I've entitled this "Supplementary Review" as the link below includes a review by Phil Irons which says it all.
I appreciate that this will have a limited appeal (Tormek users only), but my gripe with my Tormek Supergrind was the amount of waste involved in re-truing the wheel after gouge sharpening in order to sharpen a flat chisel, so I bit the bullet and ordered the diamond wheel retro-fit from T & J Tools of Willoughby, Warks.
Mr. Osborne (the inventor) is a woodturner and applied himself to making the wheel after he had retired. He's interesting to talk to and obviously dedicated to producing a good product. He warned me that there would be a delay of between 10 and 20 days for delivery, as he needed to make a batch rather than individual wheels. He did not hit my card until the day of dispatch, which - as it happens - was only 11 days later.
The wheel arrived superbly packed, with a good instruction sheet. The only difficulty I encountered was that I needed to shim the inner face with a single washer to prevent rim contact when the wheel was tightened on the shaft.
Where I differ from the Phil Irons review is that I don't remove and replace the small amount of water from the trough in order to prevent the wheel from sitting in water when not in use - I simply lower the trough from its working position to its storage position - job done.
To summarise - this wheel has transformed my gouge sharpening and remains on the Tormek within easy reach of the lathe. It has turned what used to be a bit of a chore into an easy and quick operation and no "sludge" to clean out of the water trough. My gouges are, consequently, performing better because I can re-sharpen them so simply and quickly now, without bothering about making grooves and lands in the Tormek wheel. For flat sharpening, changing wheels takes about 90 seconds.
Not cheap, I grant you, but WHAT a difference in ease of use and the results are superb. No connection with T & J Tools, other than as a satisfied customer. The Phil Irons review is to be found off this page.
Ray.
I appreciate that this will have a limited appeal (Tormek users only), but my gripe with my Tormek Supergrind was the amount of waste involved in re-truing the wheel after gouge sharpening in order to sharpen a flat chisel, so I bit the bullet and ordered the diamond wheel retro-fit from T & J Tools of Willoughby, Warks.
Mr. Osborne (the inventor) is a woodturner and applied himself to making the wheel after he had retired. He's interesting to talk to and obviously dedicated to producing a good product. He warned me that there would be a delay of between 10 and 20 days for delivery, as he needed to make a batch rather than individual wheels. He did not hit my card until the day of dispatch, which - as it happens - was only 11 days later.
The wheel arrived superbly packed, with a good instruction sheet. The only difficulty I encountered was that I needed to shim the inner face with a single washer to prevent rim contact when the wheel was tightened on the shaft.
Where I differ from the Phil Irons review is that I don't remove and replace the small amount of water from the trough in order to prevent the wheel from sitting in water when not in use - I simply lower the trough from its working position to its storage position - job done.
To summarise - this wheel has transformed my gouge sharpening and remains on the Tormek within easy reach of the lathe. It has turned what used to be a bit of a chore into an easy and quick operation and no "sludge" to clean out of the water trough. My gouges are, consequently, performing better because I can re-sharpen them so simply and quickly now, without bothering about making grooves and lands in the Tormek wheel. For flat sharpening, changing wheels takes about 90 seconds.
Not cheap, I grant you, but WHAT a difference in ease of use and the results are superb. No connection with T & J Tools, other than as a satisfied customer. The Phil Irons review is to be found off this page.
Ray.
