New TormekT8

[Stew Hagerty]

Gregory, I'm sure you won't regret your T-8 purchase. I got mine several months back and could not be happier. I also have a nice set of oilstones (course, medium, & fine Norton India Stones. Plus Soft, Hard, and Black Arkansas stones from Dan's) that I have used for a few years after selling my WorkSharp 3000. I never liked that thing. All the endless glass disk changes and the hassles of replacing the paper disks were just way too much hassle for me. I like the oilstones and never had any problem sharpening any blade, even A2 steel. It just takes minute or two longer. Then I saw the T-8 and decided to get one. I am thrilled! The thing is fast as long as there isn't a ton of damage. I have a grinder, and the oilstones for that. I use it for everything else. I also go straight from the machine to the wood. I don't buy what people say about still needing to hone. I run it with the rough stone, then smooth the stone and run it again, and finish up on the strop wheel. It's shavably sharp right then and there. I use my Black Arkansas and a flat strop with .5 micron diamond spray for quick touch-ups, but not before using the tool. This goes for all of my chisels and planes with two exceptions. Those are my LV Bevel Up Smoother with any of the 3 blades options (all 3 are PMV11), and my LV Shooting Plane. I do do run those two over my Hard, then Black Arkansas Stones before running them quickly across my flat strop. Even my White Steel Pairing Chisels go straight from machine to wood without problems. So, like I said, I'm sure you will enjoy your new toy, but let us know what you think...

[Eric Commarato]

I have the Tormek T-7. I seldom use it. It is quite messy with a bath of water constantly being picked up by the sharpening stone, and flinging it all over the bench. If I had to do it over again, check out Rob Cosman's great YouTube videos on his simple sharpening system that uses a 1000 grit stone and a 16,000 grit stone. Shapton stones I believe. He uses the rule trick where you place a thin steel rule under the plane iron to just slightly lift the back of the blade so only the very front edge of the back of the plane blade is being worked or flattened. He then flips over to the bevel side and slightly lifts the bevel a couple degrees and works this edge for 20-30 seconds on the 1000 grit then the 16,000 grit. The whole process takes him about a minute to a minute and a half. The blade is scary sharp. Of course the price of the Shapton stones with the flattening plate probably pushes about $300, but still cheaper than the T8.

[Mike Tekin]

Sorry to hijack, but I can respond too...

The biggest difference is the shaft and other parts susceptible to rust are now stainless steel such as shaft. In addition, the most recent T8 also includes the newest iterations of the the jigs, plus other enhancements.

Andrew,

What advantage is there in moving from the 2000 to the T-8? Just curious.
.

[Andrew Hughes]

I don't think your hijacking Mike, The stainless shaft is nice and makes it possible to switch between wheels have you seen the Cbn wheels.It would be nice to switch wheels.

[Gregory Carles]

Well I sharpened 8 chisels yesterday getting acquainted with the all new T8.
All I can say is razor blade sharp for a chisel. The chisels are so sharp I am amazed.
I did get the truing device and have already ran it on the new stone. Even though it is a new stone it was not calibrated to my tool rest. Now it is.
It came with the SE-77 square edge jig which is the newest version.
The polishing wheel literally leaves a mirror finish on the bevel.
The tricky part I had was getting the chisel to grind square. This was remedied with a micro adjustment of the 2 cambering knobs on the very end of the SE-77 jig (page 128 in the manual). Due to the geometry and the engineering if you loosen knob "A" and tighten knob "B" one can fine tune how square the chisel / plane iron grinds as related to the tool rest and wheel.

[Gregory Carles]

Wood chisel.JPGWood chisel 3.JPGWood chisel 4.JPGWood chisel 1.JPGWood chisel 2.JPG

[Andrew Hughes]

That looks great
one tip I have not sure if it's in the manuel.Add oil to the leather strop.It helps keep the paste from drying out too fast.I use gun oil but have used 3 in 1

[Gregory Carles]

Thanks Andrew for the tip. It comes with a small tube 100% pharmaceutical grade oil. What ever that is.
Do you add oil before each use of only at the first set up. I got it added to the new leather wheel then added the compound - it works great.

[Tim Bueler]

It comes with a small tube 100% pharmaceutical grade oil. What ever that is.

Mineral oil. Laxative section.

congrats on your purchase!

[Gregory Carles]

OK, cut little finger tonight pretty good. Like a surgical knife type cut. Was using the 1/2 inch chisel to chop an ash mortis to see how it was performing and the chisel slipped out of my grasp, well I grabbed for it not thinking..... and it sliced me pretty good.
Those band aides they send with the machine came in handy.
Definitely need to wear some protective gloves until I get used to how sharp these are now..

[jim mills]

Appreciate your comments on squaring of chissels. I've wondered how controllable that is with these machines. Any additional feed back on this issue is appreciated.

[Stew Hagerty]

Appreciate your comments on squaring of chissels. I've wondered how controllable that is with these machines. Any additional feed back on this issue is appreciated.

Jim, I always use a straight edge to check the alignment of the blade/iron against the outside edge of the stone. I know that the stone's edge to the grinding surface is 90 degrees, so if the blade's side is straight, then all I need to do is make sure the side lines up with the stone's edge and the cutting edge should be perfect. Once you get the jig squared to the stone, it remains so unless you use it to grind a camber. Unfortunately, the instructions for this new revised jig are vague and they don't yet have a video for it. I figured most of it out myself through trial & error, with an assist from a call to tech support. But it really works great. My only complaint is repeatability in setting camber. There is no scale and so no way of setting a specific amount other than by how much you loosen each screw.

[Mike Tekin]

David Charlesworth has a good video on the jig (SE-077) but more towards camber...


https://youtu.be/Bfd-xzOF5sc

and one from Highland Woodworking...

https://youtu.be/FCV1EkboiGo

[Stew Hagerty]

David Charlesworth has a good video on the jig (SE-077) but more towards camber...


https://youtu.be/Bfd-xzOF5sc

and one from Highland Woodworking...

https://youtu.be/FCV1EkboiGo

Ahhh... Those are both new since I got my machine. The last time I looked was probably in June or July.

[Jerry Olexa]

I've got the:
T8
worksharp ws3000
sorby pro edge
veritas mk2 honing with shape on stones 300-16000

the works harp is definely the most used, it's just way more convenient than everything else and gets everything scary sharp... up to 2" wide. Then it's just st too inconsistent. That's when I I got the tormek, when I was struggling with wider blades. On top of that tormek does carving tools very well, and, if you have the patience, turning tools.

my current regent looks like this.
chisels: all done on worksharp.
all plane bladesn tormek (most could be done on the worksharp)
finish all plane blades with 16000 shaping stone.
Lapping: all lapping is done on the worksharp, again, it's just so fast.

turning tools all done on sorry pro edge.

to sum it up, the tormek is absolutely the most versatile, the WS is absolutely the best value. Honestly, MOST people would consider my tools strait off of either machine as sharp as anything sharpened on stones up to 8000

hope that helps!
cheers!

Very good summary...I agree.