I have the bigger worksharp. the 199 one. Woodcraft has it on sale with a bonus leather strop accessory. That thing is great! It will sharpen anything. I use it on my lathe tools and use I think the 400 grit to do touch ups and I never have to do any more. If your tool is dull do some 150 grit then 400 and you are all set. For a razor edge you can go up to 1000 grit and higher. It sharpens square chisels very well with the slot that has the perfect angle everytime. To do a skew and gouge that i do I do it on the flat face on top so you have to get used to it and angle it properly but is very quickly learned. I swear I can get a finer finish than sanding... With a freshly honed chisel, my plugs have that smooth wet carved look that woodcarvers talk about. It will sharpen anything. Youtube has some cool videos on it.
All I know is I have well over $1000 worth of sharpening equipment and still it seems every tool I own is always dull.
I've got a grinder, but I find it hard to use correctly (at least without hundreds of dollars of jigs), a Tormek which collects dust, about 1/2 a dozen large stones (arkansas, water, and diamond), a granite lapping stone and sandpaper, and a bunch of honing jigs. Only a matter of time before I get a Work sharp system, too. If I was starting over I'd try the worksharp first.
A guy that has a sharpening business up here did some demos at Rockler. he suggested looking into the Wolverine attchments for grinders but he also said he uses his disc an belt sander with very fine grit 400 or higher and gets very good working edges for his lathe tools. I've tried it and like the results. Still need to cool the edges with oil or water to keep the temper. Happy New Years Ron
If you have an extra 589 laying around you can get this thing...
You can get the parts separate and if you are handy you could rig one up yourself for the cost of 1 of the wheels and some of the compound for turning tools, He says on the video you don't want to use the finer white compound and only the coarser one. Therfeore you could get a "straight edge" wheel and some green compound and put it on a1450 or 1750 motor and viola. I was going to try that before I got the worksharp as a gift.....sharpening problems solved.
It looks like it is only available at Woodcraft.
I'm a sharp freak.....my son picked up awhile back at a woodworking show these two " white paper looking wheels with the goop to put on it....well he demo'ed it to me....knifes came out just like the vid above...no sheetz.....only 30 bucks for the kit.....2-8" wheels w/goop.....come to papa.
I use my belt sander with a 400 grit belt... But my belt sander is a wet sander- if you use a dry belt, make sure to quench the blade in water right away to harden the steel. Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
Interestingly enough on his video Turning Wood with Richard Raffan, Richard recommends a quick hit on the bench grinder and back to work, because you will be back to the grinder soon enough. He is a professional woodturner with a lot of experience.
I sharpen on a bench grinder and sometimes knock the burr off with a whetstone. If you rub the bevel of the tool on the wood, it will present just the cutting edge and shear, not tear the wood in addition, the bevel burnishes the wood slightly to where you need to hit it with sandpaper to get paint to grab.
“It’s not up to the courts to invent new minorities that get special protections,” Antonin Scalia
If I make it to plugfest, I'll bring my WS2000. It really is quite simple. No need for quencing as tools stay VERY cool. For me, it's the best I've used to date and realtively cheap ($100).
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement -- Keith Benning
.....only 30 bucks for the kit.....2-8" wheels w/goop.....come to papa.
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