I have done some BESS testing with bench chisels and a spindle turning gouge. (not a lot of testing yet, however, enough to convince me of the value of BESS testing woodworking tools). Most of this has been in conjunction with testing CBN wheels with the Tormek. I wanted to compare the results of just grinding the tools with the 80 and 180 grit CBN wheels vs grinding and using the Tormek leather honing wheel.
I repeated each test a second time to compensate for "operator error". Direct from the 80 grit wheel, my spindle gouge read around 500 BESS. The 180 grit wheel read 400. The 80 grit wheel read around 400 when run trailing rather than grinding into the wheel. This may or may not be significant. I believe it warrents further experimenting.
With both wheels, a good dose of the leather honing wheel with Tormek honing compound yielded BESS readings around 130. I was happy with these readings, especially for a "quick and dirty" process. Note, the bevel still had some scratches. For finish work, this is no shortcut for the traditional Tormek technique of coarse and fine grinding, followed by the leather honing wheel, which yielded BESS readings of 100.
I believe the BESS testing process is of much value to woodworkers of all levels.
Ken
I repeated each test a second time to compensate for "operator error". Direct from the 80 grit wheel, my spindle gouge read around 500 BESS. The 180 grit wheel read 400. The 80 grit wheel read around 400 when run trailing rather than grinding into the wheel. This may or may not be significant. I believe it warrents further experimenting.
With both wheels, a good dose of the leather honing wheel with Tormek honing compound yielded BESS readings around 130. I was happy with these readings, especially for a "quick and dirty" process. Note, the bevel still had some scratches. For finish work, this is no shortcut for the traditional Tormek technique of coarse and fine grinding, followed by the leather honing wheel, which yielded BESS readings of 100.
I believe the BESS testing process is of much value to woodworkers of all levels.
Ken