Worksharp and foot switch?

[douglas ferrman]

Do you use a foot switch with your Worksharp? Have you tried a vairable speed switch?

I have been considering hooking up a foot switch inline on the Worksharp 3000. I saw mention of this on a post, (searched but cannot find it now) I also have seen this idea used with the wood artistry (http://www.woodartistry.com/) sharpening system.



I did call the Worksharp folks to get their take on it but was told they could not talk to me about this because use of a inline switch would void the warranty....

I contacted Linemaster (http://www.linemaster.com/)switch co. to see which of their switches they would recommend. They offered a simple on off switch and a vairiable speed switch. The tech at Linemaster however was not sure if the vairible speed switch would work as intended with the motor in the Worksharp.

So hoping others have given this a try and can let me know how it has worked for them.

[Jim Kountz]

Forgive me but whats your reason for doing this??

[Alan Schaffter]

The WS3000 (http://www.worksharptools.com/pilot.asp?pg=comparison) has an induction motor so WILL NOT work with footswitch speed controllers. They only work with universal motors. To vary the speed of the worksharp you would need a variable frequency drive (VFD) and a 3 phase motor.

[douglas ferrman]

The WS3000 (http://www.worksharptools.com/pilot.asp?pg=comparison) has an induction motor so WILL NOT work with footswitch speed controllers. They only work with universal motors. To vary the speed of the worksharp you would need a variable frequency drive (VFD)

Thanks for the information Alan. I am not familiar with a "variable frequency drive" is this the what a speed control unit sold for routers is?

It seems that a regular foot operated on/off switch would work, is that correct?

Jim by having a foot operated switch, like on the lapsharp (http://woodartistry.com/), one can have the back of a chisel or plane iron already on the disk before starting, also one does not have to lift the tool from the disk while it is still moving. It is not as easy as it might seem to bring the back of the tool into contact with the abrasive surface without touching the leading edge first,(worst case), thus rounding the tip. As a result I tend to pivot the tool down onto the disk, using the edge of the disk as the pivot point, this way I protect the leading edge. No matter how I try I sometimes touch the back of the tool a bit to hard on the edge of the disk and make a bit of a gouge in the back. Lifting the tool from the disk is a bit of the same but in reverse and not as easy as it might seem, especially when the the tool has heated up a bit and I am in a hurry to cool my fingers down.

[Alan Schaffter]

Thanks for the information Alan. I am not familiar with a "variable frequency drive" is this the what a speed control unit sold for routers is?

It seems that a regular foot operated on/off switch would work, is that correct?


A variable frequency drive changes the frequency of the supply voltage from the normal 60 Hz- higher to increase, and lower to decrease the RPM of 3 phase induction motors, ONLY. It is completely different than the speed controls used with (and inside) routers or other tools with universal (brush and armature) motors.

A foot switch (without speed control) will work with any motor.