Sharpening gouges / skew chisels on a Tormek

[Giff]

I am not new to woodwork but new (very) to woodturning. I have a small Jet lathe and a set of 5 gouges. I have attempted to sharpen them on my Tormek which I have previously only used for bevel edged, and mortice chisels but haven't had too much success with the new gouges / chisels. I have been trying to sharpen a skew turning chisel using the SVS 50 jig.I tried to start on the bench grinder with this jig and moved on to the Tormek but after 2 hours (really) I have only ground 1/2 way up the bevel. Is this normal or am I doing something really stupid. Thanks Geoff

 

[Silverbirch]

I would assume that the set of chisels would come, if purchased new, with suitable angles already ground on them I old and/or abused they may need some extra work. You say you have a bench grinder, so you should establish the bevel angles on that, and use the Tormek just for touching up the sharpness on the already established angles. To do this, you will need jigs for repeatability. It can be helpful to colour your bevels with a magic marker prior to sharpening on the Tormek, so that you can see exactly where you are removing metal, as there are no tell tale sparks to help you.. Time spent on the Tormek should then only be a matter of seconds per blade. I have been using a Tormek lately, simply because I already had one, rather than purchasing it for woodturning, and have found it quick and easy.
Or, you can simply use the grinder, with a suitable wheel as most turners do and skip the Tormek altogether.

Ian

 

[CHJ]

No you are not doing anything wrong, the Tormek with standard stones will provide you with a very fine edge but is almost useless for regrinding a significantly differing bevel to a new angle.

If you set your jigs up to match the angles exactly each time then it will be quick or if you grind freehand and can match the contact area to suit.

You also must take care if you use your Tormek for finishing plane blades and the like that you do not develop grooves in the wheel edge with the small contact area of turning gouges.

 

[Mike Wingate]

The Tormek does remove metal slowly. I have a Tormek setup in front of my grinder, so grind on one wheel, then take the jig and tool to the Tormek and in a matter of minutes I have the bevel and edge that I want. Less wear on the Tormek wheel.

 

[Jacob]

I don't do a lot of turning but when I do I sharpen on a belt sander. Just a few seconds every now and then. Freehand - I find jigs and contrivances make things more difficult, not less. Ordinary belt sander will do but I've upgraded to Sorby Proedge.
Freehand sharpening is not as difficult as the turning itself - if you can do one you can surely do the other and save yourself a lot of bother.

 

[Giff]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I already had a Tormek and that is why I went down that route. Thanks for your suggestion Jacob I may try the belt sander as well, as my chisels may get too short before I even start turning ! Thanks again Geoff

 

[paulm]

Think it's all been covered above already, but I found the tormek too much faff for turning tools, for most stuff actually, what with filling up with water, emptying it after and wiping up all the spillage, truing the stone etc. Sold it after getting a proedge and realising that the tormek was just not getting used.

The proedge is great as the cutting surface always stay flat, and grits can be changed in a few seconds to regrind if wanted on a 40 grit belt to rehoning on a 180 or 240. The grinding table is great for primary bevel grinding on plane irons and chisels as the preset angles are accurately repeatable, and the bar support takes the tormek/sorby gouge sharpening jig if you don't fancy doing it freehand.

I found a local abrasives supplier who makes up the replacement belts for me at a fraction of the sorby prices, although you do have to take ten or twelve of a grit at a time to make it worth their while setting up their gear.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Spindle]

Hi

I use a Tormek to keep all of my woodturning tools in prime condition - I wouldn't be without it, I love the repeatability of grind the jigs afford. Once profiled it takes me about 10 - 15 seconds to put an edge back on a tool.

You've picked the 'worst' turning tool to re-profile in the skew - there is an awful lot of metal to remove however I'm not sure why you say you are only half way up the bevel, why are you worried about what happens that far back from the cutting edge? Just use the Tormek to put an edge on the skew at your preferred angle and get turning, each time you sharpen the tool the grinding marks will advance back up the bevel until eventually the original grinding marks disappear.

I have re-profiled one of my 3/4" skews to give it a radiused edge - it took about twenty minutes using the SVS 50 jig - are you using the grading stone to 'roughen' the wheel periodically? are you moving the tool laterally and using all of the wheel surface?

Regards Mick

 

[Giff]

Hi Mick
You are right about the choice of tool to start with. I have today sharpened a spindle gouge on the SVD 185 and have got a perfect result in about 20 minutes. It looks honed and polished. I think I made the mistake of trying to grind the skew on the bench grinder first. I have also got a better result with that using a belt sander. Thanks for your advice Geoff

 

[spinks]

One of my best purchases was my tormek T3, admittedly it took and evening to sort all the chisels and get them how I wanted them, but now, with jigs and the stickers its a 20 second job to rehone!!

 

[tekno.mage]

I use a Scheppach machine (which is basically a Tormek copy), and found that the supplied wheel, although perfect for plane blades - was far too soft for HSS turning tools - which meant it wore into grooves very easily and sharpening took a long time. I upgraded to a Peter Childs Microcrystaline wheel and found that a much better better solution - although I must admit that I only use the wet grinder for gouges (using the gouge jig) and skew chisels - easier-to-sharpen tools (like roughing gouges, parting tools, scrapers) just get to meet the normal grindstone as it far quicker.