Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-4, страница 51

SHftP'ffiST

Out of the box, the stone needed truing, but a truing tool didn't come with it. It's spartan in all respects, yet not budget-priced. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it.

Tormek (shown here) and JET supply a jig to set the grinder for the bevel angle you want. The jig accounts for the stone's diameter and adjusts through a continuous range of angles.

Straightedge jigs vary in substance and quality. Tormek's (left) is well designed and precisely made, and it includes stops you can mount on the support arm. JET's (center) is solid and shiny, but the plastic bushings pop out of their bores. Grizzly and Scheppach use identical jigs consisting of steel stampings.

Wet grinders are unavoidably sloppy to use. As you slide the tool over the stone, water is channeled off and onto your benchtop.

68 Subscribe now at www.woodworkersjournal.com/digitaledition August 2008 Woodworker's Journal

TORMEK T-7

Price: $499.99 Phone: 800-872-5489

Clamp knobs secure a plane iron in Tormek's straightedge jig.

Tormek: The

Tormek's T-7 is clearly the best in this category. It's compact. The fit and finish are good. It runs quietly and steadily, even under as much pressure as I could apply to the tool. Its jigs are tops — well-designed, properly made, easy to use and accurate. The basic package includes all the essentials: grader, truing tool, straightedge jig, angle setup jig, honing compound in a tube, a thorough manual and a DVD.

I unpacked it, mounted the grindstone and the support rod and filled the trough with water. I clamped a chisel in the tool holder, adjusted the machine for a 25' bevel and set to work. The bevel was perfect.

The Tormek was just right, straight out of the box. But its price ($499.99) is the obstacle. Is it worth $200 more than the JET or $330 more than the Grizzly? Having tried them side by side, I cannot say it is.

JET: JET's JSSG-10 wet grinder looks like a swell package. The housing encloses the motor and has a little drawer for the grader and honing compound. The support arm is extended, and all the jigs are

shiny. It has variable speed and a torque control.

In isolation, this is a swell sharpener. But its performance just doesn't match the Tormek's. Even after truing the stone, I found that chisels and plane irons sharpened with the straightedge jig were a couple degrees out of square. Aligning the tool in the jig with an engineer's square didn't improve the accuracy. This is a problem that just shouldn't happen with a sharpening jig.

Another performance issue is power under load, which is lacking from the JET. Apply too much pressure to the tool, and you'll slow down the stone. It's possible to stall it completely. The problem, I think, is the smooth-tire drive wheel. The drive shaft's traction on it is tenuous, even when you increase the torque control setting.

JET JSSG-10

Price: $299.99 Phone: 800-274-6848

JET's grinder has a handy drawer. It's the perfect repository for storing the grader between uses.

As you grind a tool with any of the wet grinders, very fine particles break off and are washed into the reservoir. You've got to empty out and rinse the plastic trough — but not down a drain! The sludge will dry and set like concrete.

Shop Test continues on page 70