JimMc7
Member
I posted this on SMC so those who read it there -- sorry :redface: and you need read no more (I changed a few words but nothing material)...those who didn't read on SMC read as much as you can stand....
Summary:
Highly recommended if you prefer to sharpen on a Tormek, you already have a bench grinder and you want to save time shaping tool grinds. If you have a Wolverine or similar (or freehand sharpen) and are happy with grinder shaping/sharpening then the BGM-100 offers no value to you.
The reason I bought it:
I worked 45 minutes on the Tormek using a new SB-250 stone trying to re-shape a new Lacer 5/8" skew. I wanted a radius grind using standard TTS-100/SVS-50 settings. I gave up when it seemed I was about 50% done. I saw the BGM-100 info on the Tormek site, purchased and installed on my Woodcraft slow speed grinder. I re-shaped the skew on the grinder in about 5 minutes. My grinder and Tormek wheels are a different diameter so I spent another 10 minutes finish sharpening on the Tormek. In my experience, future sharpenings will only take a couple of minutes with standard TTS-100 and SVS-50 settings (TTS hole B, SVS-50 30*, P=65mm). I'm happy!
A question on SMC was "Would I have purchased the SB-250 blackstone if I already had the grinder mount?" Answer is no -- I bought the SB-250 hoping it would be faster shaping grinds...in my experience not enough to matter. I don't regret buying the new stone because it does sharpen HSS a bit faster and it resists "grooving" more than the stock stone (I'm too heavy-handed when I sharpen).
More info if you haven't drifted off yet:
To be clear, I am a newbie turner so take these comments in that context:
Pros:
Summary:
Highly recommended if you prefer to sharpen on a Tormek, you already have a bench grinder and you want to save time shaping tool grinds. If you have a Wolverine or similar (or freehand sharpen) and are happy with grinder shaping/sharpening then the BGM-100 offers no value to you.
The reason I bought it:
I worked 45 minutes on the Tormek using a new SB-250 stone trying to re-shape a new Lacer 5/8" skew. I wanted a radius grind using standard TTS-100/SVS-50 settings. I gave up when it seemed I was about 50% done. I saw the BGM-100 info on the Tormek site, purchased and installed on my Woodcraft slow speed grinder. I re-shaped the skew on the grinder in about 5 minutes. My grinder and Tormek wheels are a different diameter so I spent another 10 minutes finish sharpening on the Tormek. In my experience, future sharpenings will only take a couple of minutes with standard TTS-100 and SVS-50 settings (TTS hole B, SVS-50 30*, P=65mm). I'm happy!
A question on SMC was "Would I have purchased the SB-250 blackstone if I already had the grinder mount?" Answer is no -- I bought the SB-250 hoping it would be faster shaping grinds...in my experience not enough to matter. I don't regret buying the new stone because it does sharpen HSS a bit faster and it resists "grooving" more than the stock stone (I'm too heavy-handed when I sharpen).
More info if you haven't drifted off yet:
To be clear, I am a newbie turner so take these comments in that context:
Pros:
- Fast re-shaping using your normal Tormek jigs (45 minutes + as I never finished on the Lacer skew down to 15 minutes total (5 on grinder, another 10 on Tormek))
- Typical Tormek excellent fit & finish
- After I studied the diagrams about 15 minutes, another 30 minutes to install for me because I already had my grinder on a platform -- I did have to shift the grinder to the left 45 mm to accommodate the mount.
- A bit pricey at ~$57, but that does include a tool rest/universal support (US-105 - $38 value) and anyone using a Tormek knows the benefit of an extra tool support arm! You can buy the XB-100 horizontal mount for $23 if you want to save and don't need another tool support (install instructions are on the tormekusa website)
- Instructions are a bit spotty, but the diagrams/dimensions are reasonably clear. I had to derive the location of mount relative to the front of the grinder (15 mm - example diagram had mount&block on the edge of an 8" platform for an 8" grinder so not that tough to figure out).
- Not all Tormek jigs are supported (probably something to do with grinder wheels normally shrouded in a cover) but all those I use for turning tools are: TTS-100, SVD-185 (swept-back gouge jig), SVS-50 (skews and straight gouges) and SVD-110 (tool rest for scrapers)
- Not sure the best way to get the grinder wheel dressed parallel to the support bar -- I use a LV single point diamond dresser so I just put it in an older SVH-60 straight edge jig to dress the wheel. I thought about using the Tormek truing tool, but (a) I didn't want to risk ruining the truing tool using on the much higher speed grinder and (b) almost no room for support arm adjusting nut movement in this application. The BGM-100 manual recommends a standard diamond wheel dresser but I don't have one.
