Is the Tormek T7 worth the money?
Better stone? Better accuracy? Better overall design? Will it sharpen better and easier? I've always struggled getting sharp Tools.
Is the T7 worth the money ... "only" for sharpening lathe tools? No
I have a Tormek 2006 model ... repeatably establishes bevel angles and rough in sharp edges on flat carbon steel woodworking tools that are sensitive to grinding heat like plane blades and wood chisels before final honing using 1000-8000 grit waterstones. But the Tormek seems too time consuming to me for my HSS lathe tools plus these HSS tools don't really need a water-cooled sharpening since they are more tolerant to heat than my carbon steel plane blades and chisels.
I opted a couple of years ago to go with Tormek's bench grinder mount on a low speed bench grinder along with using my Tormek 2006 jigs. This is a simple set up on my low speed bench grinder that is repeatable and sufficiently accurate for my lathe turning tools ... and my HSS lathe turning tools tolerate the grinding heat ok. Here's a photo of my bench set up ... can move the tool rest to either wheel.
Here are the Tormek 2006 jigs that I use for lathe tool sharpening ... already had them from my Tormek 2006 purchase for flat work tool sharpening. So my additional investment for lathe tool sharpening was only for the tool rest support brackets and custom building of my own portable bench stand/mount blocks.
Tom