WETSTONE GRINDING SYSTEMS

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grumpy paul

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I WOULD LIKE TO BUY A WETSTONE GRINDING MACHINE ,TO TAKE THE LABOUR OUT OF THE BADLY NICKED CHISELS AND PLANE IRONS THAT I GET FROM TIME TO TIME ,HAS ANYONE ANY EXPERIENCE OF SAID MACHINES OR ONE THAT THEY COULD RECOMMEND THANKS..
 
Hi grumpy paul
Welcome to the forum
I have not used the Tormek system but you will find some on here that have
Ps typeing in capitals is seen as rude :)
 
I could not spend in excess of £200 on a Tormek and so bought a Rexon for about £40 (reduced in a sale) which is about a 5th of the cost of the Tormek and works fine as far as my tool grinding requirements go.

The tool rest is not too good on the Rexon, but I simply made my own (or you could buy a tool support from Axminster or elsewhere for £20-30).
 
grumpy paul why are you looking for a wetstone grinder instead of a dry one with some good wheels.
Its what I have and I have to grind ticks out of my own tools that hit nails and screw put in furniture by other people :evil:
Ps I am an antique restorer (furniture)
 
as they say different stroke for different people.

i am a happy tormek owner, and now would be lost without it,
but was re-starting and had a lot of tools to sharpen, so
it seemed cost effective.

i can understand others being reluctant to spend so much money,
but once you have bought the rexon, then modified it, how much
extra has it cost you in unproductive time???

but if you do not have too many tools to sharpen at one time,
why not use water or oil stones. they work, are inexpensive,
and well documented???? :?

i have to say i was disappointed with the draper horizontal machine
i have, not much use at flattening backs which is why i bought it,
so if some one wants one, and they live near enough to west london
to make it worthwhile, let me know.

paul :wink:
 
Colin C":1alktslb said:
grumpy paul why are you looking for a wetstone grinder instead of a dry one with some good wheels.
Its what I have and I have to grind ticks out of my own tools that hit nails and screw put in furniture by other people :evil:
Ps I am an antique restorer (furniture)

Hi Colin,

What sort of wheels do you use?

Paul
 
I was similarly hesitant about the Tormek, but as I do a bit of turning I decided to bite the bullet. It was one of the wisest buys I've ever made and like Paul, I'd be lost without it. It gives you a really superior, polished edge that simply can't be achieved with a grinder.
Steve
 
Paul Chapman":1ymh205r said:
Hi Colin,

What sort of wheels do you use?

Paul

Hi Paul
I use the aluminium oxide wheels that came with my grinder, one grey and one white that came with my grinder ( £12.99 from Aldi).
The two things to keep in mind when you use them is to make sure you have a dresser to keep the face of the wheel cutting propely and to rest you tools on the wheel but not to push the tool on to the wheel
Also keep some water near to you when you are grinding tools to dip your tools in if they get hot
Hopefully I am not teaching anyone how to suck egg #-o
 
engineer one":kqd9s8ej said:
,
but once you have bought the rexon, then modified it, how much
extra has it cost you in unproductive time???

Engineer, we are talking hobby time here which is free time, not business or productive time and so the build of a support costs nothing. Mine was made from a couple of pieces of MDF and some threaded rod in about an hour and so the build is really just an extension of the wood hobby anyway.

I can't argue with your point that the Torkek might be better and come with a good rest, however, once the 'essential' extras are added (they are legion and again expensive), many people seem to spend in the order of £400+ on a grinder which many cannot afford or would deem inappropriate for their needs.
 
Steve":l0twaoc0 said:
It gives you a really superior, polished edge that simply can't be achieved with a grinder.
Now that's true, but it also shows a fundamental difference in what people expect from a "grinder". To me a grinder is just a means of removing metal at the fastest rate possible - so a bog standard bench grinder is fine. The Tormek isn't really a grinder but a honing machine IMO.

