh, I see, I haven't struck that problem 'cos I don't have a knife that long.:o

[malcolm]

people here will know

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tormekusers/

[toolmanJimmy]

Thanks, Malcolm. I wasn't aware of that group. I'll have to check that one out.

[rrich]

Jimmy,
I'm a Tormek user. I've only needed to use the Tormek truing tool once. (And my 10" wheel is now about 8-7/8" in diameter.) What I do use is a diamond sharpening sheet from Harbor Freight. (They are $12 for three and sometimes on sale for $8.) I use these to clean the wheel before and after grading or any time that the wheel starts to become clogged.

When looking at the 'Truing Tool Advancer', in all honesty I don't see a need for the gadget. The Tormek truing tool is mistake proof. If you miss a spot, just go back and hit it again. You're not going to take off any extra wheel by hitting the missed spot.

If you are using your truing tool a lot, you probably are letting the wheel dry improperly. When you're finished with a sharpening session, remove the water trough but allow the wheel to turn for another 12 hours or so. This keeps the wheel round during the drying process.

[routermaniac]

allow the wheel to turn for another 12 hours????
Isnt that a tiny, teeny, little bit too LOOOOOOOOONG? :) :rolleyes: :eek:

[rrich]

allow the wheel to turn for another 12 hours????
Isnt that a tiny, teeny, little bit too LOOOOOOOOONG? :) :rolleyes: :eek:

We would let the units at school turn for about 2 hours while drying. It seemed that every week 2 or 3 of the wheels were being trued up by the shop tech.

When I purchased my Tormek, I let the wheel turn for 4 hours (almost daily use) less than a month later the wheel needed to be trued. These days I let the wheel turn over night and have not had to true the wheel.

There is something else that I do also to keep the wheel true. When standing in front of the Tormek and in the sharpening position, the left side of the wheel remains untouched, period. I will use the right side of the wheel to start the flattening of the back process on chisels, etc.

During a sharpening session, I will use an engineer's try square to insure that the wheel circumference is square to the left side of the wheel. If the circumference is not square, I'll use the diamond sheet a bit heavy on the high part of the wheel. (Sort of like squaring the edge of timber with a hand plane.)

[toolmanJimmy]

Actually I have noticed the term "truing" used in more than 1 way in many forums. There is a difference between wheel "truing" and wheel "dressing". Wheel true in its purist definition is the amount of "run-out" the wheel has in relation to the shaft. It can have an up/down or a sideways wobble (like a bent shaft would give). I havn't read anywhere where someone took a new Tormek out of the box and the wheel was rotated perfectly true. It doesn't happen and for the most part, doesn't need to with most normal types of sharpening tasks. So many users have noted (and worried about) the Universal Support not being exactly square with the wheel surface. Just by the design of the Tormek's nylon bearings, the wheel will never be perfectly "true", that is, no run-out at all.
What IS important is that the wheel's surface is straight and smooth. This is a MUST if you are ever going to get a near perfect edge. This is especially true with wide blade sharpening. The diamond tool is necessary to get the wheel's surface straight. And yes, it does help "true" the wheel SURFACE to the Support bar, although mant times the wheel will usually still have a slight "wobble". The stone grader cannot possibly get the surface straight because it is softer that the silicone carbide grinding wheel. That's why it "cups" so quickly. To imagine that one uses the diamond tool only rarely is beyond me. The diamond make the wheel's surface straight and the grader changes the "grit" characterists. And, unfortunately, it is also used for correcting an improperly dressed wheel.

I'm retired from 30 years of making tapered and ball bearings for The Timken Co. and American NTN Bearing Mfg. and grinding is one thing I do know about. The reason I purchased the Advancer is because, for one thing, I know it is near impossible to get the proper wheel "dress" by pushing that darned thing with my finger. I've spent too many years using hydraulic dressers to use my finger pressure. I saw this thing and I though that it was a really good idea because it uses a feed screw instead. I have a feeling someone else made bearings LOL. And yes...I like it. A lot.

[toolmanJimmy]

Here's something one doesn't hear eveyday. I was just notified I was in their giveaway drawing. Strange thing is I bought the tool before the thing started. Gawd knows I could use a new grinding wheel. Really messed my wheel's edge up sharpening a lawnmower blade. Anybody got ideas on sharpening mulching blades (the type that has an edge that is straight then curves up then straight again?). I think I'll stick to my sanding belt instead, but getting that slope up's edge sharp is a bit tricky for me.
BTW, here's the contest page:
www.tallowtree.com/win.htm (http://www.tallowtree.com/win.htm)