Worksharp 3000 Chisel and Plane blade sharpener

[DonJohnson]

I have no wish to start another acrimonious sharpening method debate, but merely wish to point out that for me - someone who had failed miserably in the past to get anything resembling decent edges - the Worksharp 3000 has enabled me to resurrect some worthless chisels and blades. It did take some time to restore previously mangled bevels to correct angles, but the machine did the clever stuff, not me, so it was a doddle. Going on to produce mirror-like finishes and micro bevels was easy, and the tools now function superbly.

There is more about how I set up the machine at http://lumberjocks.com/projects/92183 - but at the time of posting something seems to have inhibited the display of pictures there, so here it is:

 

[Tim_H]

Don,

that is a nice version of Stumpy's unit, how are you finding the MDF discs? did you go down the polishing compound route or just stick on abrasive discs.

I have been delaying a purchase hoping for a price reduction from Rutlands but may well end up biting the bullet and getting the Work sharp for Christmas as my sharpening skills are not great and it looks like a good tool made even better by being Stumpied.

 

[DonJohnson]

Thanks, Tim,

I did not get hold of the polishing compound until after I had finished sharpening my chisels and plane blades with the abrasive disks, so I have only used the compounds as an additional finishing process so far, but the principle looks promising.

Finding the set of compounds suggested by Stumpy in the UK did not prove possible, so I ended up selecting what appeared to be likely types from http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk ... ess-steel/, but I don't think I necessarily got the exact matches - experimentation with some new (actually old !) chisels will be needed.

Toolstation sell self-adhesive abrasive discs - 60/60/120 grit - http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+T ... 790/p55609 which are cheap enough at £2.87 for packs of 10.

The only finer grits I found were in packs of 100 at £17.00 (inc p/p) - which would be enough to keep me going for about 20 years :lol: at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Mirka-Pla ... 19c15a0d89

Edit: Just found packs of 50 400 grit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SANDING-DISCS ... 0870788459 at £9.99 (free delivery)

You mentioned Christmas - Rutlands had a 'special' 12% discount for Halloween (?) and because of that I considered ordering the 3000 early as my Christmas present since they indicated that delivery would be 4 weeks - and I expected that to be extended a bit. It arrived 2 days later! :shock:

I couldn't resist trying it and making Stumpy's unit. (which rather goes against my tag line :wink: )

 

[Tim_H]

Don,

thank you for all those really helpful links.

I am holding out for a price reduction before I commit.

Tim

 

[chippy1970]

How do you get on with your mdf discs ? I made a few for my worksharp but I've noticed when I work down the grits and then change to my glass discs with finer grits it looks like the squareNess of the blade changes. When I change to the glass discs you can see its not sharpening the full width of the blade.

Hope the above makes some sort of sense lol

I wonder if the mdf discs deflect slightly thus not grinding squarely.

 

[DonJohnson]

As I mentioned earlier, I've not done much with the MDF disks yet, but I understand what you're saying.

If you are working on the underside of the MDF and glass disks, then unless the MDF centre hole is not exactly 'square' I can't see that there should be a difference. However, if you are working on the top, would the fact that the MDF and glass disks are not exactly the same thickness account for the variation ?

It's nice and warm in my study where my PC is, so no chance I'm going to go out in the cold garage/workshop to experiment - sorry!

 

[chippy1970]

Yeah I'm using the underside so it should be the same but it's not. The holes in the mdf discs are dead square/straight.

I've gotta build one of those stumpy nubs stands for mine when I get time.

 

[baldpate]

I use a WS3000 for most of my sharpening/honing. Great tool !

There's something I've often wondered about, though ... if you sharpen an iron (let's say a 2" blade) under the disk, isn't there a natural tendency for the part of the blade nearer the outer edge of the disk to be abraded more than the inner edge, because the abrasive is moving faster nearer the outer edge? Any thoughts.

By the way, one of the things I've most come to appreciate is the short work it makes of flattening the backs of plane irons.

 

[DonJohnson]

My guess would be that if the iron is firmly held by the guides, its relationship to the disk should (does) keep the same angle, so perhaps the part near the outer edge would tend to reach its final ground state quicker than the inner part but can't until the rest catches up - if that makes any sense :shock:

 

[nicguthrie]

Lovely unit Don.

I just posted a sort of review of the WS3000 in a thread where someone was asking about the ws2000. I ran a bit longer than intended, but I also think that, for me, with no great attachment to other methods, it's a fantastic tool, especially now that I have the Tormek jigs to allow my turning chisels to be "fixed" from the bad grinds I had.

Personally, in case of swelling of the MDF, or the disk not being exactly the same thickness from side to side, or as you say, the hole being perfectly square, I decided to buy a couple extra glass disks.

I use a 4 disk system, with finer grits until the last one is a leather honing strop (spray mounted thin leather from my old sofa) and it all works beautifully.

@ Baldpate: The closer you get to the outside of the disk, it does indeed gind faster, but the difference is not huge, and by holding the tool being sharpened continually at the right angle, it doesn't make any difference to the final ground angle, just the speed of the various sections of the edge to get there.

I like the set up very much tho. Mine tends to get put away at the moment after use, in a cupboard. I may have to assess the space in my small workshop to see if I can get room to partially steal your design

Nic.