Welcome to the forum, GP. Badly nicked chisels and plane blades sounds like metal removal rather than honing to me? So a wetstone is probably a bit slow and, to be honest, unnecessary. Good bench grinder technique with a bog standard double-ended grinder, as Colin describes, will save any losing of temper by either you or the steel :wink: I'd just add to his advice that I've found a coarser wheel best; it removes the metal faster and cooler and if you're going to hone on stones or abrasives anyway the coarse grind isn't a problem.

Cheers, Alf
 
Colin C":15jinq02 said:
I use the aluminium oxide wheels that came with my grinder, one grey and one white that came with my grinder ( £12.99 from Aldi).
The two things to keep in mind when you use them is to make sure you have a dresser to keep the face of the wheel cutting propely and to rest you tools on the wheel but not to push the tool on to the wheel
Also keep some water near to you when you are grinding tools to dip your tools in if they get hot
Hopefully I am not teaching anyone how to suck egg #-o

Colin, I have the same grinder (but i'm sure mine cost £11.99)
Anyway, just wondering if you use it freehand, or if you've built/bought a tool rest for it.

Thanks
J
 
Tony,

as i said each to his own, :lol:
I had forgotten you saw things as a hobby
cost when making mods.

you are right about the costs of a tormek, but I found
that as I get more experienced using it I want to do more
with it. indeed i found recently a very cheap mdf jig to allow
me to sharpen and hone smaller axes,so it is possible to modify
it quite cheaply. rather like most tools, we tend to modify them for
our own usage. maybe that's why so many of us on the forum
turn more and more to hand tools for many jobs that we previously
did with machines.

actually, i kind of agree with Alf, where he says the tormek is more
a honing machine, but i find it does remove metal quickly enough
for me personally.

seeing other threads, i note that a number of reasonable brands
are having problems with back flattening, and in my case feel
able to do the main job quite well with the tormek, but i
do finish off with my waterstones, so like many people,
i use a number of means to get the acceptable finish to my cutting
edges, and for me, they seem to work.

as i said before, check the number of tools that have major damage,
then see how much your local tool dealer may charge for "sharpening"
then that gives you an indication of the budget you should consider,
and then you can make a decision.

note i am not saying that shop sharpening fits in with the general
ethos on the site, only it gives you an indication of how much fettling
you edge tools back toward getting sharp might start out costing.

THEN YOU HAVE TO SHARPEN THEM :lol: :lol: :lol:

finally, just found my dads old hand grinder, a "morse" brand, anyone know anything about them. he used it to sharpen his chisels for stone masonry, but what surprises me is how narrow the wheel is. hope i can find time and maybe a manual to strip it and rebuild it, then see how well it works with a modern wheel.

i think the aldi type grinder may well be the way to go starting out, or
as tony says, the rexon, then gain some experience, and see where you
want togo. for me, at the time, i had the dosh, so i went the tormek route, but i am not knocking any one elses choice, since after cleaning up
the edge, then you have to work with stones to get the sharpness you require.

nice to have conversations like this though.

paul :wink:
 
j":3rvaco70 said:
Colin, I have the same grinder (but i'm sure mine cost £11.99)
Anyway, just wondering if you use it freehand, or if you've built/bought a tool rest for it.

Thanks
J
Hi j
you are right it was £11.99 and I do my grinding freehand but then I have been doing it since I left school (22 years now :shock: )
I have been thinking of making /buying a rest but just not got around to it, I should do at lest for my turning tools :-k
 
I have a cheap bench grinder (£9 from makro cash and carry) with a AlOx wheel. I have recently added a Veritas tool rest and grinding jig and the Tormek Anglemaster Pro for easy bevel angle setting. All in all, probably about £60, so still not cheap, but buying the various bits as I realised that I needed them spread the cost over several months. I am now confident that I can re-grind an old plane iron or chisel to a consistent bevel angle and not over-heat the steel. Of course I've also bought a set of japanese water stones and a Veritas Mk II honing guide (another £60 or so)...it's not a good idea to go back over these things, it just makes me realise what my habit is costing me.

cheers

George
 
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