Tormek Touchup

Thomas Cole tcole@cruzio.com
Sun, 28 Sep 2003 01:07:52 -0700


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Terry,

When you grind a blade on a Tormek stone, you are creating the basic 
profile of the blade, what is called the "relief angle". Probably you'll 
just duplicate the angle that the factory put on it, although I might 
suggest grinding it at a sharper angle - no more than 25° for a chisel 
or plane blade. Depends on how you use the tool, though - if it's prone 
to chipping then you need to grind at a steeper angle (like 30°). There 
is a gauge for checking the grinding angle that comes with the machine.

You can pretty well forget about indexing the blade to the holder, IMO, 
inasmuch as the tool rest position will change practically every time 
you use the machine. Which means that, every time you grind a blade, you 
need to eyeball the setup from the side to check if the angle is right 
(bevel is flat against the stone). Then put magic marker on the face 
you're grinding, do a trial grind, correct the setup, etc. This is what 
you do when you have nicks or chips in the edge or when it gets very 
dull. You grind away until you get a burr all the way along the edge 
(feel on the unbeveled side with your fingernail for a little ridge 
forming).

Now you're ready to use a fine stone. If you want fool-proof, then 
you'll need to buy a honing guide. Hold the unbeveled side flat on the 
stone and remove the burr by moving it back and forth in any direction. 
Then with the blade in the guide, adjust it so that the angle from the 
stone is about 5° more than the relief angle and grind several strokes, 
turn and rub the unbeveled side several times to again remove the burr. 
Always keep the straight side flat on the stone (sharpened edge touches 
the stone last). Finish up by stroking alternating sides.

The above paragraph is for touchup purposes as well as for honing a 
freshly ground blade. Follow up with the leather wheel for truly sharp edge.

Seems like a lot of trouble (especially in the telling), but once you 
get the hang of it, you'll have a blade that's sharper and will stay 
sharp longer than any hand-honed blade or almost any factory-sharpened 
blade.

Oh, and when you're reloading the plane blade, remember to put the bevel 
side down!

Tom Cole

Farrell wrote:

> Tuesday, my new Tormek sharpening system should arrive. One thing I 
> have not figured out yet is a fool-proof way to touchup the edge on a 
> blade - chisel, plane, whatever. Is there any way to index the 
> position of the blade in its holder so that one can reproduce the 
> exact angle to the grindstone. Or is most touchup done by hand on the 
> leather wheel? Often I can avoid running over a nail or whatever in my 
> work with my planes, and I don't often really need to start with 220 
> grit. I'm talkin' touchup here. I need something dummy-proof (or 
> talent-less-proof).
>  
> Terry Farrell


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