Opinions on Worksharp WS3000

[RandyJ]

I recently saw this http://www.worksharptools.com/ in Workbench magazine and was wondering if it's as good as they claim. It's made by the same company that makes the Drill Doctor. For $200 it doesn't look too bad....Any comments, pro or con?
Thanks for any help,
Randy

 

[JohnW]

Interesting....I have not seen it in person yet but after looking at the video I'd call it a mechanical version of the "scary sharp" method...which I like. Personally, I prefer a flat edge as compared to a radius on my flat blades. Wheel grinder systems leave a radius edge which seems to work fine but flat seems to stay sharp longer for me. I would definitely consider owning one IF....

• The wheel is very smooth & solid with no deflection or play.
• The pre-set angle adjustment allows for additional smaller adjustments so you can get a secondary bevel.
• The heat sink works as advertised.
• The entire unit is solidly built.

Pushing a blade up into the wheel while it rests on the angle guide is a nice concept. Just the action of sharpening will hold your blade down into the guide so no clamping appears to be needed. This would make sharpening or touching up a blade very fast.

 

[Tarhead]

The only down side is you are limited to 2 inch wide blades using the sharpening port. Everything else I've seen has been positive. The slotted disc is a really nice feature for sharpening gouges.

 

[gator]

Check Here - Issue 174 has two independant (of each other) reviews.

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/archivepage.cfm

George

 

[PeteM]

Good timing - the UPS man delivered one to my front door about 2 hours ago :eusa_danc

Got it set up in about 10 minutes. Clean the glass disks. Stick on the abrasive and you're ready to rock-and-roll!.

I did a quick try on an old beat up 3/4" craftsman that I use to open paint cans. Like the guy in the video says "This is to easy!!!". It's fast, no mess and you'd have to try hard to screw it up. The heat sink works great. I would like it if the port was 2 1/4" so I could use it for my plane blades. As it is you have to do them from up top freehand using the tool rest. The only other thing you might nit pick is that the micro bevel is set to 5 degrees using the port settings. But it's so quick and easy to sharpen with this thing I don't see that as a problem.

I'll be sharpening the rest of my stuff in the next day or so. I'll let ya'll know if I have any issues.

pete

 

[RandyJ]

Thanks for the comments and the link guys. :eusa_danc I think this may be my next tool purchase! WG disease strikes again!:crybaby2:
Randy

 

[gator]

Build It and They Will Come. Buy it and I will come use it, after all Macon is only abut 20-25 minutes from me.;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) I was just in Macon, on County Line Road, Monday.

George

 

[RandyJ]

Build It and They Will Come. Buy it and I will come use it, after all Macon is only abut 20-25 minutes from me.;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) I was just in Macon, on County Line Road, Monday.

George

George,
You are more than welcome to use any of my tools! If you need to sharpen something before I buy the WS3000, you can use my Scary Sharp setup....
Take care,

 

[PeteM]

Well after spending a weekend with the WS3000 I'm very happy with it. The only thing I had to do was tweek the skew of the sharpening port (an easy proceedure) just a tad to get the edge perfectly square.

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/archive/174/interview.cfm

pete

 

[RandyJ]

The only thing I had to do was tweek the skew of the sharpening port (an easy proceedure) just a tad to get the edge perfectly square.

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/archive/174/interview.cfm

pete

Hi Pete,
Thanks for your review on the WS3000. I still have a problem with the sharpening port on mine. I don't know if it's just my stupidity or if I got a lemon.
If I adjust the skew for 1/2" chisels to get the micro-bevel square, then the larger chisels have a micro-bevel that is not square with the blade, and vise-versa. I have tried everything to get it to work properly.
Are you sharpening 1/2" and smaller chisels on the left of the fence and larger chisels on the right of the fence, as the owner's manual suggests?
Thanks again,
Randy

 

[PeteM]

Hi Pete,

If I adjust the skew for 1/2" chisels to get the micro-bevel square, then the larger chisels have a micro-bevel that is not square with the blade, and vise-versa. I have tried everything to get it to work properly.
Are you sharpening 1/2" and smaller chisels on the left of the fence and larger chisels on the right of the fence, as the owner's manual suggests?
Thanks again,
Randy

I do them all on the right. I think it is more consistent that way. I think they say do the small chisels on the left to help prevent overheating due to the faster speed as you move out on the wheel. I just try to be more careful and have had no problem in with that. I don't use a micro-bevel. As far as I know the only benefit of a second bevel is faster sharpening and it's so fast with the WorkSharp I don't see the need.

pete

 

[RandyJ]

Thanks for the tip Pete:eusa_clap. I will try only sharpening on the right side of the fence, as you suggested. Other than this little quirk, I love the WS3000. It is fast and easy to put a razor edge on a chisel or plane iron:eusa_danc.
Take care,

 

[Ralrick]

Pete -

Are you still happy with the WS3000 now that you've had it for a few months? How does it work doing the larger blades from the top of the unit? Are the disks holding up well? TIA for any comments on the machine.

