Rich,
Good post. Add me to the group thanking Stig. He has helped inprove my knowledge of the Tormek in many areas.
I located a pocket notebook this week. I made notes in it when I was testing the three CBN wheels with the Tormeks. (All D-Way; two ten inch wheels, one 80 grit, one 180; one eight inch 180 grit.) I am not an active turner, however, I have a group of turning tools and all the Tormek turning jigs.
From my sketchy notes:
Half inch spindle gouge HSS; directly off the CBN wheels, I had BESS readings of 500 with all wheels. For a gouge with a substantial bevel angle, that's neither too bad nor stellar. As an experiment, I tried going directly from the CBN wheels to the leather honing wheel. I spent a generous amount of time with the leather honing wheel. The BESS reading improved to around 100. (My BESS readings were not as accurate back then as they should have been, my error, not the machine. BESS 100 is a very acceptable score for a quality kitchen knife or chisel. I was impressed!
Honing turning tools may not be as macho as "right from the grinder", however, I'll take sharp over macho any day. Initial reviews from top turners, Nick Agar and Glenn Lucas, are glowing about the new diamond wheels. I look forward to the turning reviews from Columbus!
Ken
