Pro edge v tormek

[Lons]

Happy Easter to you and yours as well Peter, we've had a few days of sunshine but the forcast for the week isn't great and might even get more snow.

I've been retired a couple of years but still have a couple of cement mixers and a wacker plate etc, must get around to selling some off.

 

[Phil Dart]

Not all Tormek users go to pro edge, I stick with Tormek and I can re-profile on a standard bench grinder (this latter is important since I use bowl gouges with long sides for both bowl work and spindle work, it saves changing to skews or bedans) . Given the amount of sharpening that I do, the one stone has lasted for ages, I wonder how many sanding bands I would have used? Even Glenn Lucas uses a Tormek . The one thing that I would say is that there is no point in investing in the gouge smoothing leather wheels they don't add much value; just sharpen and turn.

PG

Glenn is still a young man - there is plenty of time for him to get a Pro-edge. Just think how much his bowl productivity will increase when he does.

 

[Lons]

Glenn is still a young man - there is plenty of time for him to get a Pro-edge. Just think how much his bowl productivity will increase when he does.

Are you on commission Phil?

 

[21William]

What’s perhaps slightly ironic about the Sorby/Tormek comparison is that the Sorby gouge sharpening jig is actually a Tormek product!

 

[Walter]

FWIW, for my turning tools I use a 6" inch bench grinder with CBN wheels, a Tormek bench grinder jig on one end and O'Donnell jig on the other. Hand tools (plane irons/chisels) are sharpened by hand on diamond stones.

I have a Record Power WG250 (Tormek style wet grinder) that rarely gets used except to speed up reshaping plane irons as it produces a less hollow grind than the bench grinder.

I quite like the look of the Pro-edge but it is a rather expensive way to buy what is in essence a small belt sander/linisher. I have no real need of one and better things to do with £300 plus. If I did not already have all the sharpening equipment I need I might consider it as an option but would more likely go for an 8" bench grinder with CBN wheels.

 

[21William]

I think you might change your mind if you actually tried one Walter. They are so easy to use. I agree though, £300 is a lot of dosh.

 

[Walter]

I think you might change your mind if you actually tried one Walter. They are so easy to use. I agree though, £300 is a lot of dosh.

I have tried one and whilst it does the job very well, it doesn’t make it any easier to get the profile or degree of sharpness I want on my tools than my existing set up does. If I was setting out though I would have to think very hard about which route to go down and what would be the best value. An 8” grinder with 2 CBN wheels and jigs would run it close for cost so it would certainly not be out of the question. One thing is for sure though it would not be a wet grinder.

 

[Dalboy]

With all of these people changing to the pro edge there must be tormek owners just wanting to give away their machines.
I run a standard grinder with a white wheel I free hand when sharpening and don't have any problems and for a fraction of the cost. I can turn as well as the next man who owns a pro edge.
But I still want a tormek

 

[AllenN]

I have a Tormek mainly because I sharpen other tools as well. I agree it is not so good for reprofiling but I do like the sharp edge it gives me. I also like the fact there is no dust and I can get such a sharp edge so quickly. I don’t plan to change. I use a bench grinder for metal turning tools and I hand sharpen planes and chisels on a diamond wetstone. I have gathered all these over time so although the total cost may be high one does not tend to notice quite so much.

 

[21William]

I still use my bench grinder for sharpening some of my metal working tools but more often than not I use my modified belt and disc sander.

 

[wm460]

But I still want a tormek

Nothing wrong want a Rolls Royce.
One happy Tormek owner.

 

[Penpal]

Horses for courses,stick to your preferences,test drive both make up your own mind.

Peter.

 

[21William]

Horses for courses indeed. A guy I know works in the D&T department of a school. They have a large sharpening stone that rotates on its side and is oil lubricated. He sharpens all the plane irons and chisels on it. Unlike the Tormek you get a flat grind with it. These machines were standard equipment for most schools and larger wood working companies but would be far too expensive to make for home users. The stone itself must have been about 15” diameter and several inches thick. No idea of the make but I could ask him if it’s of interest.

 

[wm460]

There is a cheap Tormek for sale on the aussie site.

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