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Selected Shapes and Edge Angles
There are quite a few manufacturers of turning tools and the shapes and edge angles vary
considerably. For example there are factory made skew chisels with skew angles from 15° to
30° and the edge angles vary from 25° to 40°. Factory made bowl gouges have edge angles
from 30° to 60°. The wide range of shapes is the reason why Tormek up until now, has not
made recommendations for setting the shape and edge angle. Instead we have offered the
technique and left to each turner to find his or her own geometry, i.e. shape and edge angle.
However, after having been in contact with many turners around the world, we now see the
need for an aid to a quick setting of the jig and also for advice about some suitable shapes
and edge angles. The Tormek Turning Tool Setter offers both.
The Selection Chart on the next page shows geometries recommended by experienced
woodturners and recognized woodturning training workshops around the world, e.g. Glenn
Lucas Woodturning in Ireland, Nick Agar’s “Turning Into Art” in the UK and Drechselstube
Neckar steinach in Germany.
Since a tool can have an unlimited number of combinations of shapes and edge angles, a
new tool has a more or less different shape compared to any of the shapes on the chart.
Therefore, you firstly need to shape your tool to one of these geometries; then the following
sharpenings will be an easy task and done in less than a minute.
Profile Labels
Note the settings on a Profile Label, which comes with the TTS-100 Setter and put it on the
ferrule of the tool. Now you have control of the three factors and you can exactly replicate
them every time.
Tip
Stick to the shape you have chosen. Altering the shape even slightly,
takes unnecessary time away from your turning. If you want a different shape
for a different type of work, buy an additional tool and keep the unique shape
permanently rather than changing it each time you change your work. In the
long term, this will save you much time and also money. Your tools will last for
your lifetime since you just touch up the edge when sharpening.
