Tormek Projection Jig

[David Bedrosian]

As a hobbyist woodworker, I like to maximize my efficiency when I'm in my shop. That's one of the reasons I bought my Tormek T-8; it works superbly with the SE-77 jig to sharpen chisels and plane irons. When I use the jig, I want to match the existing bevel angle of the chisel or plane iron to minimize the amount of steel that I need to remove to get back to a sharp edge. I can do that using the angle setting gauge that comes with the Tormek or I can do it by eye with a sharpie, but I wanted a faster and more accurate way to get the desired grind angle so I designed this Tormek projection jig.

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The jig features removable angle blocks that are held in place with magnets. I made blocks for the angles that I use most often – 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 degrees. You could easily add other angle blocks as well. The jig is easy to use and I find it works best clamped in a vise since it leaves both hands free. Two strong magnets hold the chisel or plane iron in place which allows me to tighten the knobs on the SE-77 jig. I don't have to rely on the shoulder on the SE-77 jig to get a square grind; instead, I make sure the cutting edge is touching the top of the angle block as shown below.


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The jig works just as well with skewed plane irons or skewed chisels.


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With the chisel or plane iron secured in the SE-77 jig, I can start grinding without further adjustments to the Tormek. Of course, the jig relies on the support arm being at a fixed height relative to the grinding wheel and I find the TTS-100 turning tool setter works best for this.

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I've made a YouTube video if you are interested to see more details on the jig

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With this new jig, I'm sharpening more often but it's taking me less time so I can get back to woodworking.

Thanks for checking out my jig and all the best for 2024,
David

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Very clever and nicely made! I look forward to upgrading my Grizzly Tormek copy with a real Tormek.

[Richard Coers]

Nice video. I recently bought the jointer and thickness planer sharpening jig. I have yet figured out a consistent way to make sure the support bar is exactly parallel to the sharpening surface of the CBN wheel I put on. Any ideas David?

[Frederick Skelly]

Very clever and nicely made!

I agree. Thanks for sharing your idea with us!

[Tom M King]

My compliments!!!

[Andrew Hughes]

I like your jig setting tool. It looks well made
Do you go to the stones after grinding a hollow that’s what I do.
I thought everyone did.
Good Luck

[Kevin Adams]

Nicely done, David. Out of curiosity, how do you like the diamond wheel and how has the wear been?

Thanks for sharing.
Kevin

[David Bedrosian]

Thanks Maurice. It's a fairly simple design that has worked very well for me.

David

[David Bedrosian]

Nice video. I recently bought the jointer and thickness planer sharpening jig. I have yet figured out a consistent way to make sure the support bar is exactly parallel to the sharpening surface of the CBN wheel I put on. Any ideas David?

Hi Richard,
I'm glad you liked the video. I don't have straight knives in my jointer or planer so I don't own that sharpening jig. I've not seen a problem with the support bar being out of parallel with the surface of the wheel, but I'm not dealing with anything as wide as a planer knife. Does it matter if it is slightly out of parallel? I would assume that you would adjust each knife projection when you install it in the cutterhead which would account for any slight changes from the grinding.

David

[Richard Coers]

Hi Richard,
I'm glad you liked the video. I don't have straight knives in my jointer or planer so I don't own that sharpening jig. I've not seen a problem with the support bar being out of parallel with the surface of the wheel, but I'm not dealing with anything as wide as a planer knife. Does it matter if it is slightly out of parallel? I would assume that you would adjust each knife projection when you install it in the cutterhead which would account for any slight changes from the grinding.

David

The travel of the planer blade starts and stops with the blade still on the grinding wheel with a 12" blade. When first setting it up, I got a slightly different look to the bevel at the end of the knife. I found that the point of contact was on the left side of the wheel and the bevel was not fully reaching that. I had to drop one side of the support bar to get it parallel and make a nice bevel. It's not a major issue, but adds to the setup time to sharpen. Much like your fixture, I'd like to shorten setup time. Thanks for the reply.

[David Bedrosian]

I like your jig setting tool. It looks well made
Do you go to the stones after grinding a hollow that’s what I do.
I thought everyone did.
Good Luck

Hi Andrew - sometimes I use the honing wheel and other times I do my polishing using a shapton glass stone. If I have the chisel or plane iron already mounted in the SE-77 jig, I will use the honing wheel. Otherwise, it's faster to freehand the honing on my shapton and it leaves a very sharp edge.

David

[David Bedrosian]

Nicely done, David. Out of curiosity, how do you like the diamond wheel and how has the wear been?

Thanks for sharing.
Kevin

Thanks Kevin. I like the diamond wheels and so far after about a year of use, I am not seeing any signs of wear.

David

[Derek Cohen]

David, out of curiosity, does you projection setter take into account wear of the Tormek wheel? Unless you are running a CBN wheel (as you appear to do), the diameter of the wheel will change. In the real world, you will need to adjust the height bar to account for this. In other words, the setter is not universal.

Regards fro Perth

Derek

[David Bedrosian]

David, out of curiosity, does you projection setter take into account wear of the Tormek wheel? Unless you are running a CBN wheel (as you appear to do), the diameter of the wheel will change. In the real world, you will need to adjust the height bar to account for this. In other words, the setter is not universal.

Regards fro Perth

Derek

Good observation, Derek. The support bar height does need to change if you are using a different size wheel and this is exactly the purpose of the TTS-100 turning tool setter. As you can see in the photo below, I can even use the TTS-100 with the honing wheel so the grind angle matches that at the main wheel. My plans for the jig go over other ways to set the support bar heigh if you don't own the TTS-100.


TTS100_2.jpg

David

PS - I didn't realize I was not living "in the real world" because I am using a diamond wheel on my Tormek