Tool Gloat, Jet slow speed wet sharpener

[Doug Rogers]

Grant,

I would try contacting Jet. Based on their sales flyer, the base is included with the sharpening system. The sale dates are 9/1 - 12/31/07. It is worth a try. Good luck!

Doug Rogers

[Alan Trout]

Well I got to use it quite a bit last night and all I can say is that it works great. I sharpened all of our kitchen knives and most of my chisel's which some have been very abused and needed alot of work.

I found the video more than adequate to get started. My 3 year old even wanted to watch it again and did.

The machine seems to have more than enough power. I leaned on some of those chisels pretty hard and the machine ran great. I did not find that the bar flexed to much as some have complained in the past. You really suposed to be putting pressure on the blade and not the bar so I suspect many were putting to much pressure on the bar and jigs/tool holders.

The stone grader seems to work as expected and the wheel does not seem to break down to fast or load up to fast. There is not much debris in the water trough and I used it for at least 3 hours. But I think it will probably be a good idea to change the water frequently and as the video pointed out a magnet in the bottom of the trough would be helpful.

There have been some complaints I have seen on the jigs. I did not buy alot of them but purchased the ones that I needed. I have the long and short knife jig, of course it came with the straight jig and I also purchased the tool rest. I have not needed to use the diamond dresser yet so I cannot comment on that one.

The knife jigs work very well. You could probably get by with just the short jig as long as you longer knives have pretty stiff back. I think you would need the long jig for fillet knives because of the flexible back. Long as you pay attention to how you clamp the knife in the jig they are very true. Of course there is a little technique as with anything but was able to get my Henckels knives sharper than they have been in years I really made the wife very happy.

The straight edge jig works well but just watch how you tighten the chisel or blade because if you over tighten one side of course you can cock the blade. It worked very well. The quality seems pretty close to the tormek in my opinion. I really did not have much trouble either with the plastic bushings. as long as you don't hit them hard on the edge of the bar they stay in well and slide very smooth on the bar.

The strop worked very well. I oiled the leather well and then loaded it with the included paste. On the chinels that needed a lot of work I would give the stone a course grade and get the blade about 95% where I wanted it and then would put the fine grade on the stone and finish it. I then would hone the back of the blade on my oil stone and then strop the blade. It was easy to get a chisel with a close to mirror finish and shave the hair on my arm. By the way my arm is bald this morning from all the sharpening I did.

I will keep everyone up to date if I have any problems but so far so good. Right now I can say this was a great buy. I would never or it would have been very hard for me to spring for the cash of the Tormek and I think for the around $200+ dollars for all jigs that I purchased and the machine before rebate it was one heck of a deal. I will buy another bar because changing it around all the time kind of sucks.

Good Luck

Alan

[Michael Hammers]

My grinder is out for delivery today! WooHoo!

Is it necessary to oil the strop wheel and if so what is best to use? Cutting oil or an actual leather (mink) oil?

[Chris Zenda]

My grinder is out for delivery today! WooHoo!

Is it necessary to oil the strop wheel and if so what is best to use? Cutting oil or an actual leather (mink) oil?

Jet recommends mineral oil.

[Alan Trout]

They said lite oil or mineral oil. I used Gun Oil and it seemed to work just fine.

Good Luck

Alan

[Larry Heflin]

Got mine today. No base or cover. I don't think I'm going to sweat it though since I still consider this a great bargain. Everything seems straight and in order so far. Sharpened an old chisel and a dull kitchen knife just to check it out.

I did not realize the dressing stone was so soft and I put a nice groove in it on the fine side. Also briefly caught the sleeve of my sweatshirt between the wheel and the bar momentarily when I first turned it on. Other than those problems, which were my fault, I'm very pleased.

Larry

[Dave Malen]

Problems
The bar on my grinder was not in alignment with the stone. I checked the stone for trueness and it was perfect. The bar was touching the stone on the left side but about a thirtysecond or 3/64ths above the stone on the right. So I took the bar off and put it in a vice and bent the hell out of it. Now it is perfectly aligned to the stone. Not an elegant solution but it worked.

Second issue,
Getting a chisel aligned correctly in the straight edge jig is a hassel. That's because the index points are not manufactured with precision. So I had to use a small square to line the chisel up 90 degrees in the jig. Looks like they are off about a thirty second of an inch. Guess I'll have to take a file to the jig to correct that.

Other than those two issues the grinder did a great job sharpening once I had the bar set up correctly. Sharpened two chisels to new bevels 28 degrees each. It was kind of fun once I got the machine tweaked.

