question about tormek and hollow grinding

[Martin Rock]

Hi All

I am starting carving.

I want to get the tormek for sharpening my woodworking, carving and turning tools. In all the readings I have done on sharpening carving gouges, it always say that a flat bevel is better than a hollow grind bevel. So my question is, is the hollow grind from the tormek 10" wheel a problem? How do tormek users deal with this?

and another question: can we get that ultra sharp edge with the tormek?

any downside on using the tormek?

thanks for your comments

Martin

[Bob Dubanoski]

Hi Martin,

I will do my best to answer your questions. I have been carving for about 12 years and have had a Tormek for about 8 years. First off the grinding wheel will only be used for reshaping or repairing the cutting edge of your carving tools. The Tormek has a low RPM and is water cooled so you do not have to worry about heat when reshaping tools as heat is the enemy.

Because of the radius of the wheel you will get a hollow grind bevel, but IMHO I would not worry about it. The only way to get a flat surface is to grind the tool with a belt sander and take a chance of over heating the tool and changing the temper of the steel or use a flat stone, diamond stone, or abrasive paper on a flat surface such as glass and spend a lot of time. Now remember the time spent grinding should not be much unless you have damaged the edge of the tool.


If I have a little nick to rework I will use a diamond plate or the abrasive paper, If I have to do major repair I will use the Tormek. I also use my 1" belt sander but I do not recommend that to most carvers unless they have a real understanding of the heat generated by this process. It is just to easy to destroy a carving tool with a belt sander!!


Where the Tormek really shines is stropping the tools. The flat leather wheel and the contour leather wheel for the outside and inside of gouges is fantastic.

I use a leather hand strop when I am carving away from home but always do a tuneup on my tools with the Tormek.

A new Tormek is pricey so you may want to look for a used one. You may also want to consider doing your sharpening and stropping by hand untill you see a real need to go the power route. With the hand method it is easier to learn correct angles for the tools. With power you can grind a tool real short real fast.

There are other good sharpening methods and I have tried a lot of them, the main thing is to pick a method and learn to use it. Sharpening is like carving, it takes practice.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions let my know.

Bob