Tormek - Sharpening - a question

[Bill Dempsey]

Ready to pull the trigger on a T-7, would be used for flat tools as well as my newly acquired passion for turning + tools. I've read the standard wheel might not be suitable (or less than ideal) for the newer pM and cyro steels in the turning world. Obviously, a concern before buying it.

Advice would be certainly appreciated.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Bill, I use Glaser gouges and the Tormek wheel creates a beautiful edge on both my 10V and 15V gouges.

[Rick Markham]

I've been sharpening my Thompson 10V's on mine, it works wonderfully.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You can purchase the "black stone" which is more suited to sharpening the PM and Cryos. You don't need to, the grey wheel works just fine. The advantage to the black wheel is it cuts a bit faster and wears less than teh grey stone. I think the grey wheel leaves a finer finish, but since they are both rated at the same grit, I could just be imagining things.

Geting the turners pack? It has the gouge jig, which makes gouge sharpening a snap. If you don't get the turners pack you should at least buy the gouge jig and the turning tool setter, which makes repeatable sharpenings possible and more or less foolproof. Works for me.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bill I have a T7 and don't have a problem sharpening any tools on it. I sharpen PM and Cryo's all the time. I get a fine edge on those and HSS. I have had mine now for 3 yrs and the grey wheel is still doing it's job.

[Jim Sebring]

I've had a Model 2000 (precursor to the T-7) for more than 10 years. I wore the original 10 inch grey stone down to 8 inches before I bought a new black stone. Almost all of the wear was due to truing the stone after shaping and sharpening turning gouges. The stone will get grooved when one uses it on turning gouges and needs to be trued often. That holds true with either the grey or the harder black stone. I highly recommend getting the diamond truing jig at your first opportunity. Sharpening straight-edged tools like chisels, plane blades, knives, and scissors is less damaging to the stone and requires truing much less often.

The Tormek is a poor choice for initial shaping of turning gouges - it takes forever. Once you get the angles shaped to your liking on a dry grinder, the Tormek will produce an edge superior to any you can get on a dry grinder.

[Josh Bowman]

Bill,
I love my Tomek. I do advise getting the grinder accessory so you can shape. I also use it exclusively for my scrapers.

[Bill Dempsey]

Thanks guys, great to be able to share in your experiences. For info.
I have bought the bgm set up and the gouge jig, set up tool, and skew jig, sort of getting the woodturners kit one piece at a time.
I'll be pulling the trigger on a T-7 today.

[Pat Scott]

I wore out the original gray wheel and replaced it with a black wheel. I don't know that I can tell that much of a difference with the black wheel as far as longer life or faster sharpening. When the black wheel wears out I'll likely replace it with another black wheel, but the difference between the two is not as drastic as I hoped it would be. Maybe I expected the black wheel to be as fast as a dry grinder? ... which is an unrealistic expectation.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Bill,
If you ever doubt the worth of a Tormek, just try to buy one on ebay. The green model with few accessories sell for 3 bills and more. I've been looking for one to sharpen and hone my carving tools but hate to plop down the money for a new one. I'm sure you will enjoy owning one and if you don't, keep my email address handy.
faust