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Hi All
I would like to get some input from users on the two wheels from tormek,
the black sb250 and the japanese sj250.
How do you like them and what do you use it for?
I plan to use my tormek for sharpenning my woodworking hand tools, my turning tools and also my carving tools.
On many of my tools I have got A2 and O1 steel, which wheels is better suited for these?
thanks
Martin
I have a regular Tormek wheel and so far it has handled any type of blade I've ground. I'm sure I've got both A2 and O1 in at least one of the plane or chisel blades I've ground. So, if you have not run through an initial grind of your tools with the Tormek, maybe you can go through and grind everything once and get a feel for how it worked. It does grind things slower than other grinders, but if I have to grind four or five things, I set and go it, and I'm done using it for a week or so. So, when I use it, I try and do as many blades as possible. (I have limited water supply in my shop. so I have to make a few trips to get water and then clean out the water pan, so setup and cleaning is not instant)
If I had no other priorities and had a case of TAS (tool acquisition syndrome) that needed attention, I'd probably get one of the Japanese whetstone wheels for the Tormek and see what it is like to use, either 800 or 1200.
I too have a standard Tormek. My experience is that while it's fine on hand tool (narrow blades and fairly easily ground steels) that sharpening a high speed steel planer blade is a step too far. Grinding out a nick for example can probably theoretically be done, but in practice takes hours.
I've moved away from it as I'm not that wild about hollow grinds.
Like most sharpening systems it seems in practice to handle quite a narrow range of requirement - somewhere between light bevel grinding and coarse honing. What direction you might want to take it may well depend quite a lot on what else you use it with.
I quite like the sound of this Makita system that several have spoken highly of, with different wheels it seems to do a lot: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/m...sersguide.aspx
ian
Downside on this is it's really messyQuote:
Originally Posted by ian maybury;1874155
I quite like the sound of this Makita system that several have spoken highly of, with different wheels it seems to do a lot: [URL
When it is time for me to replace my stone, I will go with the SB250 and give that a try since it removes stock faster. Both of the stones you listed are reputed to act exactly as claimed. My problem is that I would need to change the wheel to move from the standard stone to the SJ250. Again, every report I have seen is that the SJ250 does exactly what it is claimed to do, so much so that the leather wheel is not even recommended. Now, if they had a two wheel version of the Tormek then I could have them both.
I did not opt to purchase the SJ250 because it is too soft to be used for the tasks suitable for the SB250 and changing the wheels just feels like a lot of work.
I like my Tormek for sharpening planer blades, though as was mentioned, if you have a lot of material to remove, the Tormek, while accurate, is painfully slow. I have the turning tool jigs, but only used them once. I just sharpen by eye....much quicker and just as effective after you figure it out. I regularly use the Tormek for kitchen knives, scissors, and other blades.
I have a Tormek T-7 that I picked up from a woman on Craigslist who was planning on starting a sharpening business but after she finished the school and got her tools she decided it wasn't for her. I got the sharpener with a complete hand tool jig kit for $450 and she shipped it to me from Ca. professionally packaged as well. I had wanted one for a long time but they were just too much money until I found the one I bought. It is a very good sharpener but it is quirky and takes some practice to get good with it. I found a planer/jointer jig used for $150 and just used it for the first time recently to sharpen the knives on my new/used Delta DC 380. It worked beautifully and the knives came out with a professional edge. I didn't think it took too long although it wasn't a couple of minutes. The OEM stone that comes with the machine isn't very aggressive and you have to take your time with stuff like planer knives. I have ruined a few kitchen knives though by grinding too much so you must be careful when doing precise edges like those on a kitchen knife. Once you get the feel of the machine and sharpening with it you will be very happy you have it. I tried many different ways of sharpening edges and nothing worked as accurately as the tormek. I am not a professional sharpener and i needed something that had a good amount of idiot-proofness and the Tormek definitely fit the bill for me.
One thing that is annoying is that the stone wears unevenly and seems to always crown on me which necessitates having to true up the wheel which causes you to lose a significant amount of material on the wheel.