Benchgrinder vs Tormek for sharpening turning tools

[Patrick Taylor]

you don't risk accidently changing the shape too quickly.

Amen! I like my tormek.

[Mark Pruitt]

Another thing about the Tormek system is that it is dust free, while benchgrinding causes quite some dust.

By "dust" I'm not sure if you're referring to grinder shavings; if so, then they fall to the floor rather quickly and are not a respiratory threat unless you're really, really short. The only "dust" is created when dressing the wheels. Even then, it is not a threat. I simply take a deep breath, dress the wheel, exhale and walk away for a few seconds.

But if by "dust" you are simply referring to the mess, my take on that is that shops exist for the purpose of creating messes, so grinder shavings don't bother me.

[Jeff Farris]

I have both a grinder/jib setup as well as a Tormek. Once the profile is ground via my grinder, I can setup the Tormek to sharpen. Time? With it all setup for a bowl gouge....it's just as easy and as fast as using my grinder. I do like the edge I get off the Tormek better, but my grinder does sit closer to the lathe due to the way my shop is setup...so it gets used most when turning.

Hey, Dennis, the Springfield, MO turners club is meeting at TORMEK's U.S. headquarters on Saturday morning. I'll be demonstrating the difference between turning with ground tools and turning with sharpened tools. You and any other "Creek'rs" in the area are welcome to join us. We're about 10 miles North of Springfield off Highway 13. I'll be turning on Ol' Blue -- my lathe built by New Zealand turner Soren Berger out of 5 engine blocks (2 - six cylinder and 3 - fours). You can hit Bass Pro Shop and Grizzly on your way home, too.

[jeff ferguson]

I have been using a slow-speed (1750 rpm) bench grinder for years, but recently purchased a jet wet sharpening system. I can sharpen a bowl gouge in less than a minute on the jet (and that includes adding water). What I have noticed is not so much the increased sharpness, but the durability of the edge. With the bench grinder I would sharpen at least once roughing the exterior of a large bowl blank. Since I started using the jet, I can easily go 3-4 bowls without sharpening. This is with the same gouge and shape of the grnid. I think it might be that the wet grinter is not removing the temper of the tool. I really thought the opposite would be true, and the wet grinder would put on a sharper edge, but need resharpening more often. This has not been the case.
Good luck,
Jeff

[Reed Gray]

I did buy a Tormek for my bench tools, and tried it on my lathe tools only once. I found it too slow, and the wheel needed to be dressed constantly. In my search for the perfect grinding wheels, I ended up with CBN wheels. I think that stands for carbon boric nitride. Very hard, custom made in any grit (I use 80 for scrapers and shaping, and 320 for gouges). I love the edge I get, and they last forever. The bad thing is that they cost about $300 for an 8 by 1 inch wheel. They are an aluminum wheel with 3/16 inch of material bonded to the aluminum. The wheel comes balanced. You can not dress the wheel when it goes out of round, you have to take it back to the manufacturer who uses a special very hard aluminum oxide wheel to dress it. You clean it with an aluminum oxide wheel. If you try to use a diamond dresser on it, it will eat the diamonds. My grinder wheel is over 3 years old and shows very little wear. I am on my second gouge wheel, getting about a year and a half out of the last one. I don't think I could get 6 months out of an aluminum oxide wheel. I do turn a lot of bowls. Diamond wheels work fine on carbide, but don't do well with steel because they load up and can't/are very hard to clean. CBN is made for grinding steel. I have never timed myself on sharpening time, but cleaning the wheel and sharpening all 4 gouges that I use may take me 2 to 3 minutes. The 320 wheel does make the gouges last a lot longer than a 120 or 80 grit wheel.
robo hippy