Grizzly 10" Wet Grinder Kit versus Tormek

[Handplanesandmore]

OP here,  Grandpa Dave, I used to have a Morgan,  1958 +4, 4 seater. Was actually my only car and every day car during my university years.  ( 1967-1972) Sold the car to make a down payment on my first house, excellent investment.  Now, 50 years later, thinking about a Grizz or a Wen, or a Tormek.   I do not do a lot of sharpening and thought the Grizz model might be a good option for me and also I only live 15 minutes from there real store outlet.    I viewed a U-tube video with someone disassemble and examine the innards.  Not very impressed with the bearings.  

At this point, unsure of which direction to go. Maybe Buy another Morgan?

Buy a Tormek (2019) and 50 years later, that Tormek can get you a down payment for a house!


 

Simon

[Timberwolf]

Buy a Tormek (2019) and 50 years later, that Tormek can get you a down payment for a house!


 

Simon

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When the Jet came on the market, I already had a Tormek...but I liked the idea of a faster wheel. The tormek is SLOW...The Jet turns 30RPM faster than the tormek {120/90}... If it turned any faster it would 'sling water"...But that 30RPM equals one third faster grinding and it outperformed the Tormek...I sold the tormek and kept the Jet,,I still have it but six months ago I bought the small tormek for it's portability...Recently I bought the worksharp 3000 and added diamond laps...It is now my GO TO sharpener for final sharpening {not grinding}..You can strop right off the 3000grit and it will pop the hairs..not "just" shave them....The 6" diamond laps fit it and you can also use the 8" if you center the hole..I also have the Veritas MKII which accommodates the 8" diamond laps.

[Handplanesandmore]

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I also have the Veritas MKII which accommodates the 8" diamond laps.

In practice, I seldom use a grinder or the MKII jig anymore. Free hand (50 secs to 65 secs) on 1000x, 4000x and 8000x (or the like) is my go-to regime. Stropping is done, only if I remember.

Only once in a while for a new blade or a blade that needs a camber would I go to the grinder. That day is rare as I have more than enough blades at various angles. I would use the MKII when I do a back bevel thing, which again is not a day-to-day kind of thing.

Never tried anything other than the T8, which I agree, is slow. If I have a lot to remove, I use a bench grinder (soft stone, not the one that came with the grinder) first.

Simon

[Admiral]

I don't view my Tormek as a grinder, but more as a final grind before finishing up on fine stones. I take everything (except knives) to the wheel bench grinder first to approximate the bevel. Cuts down on the time required to get a finished product, and this is more important when rehabbing edge tools, of which I do a lot of. When refreshing edges after initial rehab, I go straight to the Tormek. The jigs are superb, pricey but superb. The machine is a tank. So quality costs, its a commercial class machine, which I suspect the Grizzly (and I know the Wen) is not. Occasional use for the hobbyist, give Griz a try. Long term and sustained use, bite the bullet and get the Tormek, and if and when the time comes to sell it, you get significant value retention. I moaned and groaned when I wrote the check for mine, but I'm not sorry I did. About 10 years of significant use and still performs like the day I got it.

[Rob Young]

Seems Grizzly had a out-of-round stone problem there for a while, some years back.  No, I don't have one.

I've had one for several years:

1) Stone was a bit out of whack but easily trued.
2) The few Tormek accessories I've tried do work, for example the single-point truing tool.
3) The stone on mine seems a bit on the soft side.
4) Mostly I use it as a power strop, but it works just fine as a slow, wet grinder.

[Grandpa Dave]

OP here,  Grandpa Dave, I used to have a Morgan,  1958 +4, 4 seater. Was actually my only car and every day car during my university years.  ( 1967-1972) Sold the car to make a down payment on my first house, excellent investment.  Now, 50 years later, thinking about a Grizz or a Wen, or a Tormek.   I do not do a lot of sharpening and thought the Grizz model might be a good option for me and also I only live 15 minutes from there real store outlet.    I viewed a U-tube video with someone disassemble and examine the innards.  Not very impressed with the bearings.  

At this point, unsure of which direction to go. Maybe Buy another Morgan?

Living that close to the outlet eliminating shipping would make a difference. Wish the Griz had the micro adjust though. I saaw a couple of videos about the bearings (technically bushings) too. One guy so re-engineered the Grizzly, he probably could have bought a Tormek...guess he was trying to justify his 12 or 14" lathe.

I'd have to sell all of my tools and probably the house to buy a new Morgan...4 legged one or four tired one.


However, I'm also considering one of THESE, then finishing with plain 'ole scary sharp method. Like you, I do't do a great deal of sharpening during the course of a year.

Buy a Tormek (2019) and 50 years later, that Tormek can get you a down payment for a house!


 

Simon

To buy the 2019 Tormek I'd have to mortgage the house

[Handplanesandmore]

One guy so re-engineered the Grizzly, he probably could have bought a Tormek...guess he was trying to justify his 12 or 14" lathe.

We see things like that often. I don't know how much people make in their day jobs, but the kind of time they spend on "re-engineering" or "modifying" a cheaper tool to match the performance an existing product often outweighs any saving. While some might do it for the sake of fun or learning, many (they won't admit it) do that to avoid the price tag. I'd rather use the time to build furniture (and I am already not having enough of time for that).

Simon

[Lumber Yard®]

The Grizzly is a great tool despite the negative vibe here. I have no problem with mine and have used it along with the bigger names in wet grinders. I use it for sharpening lathe tools, wide plane blades along with kitchen and pocket knives. I have a ton of attachments... most are the Jet brand variety. On the other hand I've got the Worksharp 3000 that does all my chisels and normal width plane beds. Sharpening is like anything... most folks believe whatever they have or do is the best. I have all sorts of sharpening tools from hand sharpening to power sharpening and the Grizzly is a major player in how I approach sharpening my stuff. Other folks will claim that the more expensive brand is better suited for how they approach things... I have no problem with that. My experience is that the Grizzly does fine for what I want and/or need.

[camp10]

I just realized that the Griz that's being discussed is different than the one I have/had.

I had the G1036 Wet Slow Speed grinder. That was the worst power tool I ever bought. The wheel wasn't true. The tool rest was sloppy. It was so frustrating to use. I felt relieved when the motor went POP and it was truly dead. I replaced it with a Worksharp 3000 and so far so good.

[Arlin Eastman]

Curious about any differences between the Grizzly 10" wet grinder kit and the Tormek version. The Tormek costs about 5-6 times more than the Grizzly, both have grinding wheels that turn for sharpening.   I am seriously thinking to purchase the Grizzly unless someone can convince me otherwise.  

Thank you for your help. 

I had it back 6 years ago when it was selling for $59 and it came with nothing to sharpen anything with nor did I know what was needed.  Found out a year later what was needed and it would cost another $100 + on two different packages to get what I needed.

Also the bars could not be adjusted back then nor the height of it nor did I like how the water would lap out of the water well while sharpening.

If I would have done the upgraded one they sold it might have been different on how it worked.