Ping Tormek-ers

If you always use the tormek, and keep the jigs ready to go (I have templates that let me set the tools in the jigs in no time), then sharpening takes no longer than a high speed wheel. Mostly, this is because you take off so little steel. Only one or two swipes takes of a tiny fraction of a thousandth of an inch of steel, which is enough to restore the edge.

Example: If I set up a v-block on my bench, in a wolverine-style setup with the tormek, and the gouge is already shaped to conform to the wheel, I can just leave the tormek running behind me and swipe it across the wheel between every cut, just like any other wolverine-style setup.

If you don't use it regularly, it takes a LONG time to restore an abused edge. Tormeks are not for shaping, they're for sharpening.

I'll add to what DJ said, about as fast as my Wolverine set up, IF the trough is full, etc. I don't leave the stone in water all the time, so that does take a bit longer. If you're in this for speed and production, a dry wheel may be the way to go for most of your tools.

I'll also add that I do believe the Tormek to give a superior edge over the dry wheel. At least, my tools seem to last longer off the Tormek than the dry wheel.

In reality, the time involved in each method is the time that it takes you to get the tool into the jig, if you use one. If you do freehand, I would say no difference at all.

I like my Tormek, but keep in mind that it's not the end all of sharpening systems as some would lead you to believe. It's just a tool that you use to your advantage, not the Holy Grail. It does some things fine, others not so fine. A grinder it ain't.

Good luck in your decision.

Hello George,

As the others have pointed out, there is really no difference in time to resharpen on a dry vs. a wet grinder, IF the bevels are set and ground to match the hollow grind produced by the wheel of either grinding system. I have four Tormeks and I can tell you as a production turner, there is just no difference in time between the two, if the tool is ground and ready to go.

With the Tormek you make a swipe or two and you're done and back on your project. With a dry grinder, you make a swipe or two and you're done and back on your project. Setting up the tool in the jig is the same either way for the most part, so is the time that it takes to swipe a couple of times on either system.

The difference comes in when you need to do a lot of metal removal, like a broken edge, or you want to change from say a 45 degree bevel to a 60 degree bevel. Here, the dry grinder will be faster than the Tormek. However, it's easy to redress the edge on a dry and then keep it sharp on the Tormek. Most Tormek users also have a dry grinder, so it's no big deal to do the bulk removal on the dry grinder and then keep it sharp on the Tormek. Good luck to you and best wishes in all of your woodturning endeavours!

Yep, pretty much what I said about slow versus fast is true for slower versus slow. Least of the worries is wheel speed, whether measured in RPM or IPM. Thought I'd check after all the incoming I got from the 3450 advocates.

BTW, having used both, the Makita flat wheel wet grinder has a better planer knife jig than the Tormek. And with the knives being presented in a predetermined pattern to the work, it makes sense to use one in this circumstance!

A coarser high speed wheel will take off more material than a fine low speed wheel, be it wet or dry, period.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Which is one of the reasons I got a Tormek.

I bought a cheap 8" grinder with 3/4" wide wheels. Built a jig from a web site. Never got good results, lots of burning, hard to control, etc. And couldn't find quality 3/4" wheels.

Bought a better 8" grinder that used 1" wheels. Added a good wheel and a Wolverine setup. Much better, but I still wasn't happy.

I looked at the Tormek for a few years and the price ran me off. I finally ordered one last year. Wish I had bought it years ago. It is real slow for shaping tools, but sharpening is just as fast as the Wolverine. If you add in the time for hand honing a razor edge versus the Tormek's honing ability, the Tormek is much faster.

Less than a minute to sharpen and hone a gouge on the Tormek and it is so sharp I usually get zero tear out, something I rarely achieved before, greatly saving sanding time. Also, a honed edge lasts much longer requiring fewer trips to resharpen.

Add in the ability to quickly and easily sharpen knives, planes, and other tools to a razor edge and it gets even better.

I keep the old grinder for the lawnmower, reshaping tools and when roughing something with a lot of bark that just beats the edge off, no matter how I sharpened it.

Good point. The setup is the key. With the new Turning Tool setup jig, you can replicate the setup quickly. You also have to remember the setup. The Tormek comes with labels so you can write down the exact angle and distance, and place it on each tool so you don't forget.

It takes discipline to to this. If you freehand a lot, it becomes a bad habit as you can be off a few degrees, and then you have to either make the new angle the "official" one, or else regrind to match the labled one. And there are several different jigs/grinds.

Major reshaping is hard on the Tormek. I tried to regrind a new PM gouge into an Ellsworth grind, and I haven't succeeded yet. I have an Ellsworth + Wolverine setup and a Tormek. The results is ugly. Perhaps I should have started on a cheaper gouge, but I didn't have one I wanted to reshape, and the powdered metal gouge was new.