Dave

[Chuck Burns]

I didn't see it mentioned in the video and am wondering what is the best strategy to use as to when you grade the stone. Should you do all of your chisels, plane blades and knives on the course grading and then grade the stone and bring everything to fine on the stone. It would seem that that would be more conserving of the wheel than doing course and fine for each edge. I'd also imagine that once you got a good bevel established you might not need to use the course unless you had some edge damage. Any info as to the best way to use this machine would be appreciated. I think I also need to get the Tormek manual.

[Grant Vanbokklen]

Jet recommends mineral oil.

Just for everyones info: Baby Oil is 100% mineral oil except for the fragrance.

My strop smells good

[John Browne]

Doug,

I was ready to buy the Jet when I saw the sale price but after reading the reviews I decided not to. I also would be very interested in finding out how well it works. Then I can decide whether or not to kick myself.

Get your steel toes out. It works great. I got one used with some jigs and love it. Finally got to experience a truly sharp plane for the first time.

[Dave Malen]

In a previous post I said the straight edge jig was out of alignment. Actually it's not. This Am I put a machinist square on it and it was perfect at 90 degrees. The chisel I was sharpening had slightly tapered sides. My bad.

One caution, be aware that the black plastic o rings on the straight edge guide can come out as your moving the guide back and forth.

Happy Sharpening,
Dave

[Doug Rogers]

I have a cheap set of chisels which were purchased at the Orange Borg. I used the Jet to sharpen all of them. It worked great. The chisels actually have and hold a very sharp edge.

I purchased the Tormek jigs for the turning tools. The tormek jigs are a lot better. I am waiting for the Tormek instruction box (video and detailed instruction manual on how to sharpen turning tools) to be delivered, before I tackle the turning tools. I will report back after I get to try them out.

Doug Rogers

[Michael Hammers]

I am not one to complain about good deals. However this is the first time I have ordered anything besides a book or cd from Amazon online. I had quite alot of trepidation in ordering this unit especially after reading others comments. My gut said "be patient and save for a Tormek". I really should heed my fathers advice. You get what you pay for.
The unit arrived with what only can be described as packaging done by an drunken autistic blind monkey. The sharpener was within a larger box and had a single piece of brown packing paper trying to protect it, effectively letting the unit bounce about like a BB in a boxcar. The tape had almost completely come undone and 3/4 of the top was open.
Once I unpacked the unit I quickly noticed that I too had not received the as advertised packaged deal. No worries I thought. I am confident Amazon would take care of that minor issue.
Time to check the fit and finish. I removed the foam piece holding the motor. I noticed the switch on the back was assembled wrong. It was cocked and crooked. I continued to assemble the machine. The bar was out of alignment by more than a 1/4". The leather wheel had 1/16" of leather on one side of the wheel and 1/4" on the opposite. The straight jig has two plastic pieces that help guide the jig. The pieces fell out and would not stick or snap in. Useless.
I then plugged in the machine. I was welcomed with.....nothing. Not even a hum. I fiddled with the unit and finally was able to get some response. The rheostat spun crazily with no stop. The motor hummed a little more then tried to turn. The leather wheel so out of shape looked like an egg rolling around. The unit however would not work.
I cannot fathom how frustrated I would have been if I paid the regular retail for this machine. 300$ plus for this?
So there is my rant. Take it for what it is worth. I hope when I call Amazon this morning the return goes smoothly. I will be calling India soon.

As Niel Young sings it.....
"Piece Of Crap"

Tried to save the trees
Bought a platsic bag
The bottom fell out
It was a piece of crap

Saw it on the tube
Bought it on the phone
Now you're home alone
It's a piece of crap

I tried to plug in it
I tried to turn it on
When I got it home
It was a piece of crap

Got it from a friend
On him you can depend
I found out in the end
It was a piece of crap

I'm trying to save the trees
I saw it on TV
They cut the forest down
To build a piece of crap

I went back to the store
They gave me four more
The guy told me at the door
It's a piece of crap

[Rick Cansler]

Mine did not come with cover or base. I called Amazon and they are giving $40 refund. I said that others had received refund and that this was supposed to be a kit.
Regarding sharpener- my support arm for jigs was not parallel to wheel - quite a bit off. Also, the leather strap wheel had quite a wobble. I am not sure if this would be a problem- is it? I called JET and they are sending new arm and strap wheel.

[Brad Knabel]

Rick - regarding your strop. Double check the drive wheel as well. My strop had pretty bad wobble. I took it off the machine and found that the wheel itself was flat. I looked a little further and found that the wobble was coming from the drive wheel rather than the strop. I found that taking the drive wheel apart and reassembling everything fixed the problem for me. It looks like there's a little slop in the hole on the drive wheel and if it's not assembled just right it can cause some wobble.

I don't know if this is the same problem you are having, but it might be worth taking a look.

Good luck!