Allylearm
Established Member
Was speaking to one of my tool suppliers and we got talking about the Tormek. He was telling me that there was a clamp (new upgrade to me must come with the T7) that did away with having to check for square when setting up for grinding your chisels and planes. I had got used to using indelible marker across grind line, when removed on pass you were square.
I got one of the new clamps last week used it on Friday, I used it on some e bay plane blades that needed sharpened/honed. It worked fine all you need do is make sure after setting say 2" over projection of blade from clamp is keep the blade tight to right and clamp down with the knurl buttons. Well every blade was square, so thumbs up on this for the manufacturer. He also supplied a new truing diamond tool, the old one was applied and moved by you along the wheel so you applied pressure and movement, the new one turns along the wheel by threaded knobs at either end and applies its own pressure. I tried this out as well, another thumbs up.
I do not know it it is national but I was priced for a Tormek T7 which came with the truing honer/paste/stone changer for £420 it had a sharpening set also flung in as a freeby, sharpening guides for axes/scissors/carving chisels and the like. So if you are in the market for such equipment this could be a good way to get a fully loaded kit, I think the asking price for the sharpening kit is over £120ish just itself. I think the reduction is like a lot of manufacturers in the wood industry and you get same price from any supplier to stop competition. Festool and Dewalt favour this and you get freeby tee shirts and the like when you purchase. The only other method is to get a demo and get a demo price discount, I am lucky that I get demo at my place of work from tool suppliers and have one booked with Festool in the next few weeks. It does not save a great deal but can save a wee bit so its better with something than nout.
I have some bevel edged blue chips to do so I will be trying this Tormek out next week when I get time. The only query I would have with Tormek is purchase cost. If I was a hobbyist I do not know if I would go to this expense, a secondhand would be a viable option, but for honing it does work fine and gives a very good edge and with the setting gauge kinda fool proof and simple to operate when you get the sequence right and I can use very quickly now between blades. As a work shop tool I would not be without it, it is a big step up from the old grinding wheel which needed a tool table pitched at the angle you wanted made by you as the one fitted was always tyoo narrow in my experience. It could burn easily and always seemed to take an age with all the water dipping and you needed some skill developed to operate square. Maybe if you added all the costs of stones and guides and such like it could be favourable to the outlay of a Tormek. The other part is time, I mind my first employer telling me sharpening tools never made you money. So his solution was the quickest method to get a good edge and leave it at that. Not wile away time honing as an acceptable edge would get the same job done.
I got one of the new clamps last week used it on Friday, I used it on some e bay plane blades that needed sharpened/honed. It worked fine all you need do is make sure after setting say 2" over projection of blade from clamp is keep the blade tight to right and clamp down with the knurl buttons. Well every blade was square, so thumbs up on this for the manufacturer. He also supplied a new truing diamond tool, the old one was applied and moved by you along the wheel so you applied pressure and movement, the new one turns along the wheel by threaded knobs at either end and applies its own pressure. I tried this out as well, another thumbs up.
I do not know it it is national but I was priced for a Tormek T7 which came with the truing honer/paste/stone changer for £420 it had a sharpening set also flung in as a freeby, sharpening guides for axes/scissors/carving chisels and the like. So if you are in the market for such equipment this could be a good way to get a fully loaded kit, I think the asking price for the sharpening kit is over £120ish just itself. I think the reduction is like a lot of manufacturers in the wood industry and you get same price from any supplier to stop competition. Festool and Dewalt favour this and you get freeby tee shirts and the like when you purchase. The only other method is to get a demo and get a demo price discount, I am lucky that I get demo at my place of work from tool suppliers and have one booked with Festool in the next few weeks. It does not save a great deal but can save a wee bit so its better with something than nout.
I have some bevel edged blue chips to do so I will be trying this Tormek out next week when I get time. The only query I would have with Tormek is purchase cost. If I was a hobbyist I do not know if I would go to this expense, a secondhand would be a viable option, but for honing it does work fine and gives a very good edge and with the setting gauge kinda fool proof and simple to operate when you get the sequence right and I can use very quickly now between blades. As a work shop tool I would not be without it, it is a big step up from the old grinding wheel which needed a tool table pitched at the angle you wanted made by you as the one fitted was always tyoo narrow in my experience. It could burn easily and always seemed to take an age with all the water dipping and you needed some skill developed to operate square. Maybe if you added all the costs of stones and guides and such like it could be favourable to the outlay of a Tormek. The other part is time, I mind my first employer telling me sharpening tools never made you money. So his solution was the quickest method to get a good edge and leave it at that. Not wile away time honing as an acceptable edge would get the same job done.
