Worksharp 3000 discs.

[Watsy]

Just thought I'd share this as I'd been looking for alternative discs other than the fairly pricey worksharp discs. I came across this website http://www.abrasivesplus.com/epages...4f16e64f004d3f8827410a022f020581/Catalog/HOME and noticed they done the 150mm PSA silicon carbide discs with no holes. Ordered some 120 and some 80 grit discs which arrived today. I haven't tried them but they look identical to the 120 Worksharp ones. They are branded Hermes however and not Norton as the Worksharp ones are.

I've no connection with this retailer, just sharing what could be a good source if you've a Worksharp. Also just by the way, in case you're not in mainland England as they ship free to the mainland, I emailed them as I'm in N.Ireland and they still done the free shipping. As I say I haven't tried the discs yet but fingers crossed they'll be half decent.


Edit: Didn't realise there was a list of retailers in a sticky and they were in it. You folks have probably used them countless times already but there you go. I'll have to read through that list for other places I wasn't aware of.

 

[TheTiddles]

In general, Norton abrasives are a huge leap of quality above others, it'll be interesting to hear how you get on

Aidan

 

[SammyQ]

Welcome aboard Watsy - there's a few of us in Norn Iron.

Sam

 

[Nev Hallam]

What discs do you get with the work sharp 3000?

Anyone know the best or cheapest place to buy it too? The whole system i mean.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Nev,

What discs do you get with the work sharp 3000?

I'm sorry, but I can't really remember as I bought one of their packs at the same time. I think it was three of four.

Anyone know the best or cheapest place to buy it too? The whole system i mean.

If you're not in a rush, just wait for Rutlands to put it on special offer. Make sure that you get the WorkSharp 3000.

IIRC, I paid 189.95 with free delivery and it is 259.95 at the moment.

I would recommend that you buy an additional tempered glass wheel so that you can switch grit sizes very quickly.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[RogerS]

Timely post, thanks. I know that OPJ bought some Mirka disks and was offering to sell some of his surplus stock.

You can get Mirka disks at 0.28p each here http://www.jawel.co.uk/shop/index.php?m ... Path=59_60

 

[Nev Hallam]

So I recently purchased the w/s 3000, since I've had it I have came to the conclusion its not what I thought it was, but the strange thing is I have read nothing of the issues I have with it in any review. I know its great for sharpening chisels, that is as long as the chisels are at the correct pre-set angle and have no dinks or chips. I had a chisel that was a bit worse for ware had a slight chip and the the bevel was off 25deg, I thought an 80 grit disc would be able to sort it 40 minutes and a cup of cold water later the chisel was at 25deg but the chip was still there and needed further grinding.
I know the 3000 is designed to be used in a push pull motion to let air cool the steel but this is just not enough to grind the whole bevel area of the chisel. I agree once your chisels are set to your desired angle it will happily keep them sharp but in comparison to a Scheppach or Tormek grinders it just doesn't have the grinding qualities.

 

[RogerS]

Interesting. I didn't have much of a problem grinding out the dings in some of my site chisels. Serendipity took me down last week on a training course where they used the Tormek and after getting my fingers nice and dirty wished I'd taken my Worksharp with me!

 

[Nev Hallam]

Interesting. I didn't have much of a problem grinding out the dings in some of my site chisels. Serendipity took me down last week on a training course where they used the Tormek and after getting my fingers nice and dirty wished I'd taken my Worksharp with me!

Ok here's a question then, let's pretend you wish to alter the whole angle of your chisel as its not suitable for you from 27deg to 25. This has occurred due to to not setting the jig on a tormek a year back.
How long to regrind the whole face of your chisel? According to worksharp customer service it's not designed to do this.

 

[MickCheese]

Interesting. I didn't have much of a problem grinding out the dings in some of my site chisels. Serendipity took me down last week on a training course where they used the Tormek and after getting my fingers nice and dirty wished I'd taken my Worksharp with me!

Ok here's a question then, let's pretend you wish to alter the whole angle of your chisel as its not suitable for you from 27deg to 25. This has occurred due to to not setting the jig on a tormek a year back.
How long to regrind the whole face of your chisel? According to worksharp customer service it's not designed to do this.

You're right, it has four predetermined angles.

Mick

 

[studders]

Ok here's a question then, let's pretend you wish to alter the whole angle of your chisel as its not suitable for you from 27deg to 25. This has occurred due to to not setting the jig on a tormek a year back.
How long to regrind the whole face of your chisel?

On normal Steel, a few minutes. On other Steels?

According to worksharp customer service it's not designed to do this.

I think they may have got confused, thinking you wanted to grind at 27deg? To go from 27 to 25 would be well within the machines capabilities.

