Review: Worksharp 3000 + Henry Taylor Paring Chisels

Hmmm... I haven't tried any abrasives other than the ones from WS. I don't really see any reason why regular abrasives wouldn't work. There's only one way to find out, right? Remember, you're taking off a LOT of metal. Progress won't always be obvious. if you want to see your progress, markup the bevel/back with a Sharpie. That will show you your progress. You're probably making plenty of progress, but reestablishing a bevel the first time can be a very slow process.

re: the felt
You're right. It doesn't fit on the slotted wheel. I use the leather wheel instead of the glass because I use the leather and the felt the most. I just leave them mounted.

I go leather, and then the felt. The felt is like a buffing wheel. I don't really know what WS recommends, but I get a great finish off the leather, and a mirror finish off the felt, so that's how I decided to do it. It's also a typical progression to go from harder/coarser to more pliable/finer. In this case, I suspect the leather would eventually give a mirror edge as well, especially since it's the same compound, but you run more of a risk of rounding over the edge. I only spend a few seconds on the leather to strop the edge, and then I buff it on the felt.

The idea behind using a non-abrasive side of the wheel is to prevent contamination of the felt. They even give you a little bag to keep it in. BAH. The day I have to store a tool in a little baggie is the day I store that tool in my dumpster. I want to be reasonable about it though. All four sides of my glass have abrasive on them, so the buff ended up on my leather hone. After I thought about it for a second, I realized that the leather and the buff get used most anyway, so that's how I kept it. I threw out the baggie. That's not a suggestion. That's just what I did.

Thanks, John! The info with the WS says you don't have to use their abrasives. I'd be happy to, but since all they offer is an assortment, I'd probably end up with 20 of one grit and none of the one I needed. Anyway, I'll try what I've got and will report in later.

I like your idea of using the leather strop as a base for the felt pad. They're both using the same compound anyway, so there shouldn't be any conflict. The way they told me not to use a glass with an abrasive on it was partly because they were concerned about the abrasive abrading the felt pad into little bits. I suppose if that happens, I could just buy a new one and try again. I love the ease with which I can change grits with this system, and the way the glass/abrasive system doesn't 'dish' the way stones do.

The Norton Stick & Sand discs work great, but I can only find them in 80 & 120 grit. The 80 grit is really working well on that hard plane iron. One thing I've noticed, when flattening the back of anything, the outer rim grinds faster than the center of the wheel. Presumably this is because there is more grit towards the perimeter and the grit is spinning faster? Hopefully it won't cause the plane iron to tilt, but maybe it won't be that critical.

I've had my WS3000 since last summer and agree, it's great. I got their wide blade attachment to use with my Veritas Mk II honing guide but had problems getting it down level with the top of the glass wheel. I posted my fix on another forum (I hope it's ok if I link it here) and here's the URL. http://www.routerforums.com/tools-wo...sharpener.html Jim

Thanks for making the great video! I have one coming and was thinking of making a final honing wheel out of MDF charged with green compound or an mdf wheel with leather. Anyone try that yet? Seems that it would be a bunch cheaper that the tempered glass discs and would be plenty flat.

"Dull as a Lifetime coming of age movie." Hilarious, John. Thanks for the video.

I found a place that sells the micro-mesh disks at a lower cost:
http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/mmr_discs.htm#6_0_psa

These go all of the way up to (down to!?!) 12000. I like this better than messing with the honing compounds.

I got in on the HD deal on the WS3000. They canceled my order, and then sent an E-mail that said that the would honor the order if I called a customer service number. The lady there was very nice, and did explain that it would take a while, but that my credit card would not be charged until the unit shipped. I received the unit about two or three weeks ago, not sure because overtime at Boeing has been a bear. Went to Woodcraft in San Antonio (great people to deal with), and bought a spare glass wheel, some micro mesh discs, the leather honing wheel and the buffing wheel. Purchases were based on the review of the WS 3000 by John. Tried it out this morning. WOW! I was able to turn an old Stanley plastic handled 3/8" chisel into a razor sharp tool in less than ten minutes. Strongly recommend this sharpener, and thanks to John for the review.

John those were very good videos. I escpecialy enjoyed the Worksharp. Do you see any drawbacks to the sharpener. Aside from the ticking?
Thanks for posting them

I don't really see any drawbacks as much as some limitations. It's fussy getting the blade adjusted to 90 degrees. I wish it were larger and took 2 1/2" blades. I think the sandpaper on the blade port is a BAD idea...unless you put the blade in and out perfectly straight, you will eventually create a back bevel on the chisel or plane iron. No biggie on a plane iron, but that's an absolute no-no on a chisel if you want good performance. I ripped the stupid sandpaper off and now just hone the back on a stone by hand. I also don't use the width adjustment on the port. I have that wide open all the time and simply use my finger to guide the blade. Far simpler, faster, and IMHO more effective.

Bottom line is if mine broke or got stolen (who goes around stealing sharpening equipment?) I would trudge down to Woodcraft and buy another one that morning. There are other good systems like this out there. LapSharp comes to mind, but none of them have the simplicity and convenience of the Worksharp, IMHO. It's a good tool for a guy like me that doesn't go in for all the rituals of woodworking.

Hi, I have seen this machine on the internet and one time when I was up at three in the morning on TV. Is there a secret on how to find out when they will have the infomercial on TV? Thanks, Chris