 

[PeteM]

Pete -

Are you still happy with the WS3000 now that you've had it for a few months? How does it work doing the larger blades from the top of the unit? Are the disks holding up well? TIA for any comments on the machine.

Yup - Still happy. Getting the guide bar level and getting the correct angle from the top is fussy. I will be making a jig for that when I get done my current projects. The glass disks are fine. The sanding disks wear OK considering you're only using a small portion of them. It's been suggested that they come out with diamond wheels rather than the glass sandpaper combo. That would be great but probably expensive. Sanding curved tool from the bottom is cool but requires some practice.

pete

 

[snojcb]

After reading this thread, I can't stand the thought of spending another hour with my granite slab and wet/dry sandpaper sharpening my chisels again. :crybaby2: I did a quick google on the Worksharp WS3000 and found that Northern Tool Supply has them for 199.99 with free shipping. I called the local store, but they don't have any in stock. So I order it this morning. Now I can't wait to sharpen my chisels!!! :eusa_danc

J. C.

 

[PeteM]

Found on another site that Worksharp will give special pricing for clubs with group buys. The group price was $159.99 as a one time deal (they ordered 6 machines). So if there's any interest here a group buy would save some bucks. To late for me :crybaby2:

pete

 

[Ralrick]

I ordered one yesterday from Hartville Tool. They gave 15% off if you put woodnet discount in the shipping instructions - or just call them and ask for the woodnet discount. I think they also have free shipping on it - I did have a small shipping charge but I think it was for the other items I ordered.

 

[DavidF]

After reading this thread, I can't stand the thought of spending another hour with my granite slab and wet/dry sandpaper sharpening my chisels again. :crybaby2: I did a quick google on the Worksharp WS3000 and found that Northern Tool Supply has them for 199.99 with free shipping. I called the local store, but they don't have any in stock. So I order it this morning. Now I can't wait to sharpen my chisels!!! :eusa_danc

J. C.

An hour!! is that for ALL your chisels etc? once the initial heavy work has been done, it should only take 5-10 mins to but a razor edge back on the tool using stones or scary, or in my case a combination of the two. Having said that, it does look like a great machine.

 

[snojcb]

Yes, 5-10 minutes is actual time of moving the chisels back and forth on the stone. However, the amount of time it takes from the moment I decide to have a "sharpening party" to the time I've finished cleaning up is around an hour or more.

With an unfinished, uncooled garage shop in a NC summer, I do my sharpening indoors in the kitchen. So by the time I lay out newspaper on the counter, drag the granite stone, sand paper, sharpening jigs and chisels in the house, sharpen everything, drag it all back out to the garage, put things back in their homes and clean the kitchen - it's at least an hour - sometimes 2.

Now, if I only need to pull out the WS3000, sit it on the bench next to my chisel drawer, turn it on, sharpen chisels, turn it off, and put it away...that's some serious time savings!

J. C.

 

[DavidF]

Yes, 5-10 minutes is actual time of moving the chisels back and forth on the stone. However, the amount of time it takes from the moment I decide to have a "sharpening party" to the time I've finished cleaning up is around an hour or more.

With an unfinished, uncooled garage shop in a NC summer, I do my sharpening indoors in the kitchen. So by the time I lay out newspaper on the counter, drag the granite stone, sand paper, sharpening jigs and chisels in the house, sharpen everything, drag it all back out to the garage, put things back in their homes and clean the kitchen - it's at least an hour - sometimes 2.

Now, if I only need to pull out the WS3000, sit it on the bench next to my chisel drawer, turn it on, sharpen chisels, turn it off, and put it away...that's some serious time savings!

J. C.

If I do a sharpening session and do quite a few tools, by the time I get around to use them, I've often forgotten that I did them:eusa_thin so I tend to do them as I pick them up for use, then 10 mins later I'm working with a sharp tool. Same with kitchen knives. If either Carol or I notice a knife getting blunt then it gets the treatment.

Maybe an interesting question for the group; do you sharpen "en mass" or as you go?