Best answer for my sharpening needs

[Scott Cenicola]

Got the Rockler flyer last night and saw this

http://www.rockler.com/rikon-80-805-8-slow-speed-bench-grinder#turnto-reviews-content

I have been researching for a little while and this seems to suit my needs at a great price. My other thought was a worksharp 3000 for $189 on Amazon.

I will use this primarily for sharpening pen turning chisels. I could see myself having the need to sharpen larger chisels down the road for bowls, and possibly plane blades as hand planes is a long term woodworkimg goal for me.

Any experience with this grinder, or perhaps comparitive experience with the worksharp? The worksharp is almost double the price, but gets amazing reviews.

TIA, Scott

[lee cox]

Check ebay for a Worksharp 3000. I found one cheaper last year on ebay. I am sold on the WS3000. It is so easy to sharpen something sharp. I bet I have close to 15 sharpening stones I have given up on. My grinder spins too fast and will detemper steel fast.

[glenn bradley]

Dad has two of those he picked up at the woodworking show for 70 bucks. He has four different stones and uses them to rough sharpen turning tools for use with green wood . They work great for that and also for reshaping bevels.

[Jaze Derr]

Another voice for the ws3000, although I've never used it for curved blades.

[David Bassett]

Grinders are discussed often in the Turner's Forum, you can search there for evaluations and trade-offs of that grinder. (Common budget choice, but a little under powered, especially for steel CBN wheels. BTW- $100 seems to be the going rate for that model, it is often "on sale" for that at Woodcraft, etc.)

PS- the Rikon grinder and the WorkSharp don't seem remotely similar in use and I don't understand the comparison.

[Jim Andrew]

Have a worksharp 2000, not that impressed. What I use most is my Grizzly slow speed wet grinder. It is slow compared to a bench grinder, but you do not overheat your chisels and plane irons.

[Scott Cenicola]

PS- the Rikon grinder and the WorkSharp don't seem remotely similar in use and I don't understand the comparison.

Based in what I want to do, these where the lower cost options that I found. Please elaborate om what you mean. Would they not both serve the same purpose?

[Mike Walsh]

I had the WS2000 for a few years which worked ok. Then learned how to hollow grind and use stones (oil & water) through a few courses. Sold the WS and bought the Rikon low speed grinder - it's not a Baldor, but works fine. I ended up swapping the wheels for 7" (can't remember the brand, but got them from WW Supply) which I like better

[Prashun Patel]

If you are sharpening turning tools, then I advise a slow speed grinder like this. You should also look at the Varigrind2 jig from Wolverine which will allow you to sharpen gouges.

The WS2000 is great - for flat blades, IMHO.

The issue with the ss grinders is the wheels require truing and balancing. So, be prepared for that work. Or you could drop another $200 on a CBN wheel...

[Scott Cenicola]

The issue with the ss grinders is the wheels require truing and balancing. So, be prepared for that work. Or you could drop another $200 on a CBN wheel...

I assume this is in addition to dressing? Is truing and balancing a task I can do myself?

[Geoff Crimmins]

I use a slow-speed grinder and a homemade clone of the Oneway Wolverine jig for sharpening turning tools, and a Worksharp 3000 for sharpening plane irons, bench chisels, and everything else. I don't think I'd want to try sharpening turning tools on the Worksharp.

--Geoff

[David Bassett]

...
PS- the Rikon grinder and the WorkSharp don't seem remotely similar in use and I don't understand the comparison.

Based in what I want to do, these where the lower cost options that I found. Please elaborate om what you mean. Would they not both serve the same purpose?

I'm sure you could sharpen turning tools on a WorkSharp, but that's not what turners usually do. People usually use a WorkSharp as a powered "stone" for honing (chisels, plane irons, knives, etc.), not as as a grinder for turning tools or reshaping. See the other responses here. Or, maybe better, go to the Turner's Forum where you'll be talking to the people who do what you want to do....

[Frederick Skelly]

I have the worksharp and the rikon grinder with a CBN wheel. I strongly prefer the rikon grinder overall. I use it for turning chisels, bench chisels and plane irons. You can make a couple jigs to shape your turning chisels very cheaply. Then you are good to go.

My sharpening journey was downright foolish. Don't do what I did. I bought diamond plates, then the worksharp, then a tormek clone (which I hated and returned). Finally, I bought the grinder. Love that thing!

I found it takes a significant amount of time to change the bevel angle of a plane iron on the worksharp, even using diamond plates. Ditto on the tormek clone. But you can get it very sharp with both of them and nothing else. In contrast, I can change the bevel angle quickly on the grinder, but then I need to use the stones to get a plane or bench chisel sharp enough to use. The grinder gets my turning chisels plenty sharp without doing anything else at all - no stones, no changing abrasive wheels - just grind it and go back to work.

Fred

Edit: There was a thread on this grinder within the last week, in the Turner's Forum here, as David mentioned. You should look for it.

[Don Jarvie]

You need a grinder for turning tools so if turning will be the primary use then get a grinder. I also use it for everything since I learned to hollow grind and use stones. I have A Worksharp that unfortunately is collecting dust.

[Jim Dwight]

I like my Worksharp 3000 but I have a couple bench chisels with small nicks (been patching hardwood floors) and am dreading removing the nicks on the Worksharp. It is a great alternative to my wet horizontal slow speed sharpener or my wet stones but isn't a grinder. It removes metal very slowly, even with coarse abrasive (although I haven't tried anything coarser than it comes with - might be worth a try). Maybe I need to add a grinder.

[Scott Cenicola]

Thanks to all, it really helps. Not knowing what you sre getting into can be confusing, lol. I did search the threads about sharpening , but I somehow missed the Rikon thread. I'm going to pick up the Rikon, thanks for your help.

[Van Huskey]

I think you are figuring out turners have different sharpening needs compared to non-turners, while a WS can be a good choice for chisels and plane irons it isn't the go to for turning tools.

One thing to possibly consider if you are a turner is whether you think you will move to CBN wheels at some point, while some get away with the smaller grinders and CBN wheels you may want to upgrade to the 1hp Rikon off the bat so you are prepared for the move in the future. That said if the budget doesn't allow the smaller Rikon seems to be the current budget choice in low speed grinders.

[Scott Cenicola]

Van, I think you hit the nail on the head. I don't see myself being a big time turner. I bought a mini lathe after a wood show when my 9 yr old son made a pen. I like that he is into it, but it's not for me. But like everything else we do, not having sharp tooling takes all the fun out of it. I think the Rikon us a reasonable expense for what I want to do. Now if I could just make my wife see how much faster a domino will make those chairs she wants😏