PURCHASE LNK: The WS3000 weighs around 16 lbs. and is a well built machine that uses a 1/5 hp induction motor. It spins fairly quiet and with almost no vibration and does not bog down when blade pressure is applied.
The WS3000 has two types of wheels for sharpening;
Tempered glass wheels [2-sided adhesive]
Slotted “see-through” Edge-Vision wheel allows for sharpening curved, carving and lathe tools from underneath the wheel.
Who Would Benefit From Using It?
The Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool dry sharpening system is recommended for the serious woodworker, contractor or DIYer
There are three ways to sharpen tools on the Work sharp:
Freehand with tool rest
Sharpening port [precise]
Edge-Vision disk – [lets you hold tool below but look at edge]
My favorite feature on the WS3000 is the sharpening port, and I pretty much only use this method. The sharpening port enables sharpening of chisels and plane irons up to 2” wide and has four pre-set, easily adjustable, and most importantly REPEATABLE angles from:
20 degree
25 degrees
30degrees
35 degrees
Great for micro-beveling
I found adjusting the sharpening port super easy to use and super accurate. Wider tools can be sharpened freehand on top of the wheel, using the top mounted tool rest and lathe tools can be sharpened under the wheel with the Edge-Vision sharpening wheel.
The sharpening port has a left and right guide rail and is complimented by an adjustable fence that can help you achieve a square grind on Tools up to 2-inches wide.
A “lapping” self-sticking adhesive abrasive is provided with each set of abrasives and is applied to the sharpening port to help remove burs from the back edge of the tool your sharpening. The sharpening port also acts as a heat sink, air is forced up and through the sharpening port heat sink to help cool it. This air coming system and geared down motor both work to allow for higher material removal rates without overheating affecting the steel temper.
How I Set Up My Work Sharp WS3000 Discs
I set up my two glass wheels and Edge-vision wheel with several different grits of abrasives to suit my needs. I have a P80 side and a P120 side on the same glass disc for rapid grinding and the other disc with a finer abrasives for more honing and finishing. On my second disc I have P120 and P400. The slotted wheel has P120 grit. I find that the 120 grit is used the most, and I really like that I can quickly flip the glass wheel over to use the two different grit abrasives.
Lessons Learned
The biggest lesson learned for me was time and pressure. What I mean by that folks at Work Sharp recommends a 1-2 second “plunge-pull” contact with the abrasive wheel. I’ve been known to use a 5-10 seconds contact which can negatively affect temper and overheat the tool blade.
The other lesson is using the correct pressure. Let the WS3000 do the work, not you. Wearing of the abrasive disks seemed to vary on several factors such as;
Blade hardness
Width of the tool
Extent of edge damage
Amount of material taken off to create a sharp edge
Changing of the tools bevel
Amount of pressure applied to the abrasive disk
A Crepe Stick provided does help extend the life of the abrasive disk as does letting the tool do the work.
If you think you will be taking a lot of material off your tools or your tools are in rough shape I’d recommend getting the P80 grit abrasive which is designed for aggressive grinding.
Where to Buy Abrasives
Abrasives can be purchased in kits from retailers such as Woodcraft, Rockler, Hartville Tool, Garrett Wade (coarse, fine, honing, and slotted) or directly from DARE-X in any mix and match quantity. Abrasive kits sell for approximately $14.00.
10-Year Look-back – Impression
The Work Sharp WS3000 is a real deal sharpening system and is priced extremely fairly for what it delivers. It completely eliminates the problems I encountered with hand sharpening jigs by delivering a precise, accurate, repeatable bevel angles every time!
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