Sharpening

[jsmithmarcus]

I am considering getting a Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener for my turning tools. Does any one have experience with this? Is it worth buying? I found it on sale for $147.99 at Sears. Still new at this and need a way to sharpen.

 

[plantman]

Only problem with a dry sharpening systems is that they produces heat. If you get your tools to hot, it can take the temper out of them. They also use sandpaper instead of natural or man made stones. As an antique tool collector and restorer, I prefer Japanese water stones, or any method that lubricates with water or oil. Tools not only need to be sharpened, they need to be honed, buffed, and stroped to be able to cut hairs off your arm without a lubricant. Look in the library or on you tube for sharpening tips and tricks. Jim S

 

[edstreet]

I have not used this particular model but this is the flat grind type. This would be like standard bench stones, traditional style waterstones, belt grinders. The other type being hollow ground on a wheel, i.e. tormek, bench grinder. Mostly that difference you will see greatly in spindle work and very small delicate detailed spots

It is also not water cooled which is a big must in many regards but not necessary a bad thing. Since there is no gigs with it then you are left to freehand. Free handing is not bad once you get thing set but gig's does help greatly to get consistency. Not just in one sharpening session but the next and the next ...

The other thing to mention is what chisels will you be sharpening?

 

[thrustmonkey]

You can now buy an attachment that lets you use Tormek jigs on the worksharp. Once you get them set up right, they work great!

I don't have alot of tools, but I did sharpen all the tools that I have with it. I used jigs to sharpen my gouges, skews, parting tools. I even used the "table" jig to sharpen my flat scraper and my bedan.

You can build up some heat if you go crazy with it, but if you take your time there's no problem. The worksharp is a slow speed sander, so that helps keep the heat down. It come with different grades of sandpaper, glass disks for the sandpaper (you can always buy more for more grits), and you can get a leather honing disk, plus alot more. The thing doesn't take up very much space either.

Go to their website and watch their videos on how to use it with the jigs. That will give you a better idea.

Ross

 

[Paul in OKC]

I still use a cheap 6" grinder I bought years ago. No fancy stones. I used to fret about how I sharpened my tools, then read an article about Richard Raffan. He used a bench grinder set nearby. Aint fretted a bit since! Do go lightly, and I keep a bit of water close to dip in.

 

[BayouPenturner]

I purchased avD-way CBN grinding wheel and with the Blackhawk sharpening jig I get great results. the wheel is as good as it gets, no bouncing, and tool edges do not heat up.

 

[kovalcik]

I purchased avD-way CBN grinding wheel and with the Blackhawk sharpening jig I get great results. the wheel is as good as it gets, no bouncing, and tool edges do not heat up.

I am saving up fo rthe CBN wheel. I have the Blackhawk sharpening jig and the Woodcraft 8" grinder and they do a good job.

 

[Scruffy]

All the CBN wheels I have seen,

are expensive. It is hard for me to cost justify one. Any advice?

 

[edstreet]

are expensive. It is hard for me to cost justify one. Any advice?

One does not need expensive equipment to ask http://www.penturners.org/forum/f14/sharp-japanese-waterstones-111876/

A simple setup with a bench grinder can net you something like this.

The key to sharpening is nothing more than consistency. To get consistent results there are a good number of devices out there that can help with that but the real issue boils down to form. That is body position, placement of your feet, shoulders, hands and the like. Some equipment even tries to take those factors out of the equasion but the more they try to take things out the more $$ the solution becomes.

 

[Russknan]

Pay the money

are expensive. It is hard for me to cost justify one. Any advice?

CBN wheels ARE expensive. My 8" from D-Way was about $200, if I remember correctly. Beautifully balanced, never needs truing. Here's my reasoning: Do you have an extra chuck? What did you pay for it? (Probably $200 or more.) Now, which do you use more often when turning, the chuck or the grinder? BTW, Woodcraft no longer sells their 8" slow speed grinder. They got a bad batch - I returned mine. They told me they're not going to carry them again. Got a really nice 8" Porter Cable variable speed at Lowes for $119. With the CBN wheel, Wolverine and Ellsworth (via Cap'n Eddie) jigs, I'm in sharpening heaven! Russ

 

[Russknan]

As to the WorkSharp, I have one and like it for bench chisels. I bought the Tormek jig but, for the life of me, couldn't get it to work satisfactorily. It's possible, I'm just not smart enough . . . Russ

 

[Ted iin Michigan]

I got the Work Sharp a while back. It's a superior system for bench chisels (not the turning type). All mine are "scary sharp".

I got a couple extra slotted wheels and was doing my turning tools on them but the slotted abrasive discs are pricey and I had trouble keeping a consisten edge (I'm not an experienced turning tool sharpener). So I built a couple jigs (got the idea here). One for spindle gouges and one for skews. Works great.

 

[Scruffy]

Sounds Like you are sold.

Right now I have the PC 8" grinder with The Norton 100 grit on one wheel and 60 grit on the other. I also have Capt'n Eddies Jig and feel ok about edges I'm getting. Edges and burrs; what do you think of the ones you are getting?

 

[Donnie Kennedy]

I usually don't weigh in on these sort of things because I don't want to give the impression that I think that my way is better than any other, but IMO, those sanding disk type sharpeners aren't the way to go.

A long time ago I finally realized that sharpening my tools by hand with diamond stones wasn't going to cut it so I made a sharpening system with a benchtop belt sander, and then I looked at a couple of different sharpeners similar to (maybe one of them was a previous model of the same exact tool) and in the long run I ended up buying a Wolverine system and an 8" slow speed grinder and I'd say I'm better off for it.

To keep things in perspective, I keep my tools sharp at all times so it only takes light passes to touch them up, I buy the tools that already have the type of grind I want on them from the manufacturers so I'm not doing any re-grinding, and I don't sharpen garden tools or lawnmower blades with the white wheels... all that said, I've been sharpening my M2 tools on the same wheels for about 5 years and I get consistent edges every time.

I wonder how many sanding disks you'd go through in that amount of time sharpening HSS or or harder steel, and how much that would cost?