tonyc1 Report post Posted June 14, 2009 Are Tormek grinders any good for sharpening items? Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcat Report post Posted June 14, 2009 I while ago i watched Norm Abrams from the Yankee workshop do a piece on one, he seemed to like it a lot, and was impressed with the sharpness of his chisles, i have always wanted to get one but was stopped buy the price... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted June 14, 2009 I while ago i watched Norm Abrams from the Yankee workshop do a piece on one, he seemed to like it a lot, and was impressed with the sharpness of his chisles, i have always wanted to get one but was stopped buy the price... I have the small one (T3) and I think it's fantastic. I use it for everything... I haven't bought any of the jigs yet, cause they are expensive too, but man I can get a quick sharpen with no chance of overheating the temper. I love mine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted June 14, 2009 I profile and do a lot on the Bader or Burr-King belt grinders. I use the Tormek for final edge and have no complaints. Nobody has made a jig for the head knife yet so I turn the Tormek around and sharpen the head knife with the wheel going away, works fine though. I seldom let a head knife get to the point of needing the belt grinder or the Tormek. Kitchen knives do however appreciate the Tormek treatment. Art Are Tormek grinders any good for sharpening items?Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted June 14, 2009 As others have already said.....They are absolutely great but like Art said... no jigs for a round knife. In fact my neighbors like it so much that it has been borrowed a whole lot more than I have used it lately. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasJack Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Maybe the real question is whether or not it's worth the $$$. I've seen chisels sharpened on one, and it did a nice job quickly. But I've seen them sharpened almost as quickly without a Tormek. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Maybe the real question is whether or not it's worth the $$$.I've seen chisels sharpened on one, and it did a nice job quickly. But I've seen them sharpened almost as quickly without a Tormek. Jack, For me it was, because I had a problem with high speed grinders, taking too much off, and overheating the metal. I can do manual sharpening, but it does take a while... I sharpened a spindle gouge just yesterday with it..., took me all of 30 seconds. I didn't even turn the lathe off, I just walked to it, hit the edge, honed it on the strop and was back to cutting. Worth every penny to me. Now If I can get a jig for a head knife... I'll be set. (Although I did sharpen my head knife on it without a jig.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Tormek's are the cat's meow of wet grinders. But they are mucho expensive. So what I did is to stop at Grizzly in Muncie, PA and picked up their 10" wet grinder clone of the Tormek T7. Then I bought Tormek jigs. Most fit the Grizzly fine. The Grizzly cost me $169 vs the T7 at $589. Works like a charm especially with the Tormek jigs. I basically got the jigs free and had some $$$ to boot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcat Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Here is Harbor Freights verison of the Tormek, and don't forget the 15% off coupon..lol.. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=95236 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted June 19, 2009 Another option for sharpening & polishing is the JoolTool system. It's only $279 for the starter package and additional discs are fairly inexpensive. http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.a...amp;ProdID=7280 I used to do woodturning demos at woodturning shows & symposiums = a crap ton of sharpening. About 3 summers ago, I had the opportunity to be a guest demonstrator in the JoolTool booth at the Las Vegas AWFS show and got to know the system pretty well (8 hours a day, 3 days of nothing but sharpening various tools). Just thought I'd throw it out there, with the right discs, it will do more than just sharpen and is well worth the money. I love mine. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the company at all, I simply did one weekend demo for them and fell in love with the system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted July 21, 2009 I have been meaning to put this up for a while. Some additional information to look at. I purchased the Jet based on the following reviews in early 2007 and set the Tormek aside for a while (I actually lent it to someone who was just starting to do woodturing). Initially I was quite happy with the unit and would have to say that you couldn't tell the difference between the two when it came to sharpened product. The slight increase in speed (rpms) did give the Jet a slight advantage in time to sharpen and hone tools (25% or so). FYI. Some of you may have seen the Imitator report from Tormek and I must say that some of their issues I did not run into like motor heating. See these reviews below. Jet Versus Tormek Jet/Tormek Comparisons I continued trying out the Jet and was dismayed at the wheel wear contrary to what the reviewer