Tormek T8

[blues]

Wanted some feedback regarding the Tormek T8. Do you have one? Do you like it? For the duration you have had it, has it seen good use? Any do's / don'ts? Hollow grind - is that an issue? Am i better off with manual sharpening?
Thank you all for your inputs.

 

[derekcohen]

Want do you plan to use it for?

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[nclemmons]

I've had a Tormek for years and been very happy with it.  Used for chisels, knives, and plane blades.  I have stones and a honing guide that I use on the bench for regular touch-up, but the Tormek for me has been excellent for perhaps semi-annual re-sharpening. 

No issue for me with the hollow grind, as it does make touch-up a lot faster.

 

[chrisrosenb]

I have 3 Tormek grinders. 2 2000 Supergrind & a T8. All 3 have diamond wheels. The diamond wheels allow grinding on the flat side of the wheel. I can hone router bits & some shaper cutters also.

I bought the first 2000 close to 20 years ago. It has the square corner housing. I have updated both 2000s with the SS shaft & larger water tray.
I have no complaints with them or had any problems with them.

The only don't I can think of is don't grind without water.

 

[blues]

Want do you plan to use it for?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Primarily for Chisels, and knifes. Scissors if i get a Tormek.

Question about stones: the base stone that is included - would that not take care of all our needs? Should i have to invest in additional Japanese stone or Diamond stone? If yes, am i better off with diamond stone as against Japanese stone? If diamond stone which grit is best - might consider buying just one additional stone. Either Japanese stone or one diamond stone.
Thanks again.

 

[tiralie]

Primarily for Chisels, and knifes. Scissors if i get a Tormek.

I bought the Tormek 8 because of the attachments. It has worked extremely well and if you read the booklet and video/dvd you will understand the system better.

Question about stones: the base stone that is included - would that not take care of all our needs? Should i have to invest in additional Japanese stone or Diamond stone? If yes, am i better off with diamond stone as against Japanese stone? If diamond stone which grit is best - might consider buying just one additional stone. Either Japanese stone or one diamond stone.
Thanks again.

I have the basic stone since I bought the machine in 2010, works well as long as you tune it up when it starts to crown. The basic tool comes with a carbide tool to tune up the stone. I the diamond wheel on my list to purchase as I like to use the side of the stone. I would advise putting a micro bevel on chisels and planner blades as the hollow ground gets beaten up in wood like hard maple etc.
Tim

 

[MikeGE]

I have the T8 and use it to establish the 25-degree hollow grind on all of my chisels and plane irons.  I use traditional water stones for the secondary and micro bevels.  As Tim states, the micro bevels will speed up sharpening time between uses.

I recommend not buying any other stones until you are satisfied with using the T8.  In addition to the truing tool, the basic kit also comes with a stone grader (looks like a sharpening stone) that allows you to change the effective grit of the standard SG-250 stone from 220 to 1000 and back to 220.

 

[derekcohen]

Want do you plan to use it for?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Primarily for Chisels, and knifes. Scissors if i get a Tormek.

Question about stones: the base stone that is included - would that not take care of all our needs? Should i have to invest in additional Japanese stone or Diamond stone? If yes, am i better off with diamond stone as against Japanese stone? If diamond stone which grit is best - might consider buying just one additional stone. Either Japanese stone or one diamond stone.
Thanks again.

Tormek may call their machine a “sharpening system”, but it is really just a grinder, and for chisels and plane blades it is quite inefficient. The basic wheel is 220 grit. You can “regrade” it to 1000 grit, but that is where one generally starts sharpening with waterstones!

I have had the 2000 for about 15 years, but not used it in the past 5 years. I discovered CBN wheels, which run cool, never wear (so no wheel getting smaller, with changing settings), and is so much faster on an 8” half speed bench grinder.

My system:http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/UltimateGrindingSharpeningSetUp.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[RKA]

I think the Tormek is best suited to someone that sharpens a variety of things regularly.  All the jigs they include really make it a versatile system.  Knives of all types, scissors, drill bits, planes, chisels,etc.

But, I’ve learned over the years the more fiddly bits and set up time a tool requires, the less likely I am I use it or be satisfied with the purpose.  So for me, simple is better, even with an unlimited budget.

Step 1 is waterstones and a honing jig.  You will likely find yourself buying this in spite of having a Tormek.  Lie Nielsen make a nice jig that is dead simple and high quality.  A quality waterstone with 1000 and 8000 grits should be good.  I like a 4000 as well, but many skip the intermediate, with a good microbevel or hollow grind.  There is so little metal on the working edge that 8000 works pretty quick.  Your choice.

If you need to reprofile a blade, I agree with Derek, the CBN wheels on a bench grinder is a lot less messy than the Tormek with its water trough.  When you’re done there go back to the waterstones.  I use this to put a hollow grind on chisels and fix a nick in a chisel for careless friends.  If you ever plan to do turning, you’ll be getting this set up anyway.

 

[blues]

Thank you all so much. Appreciate all your inputs.
The frustration of working with dull tools and the manual work effort in keeping them sharp was the reason i was looking at a tormek. When the cost of good quality stones and the whole set up is factored in, i thought the tormek was in the ball park. What was interesting was the speed with which i could get the edge back on. Looks like there is a compromise any way.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[xedos]

Looks like I'm the lone dissenter on this. 

I don't really like my tormek.  And unlike, JD I always hated that the water trough was too small, and that the shaft rusted and on an on. 