 

[RogerS]

Interesting. I didn't have much of a problem grinding out the dings in some of my site chisels. Serendipity took me down last week on a training course where they used the Tormek and after getting my fingers nice and dirty wished I'd taken my Worksharp with me!

........This has occurred due to to not setting the jig on a tormek a year back.......

!!

Of course it is going to take a long time. And if the angles were that far out then I'd probably grind the primary bevel on a normal Creusen grindstone. I'd still finish up using the Worksharp.....at least I know that it is going to sharpen at only one of four angles :wink:

 

[Nev Hallam]

I agree the worksharp will sharpen chisels very well, however for less money you can have a sharpening system that will not only sharpen your chisels, but re grind a whole face at any angle you wish, in less than half the time of the ws! For a minute I did consider popping to my friends to use his Tormek to regrind to one of the worksharps preset angles. Then I remembered that was the whole point in me buying a sharpening system in the first place.
I definatley think stone is far better than any abrasive pad for sharpening and definatley grinding!
I think there's a place for a worksharp but how it gets compared to a wet stone system is beyond me.

 

[RogerS]

Works for me.

 

[Mcluma]

my worksharp is always set-up and its just so easy to use, I have no problem with abusing my expensive chisels on stone, steel or what ever.

the worksharp because of the pre-set angles is ***** proof . (homer) - it has been a good purchase for me

 

[cutting42]

I agree the worksharp will sharpen chisels very well, however for less money you can have a sharpening system that will not only sharpen your chisels, but re grind a whole face at any angle you wish, in less than half the time of the ws!

Less money? How much is a Tormek?

Why would you want a different angle anyway. The angles are mostly irrelevant between 5 deg, it is consistency you need and the WS delivers in spades. I would not reshape a whole A2 primary bevel on it out of choice but use a bench grinder and true up on the WS.

I no longer worry about sharpening but just do it. In fact I was at a meeting of woodworkers on Monday and they were asking how I got the mirror finish on my A2 plane blades - WS3000 was the answer.

 

[Nev Hallam]

I agree the worksharp will sharpen chisels very well, however for less money you can have a sharpening system that will not only sharpen your chisels, but re grind a whole face at any angle you wish, in less than half the time of the ws!

Less money? How much is a Tormek?

Why would you want a different angle anyway. The angles are mostly irrelevant between 5 deg, it is consistency you need and the WS delivers in spades. I would not reshape a whole A2 primary bevel on it out of choice but use a bench grinder and true up on the WS.

I no longer worry about sharpening but just do it. In fact I was at a meeting of woodworkers on Monday and they were asking how I got the mirror finish on my A2 plane blades - WS3000 was the answer.

Tormek is more expensive that's why I'm going for the cheaper Scheppach 2500 far more versatile than the 3000, does more costs less! Has leather buffer too for that mirror finish your wood working associates like! I use chisels for various rips out sometimes on refurbs you hit nails, the worksharp cannot compete with the Scheppach or Tormek in re grinding Like worksharp customer services said its a sharpening system not a grinding one.
But this is my opinion don't let that upset you, it's personal prefrence.

Glad ya happy with it.

 

[RogerS]

Has anyone with a Worksharp 3000 found a way of putting a camber on a plane blade?

 

[baldpate]

Roger,

do you mean by just using the under-disc port (the one with those oh-so-useful pre-set angles)? I don't think it's easy. You know the clamp which is used to keep the blade square as you present it to the underside of the abrasive disc? I tried loosening that a bit, making it possible to 'wiggle' the blade a bit from left to right. That allows you to grind the two wings of the blade a bit more deeply than the centre. It's rather difficult to get consistent results however, and it's all too easy to dig the wings of the blade into the abrasive. You could give it a (careful !) try, though - you might be more successful than me.

I've subsequently bought the wide-blade attachment kit - essentially, a table which is co-planar with the top of the rotating abrasive disc. This allows you to use many of those blade-holding jigs which are designed for honing on a bench stone, including the ones that allow you to 'wobble' the blade slightly from side to side. Actually, a blade-holding jig is supplied with the kit, but unfortunately it's the type having two wheels running on the extension table - this means you can't 'wobble' the blade from side-to-side, at least not easily - bit of a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Instead you need the sort of jig which has a single central support, like the old Record 161, or the little Stanley honing guide, or one of the more sophisticated modern equivalents.

I tend to use the wide-blade table for honing most of my plane irons nowadays (even the ones 2" or less), using the under-port for chisels and squared irons (like plane irons for shooting).

Despite this slight downside to the basic WS3000, I still think it's a great tool for somebody like me who has always struggled to get consistent results by hand. I admire those who have the skill to do so, but at my age )) I have better things to do with my remaining years.

Chris

 

[RogerS]

Chris..thanks for suggesting using a different jig on the wide-blade attachment. Good bit of lateral thinking!