What is the optimum positioning of the universal support on Tormek Supergrind 1200

[saleemtaibjee]

Hi. I recently acquired a Tormek Supergrind 1200. I have separately acquired a BGM-100 upgrade kit.
I now have 2 options in order to reposition the universal support to a horizontal position which allows for sharpening away from the wheel turning direction which I understand is better. (At the moment the universal support is vertically mounted at the back of the machine as original).
I can either use the entire BGM-100 kit, and fix the support to the side of the grinder (more hassle, requires some sort of base board or bench mounting), or I can use the XB-100 which is included within the BGM-100, and just mount that on to the top of the casing of the Grinder. It is plastic casing, but I understand if I use washers, this should be fine. I am probably going to opt for the on-grinder option for simplicity, unless others advise otherwise?
I posted the same question on the Tormek forum this morning, and clearly there are some extremely knowledgeable people. Some have suggested that the best option is a front vertical base set up. But this would require me to purchase another XB-100, since I only have one. The maths of optimum grinding angle also discussed was beginning to make my head hurt.
The grinder would be used mainly for bowl gouges, but also occasional use for knife sharpening. Hence I am thinking about purchasing the KJ-45 knife jig. Does anyone have much experience with using that jig, and what position of universal support are you using for that?
Thanks for your advice.

 

[Hornbeam]

If you are using the tormek to just gring the primary bevel and then finishing on a stone, I dont think it makes any difference which way you grind so I would stay with the original set up at least to start with.
Personally I think the edge off a tormek needs final honing but I dont have any of teh later finer wheels to compare with

 

[--Tom--]

Grinding into the edge is quicker on the tormek and for turning tools you’ll want quick.

Why not use the bench grinder kit on a bench grinder? Will enable use of a high speed grinder to set the profiles you want with the same jig settings and then move to the tormek to tidy up the edge and then for honing. Will be worthwhile IMO.

For knives the jig works well enough for refreshing blunt knives. For anything high quality you’ll want to finish on a stone. For the average household knives will be fine, just needs a steady hand and a light touch

 

[Jorny]

I grind knives freehand on Tormek using no toolrest. It is one of the advantages of a water cooled slow wheel. You can look at the water to see that the angle is correct. If you want to change the bevel angle, the knife jigs are excellent.