At first blush, it seemed like a clever solution, but living with its idiosyncrasies just hasn't been for me. Especially given the cost.  For a while , it worked out pretty well for turning tools - especially gouges.  But most of my stuff is better accomplished with insert tools. No sharpening, new edge in 45 seconds flat, no mess to cleanup.

For flatwork like planes and chisels , I've grown to hate it.  For me that stuff is accomplished better, faster and cheaper on a WorkSharp.  Not as versatile, and arguably not as fine an edge, but Tormek's edge isn't the ne plus ultra either.

Lots of happy tormek campers out there.  Knowing what I know now, I would not buy one again.

 

[Birdhunter]

I have an old Tormek. It’s very dusty. CBN wheels on my low speed grinder for my turning tools and water stones for my chisels and planes work well.

 

[derekcohen]

Looks like I'm the lone dissenter on this. 

I don't really like my tormek.  And unlike, JD I always hated that the water trough was too small, and that the shaft rusted and on an on. 

At first blush, it seemed like a clever solution, but living with its idiosyncrasies just hasn't been for me. Especially given the cost.  For a while , it worked out pretty well for turning tools - especially gouges.  But most of my stuff is better accomplished with insert tools. No sharpening, new edge in 45 seconds flat, no mess to cleanup.

For flatwork like planes and chisels , I've grown to hate it.  For me that stuff is accomplished better, faster and cheaper on a WorkSharp.  Not as versatile, and arguably not as fine an edge, but Tormek's edge isn't the ne plus ultra either.

Lots of happy tormek campers out there.  Knowing what I know now, I would not buy one again.

No, you’re not the lone dissenter. CBN wheels changed the game. I suspect that this is why Tormek have come out with diamond wheels.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[ChuckM]

I've used the T8 only a few times, and my conclusion was that you need to be patient to use it on a regular basis. I am a patient woodworker, but not when it comes to sharpening. So, I -- luckily -- did not jump into getting one. For woodturning tools, I use a grinder (cool wheel), and hand tools, diamond lapping films (free hand, a minute or so -- don't wait till the edge is completely dull), or water stones (summer to fall).

For speed (and for plane blades and chisels), the Lee Valley Power MKII sharpening system, which I have used extensively on and off for over a decade, is second to none. But I like to touch the leading edge on a 8,000x or higher stone after the micro-bevel step from the machine. It instantly upgrades the edge from sharp/very sharp to super-sharp.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Slightly relevant,

Slightly dull knife becomes very sharp in one second (per side) using worn 3k grit 3” diameter abrasive chucked in a 4K drill. Works great on a knife. I’d only use this a couple times on a blade that needs to be straight before returning to a flat sharpening stone.

 

[grbmds]

I've owned the 2000 Supergrind for 15 - 20 years and only recently started using it to sharpen turning tools; gouges, scrapers. With the newer square jigs and other improvements made to the Tormek, it's use for chisels has improved and I just started sharpening knives on it.

Several years ago, I invested in 2 dual-sided DMT diamond stones for regular rough sharpening of my chisels and planes (mostly chisels), and 4000 and 8000 Shapton Glassstones, along with a Lie-Nielsen sharpening jig (altough there are other jigs out  there much less expensive). For maintaining my chisels and planes, hand sharpening is the best method I found. They are the sharpest I've ever been able to get them/

I'd say, for me, it's kind of a toss-up. I now would never get rid of my Tormek because I use it regularly for my turning tools and I get the best result with the Tormek for them. I also invested in a diamond wheel (actually as of this year 2 - one coarse and one with 600 grit).  With the Tormek and a diamond wheel I can re-sharpen some of my carbide turning tools and, over time, will pay for the wheel. You don't need diamond wheels, but there is no real maintenance with them, which is one of the problems with the supplied Tormek wheels.

In the end, for chisels and planes, I'd go with some good stones and hand sharpening. For a wide variety of types of sharpening, the Tormek may be the most versatile.

 

[blues]

@ grbmds i thought you have to add an additive when using the diamond wheels as well.. so there is maintenance cost right?

With the newer jig that lets you sharpen on the side of the stone (diamond stone) looks like there is a quick way to get chisels and plane blades flat sharp (without hollow grind).

So how sharp is sharp enough? And is it true that sharper the edge the quicker it dulls? So apparently there is an optimal point. So question is how easily and quickly can we get to that point? And would tormek help? For argument if we assume the cost of all manual sharpening gadgets and tormek is theoretically close is there a significant difference in the investment of time to get the job done?

Thank you all and praying everyone stays safe in these times.

 

[chrisrosenb]

@ grbmds i thought you have to add an additive when using the diamond wheels as well.. so there is maintenance cost right?

A bottle of additive comes with the diamond wheel. 1 bottle mixes with 2 gallons of water. 2 gallons of mix lasts a long time with the Tormek.

 

[derekcohen]

Note that CBN wheels are also available for Tormeks, and these do not need water for lubrication. They probably last as longer, if not longer, than diamond wheels.

My bench grinder, with CBN wheels, uses the Tormek tool rests. So best of both worlds - speed plus anything the Tormek can do.

For those wanting to grind/sharpen lathe chisels, the Tormek is a poor choice as it works very slowly. A half-speed or full speed 8” bench grinder with CBN is the way to go. Most lathe chisels are HSS (M2 steel), and imperious to heat. A Tormek is waaaay overkill. Worse still, it is a totoise.

Get the BGM-100 tool rests from Tormek, and add them to your bench grinder. Add 180 grit CBN for general grinding of bench chisel and plane blades, and a 600 grit for finishing lathe chisels.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Birdhunter]

I’ve never used and lubricant with my VBN wheels. Should I?