above has said. I had thought that some of the features were better but some of them I also found to be required versus convenience (I quickly realized the convenience of the tensioning adjustment was a requirement - However I also think that Tormek could learn from this as well). I also had some other minor issues so I went on a mission in forums and such to see if I was alone. Unfortunately not. One of my neighbor kids that does pen turning now is presently borrowing my Jet. His amount of sharpening is a lot less and besides he was already using mine on a regular basis anyhow. Here's another article/review of the Tormek vs Jet systems that had some of the same problems/issues that I had. Your mileage may vary but here's some of the same issues that I dealt with after I was sold on the cost effectiveness and apparent overall upgrade of the Jet. Sharpener Shootout A really positive thing is that it has brought the Tormek price down and has also made some more jigs available to the Tormek. If you don't sharpen your tools a lot then I would say that the Jet would be much more economical. Both of them are pretty overpriced when you get down to it. However with that said... I LIKE JIGS! Repeatability is a wonderful thing especially when it comes to sharpness. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted July 21, 2009 I was thinking of buying a Tormek after I saw one on ebay and then Bree chimed in with a response and went looking on the 'net and have come across a grinder called Scheppach. It is reasonably priced, so I may buy one in a couple of weeks when I can get free pick up from my brother inlaw going over to Victoria, as postage is $60.50. If anyone knows anything re. the Scheppach, please post. Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted July 21, 2009 I just looked for Jet here in Australia and the only price I could find was $1239 which is pretty expensive compared to the others. There is a Tormek on ebay for $600 and for the Scheppach it is only $585 with the extra jigs. Jet seems too pricey down here. Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted July 22, 2009 I was thinking of buying a Tormek after I saw one on ebay and then Bree chimed in with a response and went looking on the 'net and have come across a grinder called Scheppach. It is reasonably priced, so I may buy one in a couple of weeks when I can get free pick up from my brother inlaw going over to Victoria, as postage is $60.50.If anyone knows anything re. the Scheppach, please post. Tony. The Grizzly T10010... IS... a Scheppach Tiger 2500. They are the same machine. I know this 100% for a fact because I asked Scheppach directly and they told me. They do not sell the Tiger 2500 in the US. They custom manufacture it for Grizzly and they market it here. The Scheppach jigs fit the Grizzly 10" wet grinder. Most Tormek jigs fit but not all. The profile wheels from Tormek require a 12mm profiling wheel shaft but the Grizzly/Scheppach has an 8mm shaft. I had my gunsmith mill an 8mm shaft identical to the Tormek shaft and it works like a charm. I made him a South American Kingwood Cigar pen for his trouble. And he is a very happy camper. The Tormek planer jig does NOT fit the Scheppach because the special fine adjust support bar is not the same width as the Scheppach. You could redrill the support bracket holes and use the Tormek or just get the Grizzly or Scheppach version of the planer jig. The cost is similar and the jigs all work well. For leather work the profiling sheels would be inportant so you should do what I did and get a special shaft milled for the wheels with 8mm male and female ends. Hope that helps. You will save a lot of $$$ by using Tormek jigs and buying Grizzly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted July 22, 2009 Bree are you saying that Tormek jigs are better than the Scheppach and what are the profile wheels? Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted July 22, 2009 Bree are you saying that Tormek jigs are better than the Scheppach and what are the profile wheels?Tony. Yes I would say that the Tormek jigs are the best. The Tormek machine is the best but not $579 vs $169 the best. I can buy all my Tormek jigs and do my little milling adaptations and still be under the price of the Tormek T7 WITHOUT even starting to buy jigs. The Grizzly T10010 can do everything the Tormek can... just takes a little creative thinking and tinkering. The Profile Wheels are two wheels that attach to the honing wheel side of the sharpener which are tipped with leather... one rounded and one V-shaped used to take the wire edge off tools after they have been ground and honed. They are useful for several leather tools. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wyeman Report post Posted August 4, 2013 (edited) This thread goes back to 2009 and I was wondering whether there have been any developments of specific jigs for leatherworking tools? Edited August 4, 2013 by Wyeman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MakerUnknown Report post Posted August 4, 2013 There's a surprisingly active forum just for the Tormek...Mostly the same people chime in (me occasionally) but always good advice on the latest. http://www.tormek.com/forum/index.php Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
