I got the WorkSharp today and spent a few hours playing with it.
The short version:
If you've been at this (woodworking) a while now, and your plane irons and chisels are in good shape and only require some maintenance honing, then this machine is probably not worth it for you.
If you are like me and have never lapped the backs of your chisels and don't exactly relish the back-breaking task of using the scary sharp method or wetstones (with or without the grinder), then this thing is a life-saver.
I think $200 is probably too much for what is basically a nicely-packaged turntable with an adjustable rest surface. So far, though, it's doing what it's expected to do.
For the longer version:
As others have said before, it's a mechanized version of the scary sharp method. It comes with several sheets of Norton adhesive-backed sandpapers (120, 400, 1200, 3500), two glass discs, and a see-through disc so you can see the profile from the top.
Out of the box, it's pretty complete. Setup is composed of getting everything out of the box, unpeeling the sandpapers and sticking them to the glass, and putting the glass on the machine. Plug the machine in, and it's good to go.
Now, before I continue, I have to mention that I've never lapped my chisels before. In fact, I didn't even know that the backs of the chisels are supposed to be flattened. I can imagine, though, that that process probably takes a long time to do with the scary sharp or wetstones method.
It takes a much shorter time with the WorkSharp. The chisels still get pretty hot, so I started batch processing all my chisels. I'd do one for a few seconds, put it down and do the next one to allow the first to cool, and so on. I'm doing 11 chisels altogether.
I replaced the 120 grit with an 80-grit paper I got from HD because the lapping process was still taking too long (my chisels are in really bad shape). It doesn't help that I have no idea when to stop either (my sharpening books have not arrived).
The glass discs can have two different grits of paper, one on each side. The general idea is to put the lower grit paper on the top side to begin with so you can flatten the chisel back first. After flattening the chisel back, you move the chisel to the angle jig and touch the chisel bevel against the higher grit paper that is facing down. You touch the chisel to the paper for a couple of seconds and pull back to cool it down. There is abrasive on the tool rest that's supposed to remove the burrs as you pull the chisel down.
Putting on and removing the glass plate take seconds and is no big deal at all. It still makes sense to work on all the chisels at the same time, though, to avoid having to keep changing the sandpaper grits.
There are only four bevel angles and they are pre-set: 20, 25, 30 and 35. Would have been nice to have more choices, but it's not too bad. A microbevel can be also be done if needed.
The maximum width that you can use with the angle fixture is 2 inches, definitely not wide enough for the bigger plane irons. They'll have to build a larger turntable to accommodate wider blades, though, and that might come later. There is a bar on the top side that can be used to help with sharpening the bigger pieces that won't fit in the angle fixture.
For the angle fixture, there is a fence that you can use to guide the blade and keep it square. The blade can be honed on either side of the fence. I have to say that I like this feature very much. It keeps the chisel steady, and you can get a very consistent bevel using it. I've tried the high-speed grinder before, and it's almost hit and miss (at least the first time you use it) to get a clean bevel.
With the 400 grit, I already get a nice shiny surface on the bevel. I still have to use the next two higher grits to really finish the sharpening, but it was getting late and will do the rest tomorrow. I'll eventually try to sharpen the iron that came with an old Stanley No. 7 that I got last week and see how the freehand sanding from the top of the machine goes.
I don't expect a lot of work to maintain my edges after this initial process. Advantages I can see with this machine:
1. It's pretty compact.
2. It's fast and easy to get a sharp edge.
3. The supplies are not too expensive. I use a wax stick to clean up the abrasives, and that helps to make them last longer.
Disadvantages are primarily the price and the maximum size that will fit the angle fixture. I'd probably still get it anyway because it has allowed me to tackle this whole icky sharpening business. I've procrastinated on this long enough, and now I have no excuses whatsoever.
Hope this helps.
The short version:
If you've been at this (woodworking) a while now, and your plane irons and chisels are in good shape and only require some maintenance honing, then this machine is probably not worth it for you.
If you are like me and have never lapped the backs of your chisels and don't exactly relish the back-breaking task of using the scary sharp method or wetstones (with or without the grinder), then this thing is a life-saver.
I think $200 is probably too much for what is basically a nicely-packaged turntable with an adjustable rest surface. So far, though, it's doing what it's expected to do.
For the longer version:
As others have said before, it's a mechanized version of the scary sharp method. It comes with several sheets of Norton adhesive-backed sandpapers (120, 400, 1200, 3500), two glass discs, and a see-through disc so you can see the profile from the top.
Out of the box, it's pretty complete. Setup is composed of getting everything out of the box, unpeeling the sandpapers and sticking them to the glass, and putting the glass on the machine. Plug the machine in, and it's good to go.
Now, before I continue, I have to mention that I've never lapped my chisels before. In fact, I didn't even know that the backs of the chisels are supposed to be flattened. I can imagine, though, that that process probably takes a long time to do with the scary sharp or wetstones method.
It takes a much shorter time with the WorkSharp. The chisels still get pretty hot, so I started batch processing all my chisels. I'd do one for a few seconds, put it down and do the next one to allow the first to cool, and so on. I'm doing 11 chisels altogether.
I replaced the 120 grit with an 80-grit paper I got from HD because the lapping process was still taking too long (my chisels are in really bad shape). It doesn't help that I have no idea when to stop either (my sharpening books have not arrived).
The glass discs can have two different grits of paper, one on each side. The general idea is to put the lower grit paper on the top side to begin with so you can flatten the chisel back first. After flattening the chisel back, you move the chisel to the angle jig and touch the chisel bevel against the higher grit paper that is facing down. You touch the chisel to the paper for a couple of seconds and pull back to cool it down. There is abrasive on the tool rest that's supposed to remove the burrs as you pull the chisel down.
Putting on and removing the glass plate take seconds and is no big deal at all. It still makes sense to work on all the chisels at the same time, though, to avoid having to keep changing the sandpaper grits.
There are only four bevel angles and they are pre-set: 20, 25, 30 and 35. Would have been nice to have more choices, but it's not too bad. A microbevel can be also be done if needed.
The maximum width that you can use with the angle fixture is 2 inches, definitely not wide enough for the bigger plane irons. They'll have to build a larger turntable to accommodate wider blades, though, and that might come later. There is a bar on the top side that can be used to help with sharpening the bigger pieces that won't fit in the angle fixture.
For the angle fixture, there is a fence that you can use to guide the blade and keep it square. The blade can be honed on either side of the fence. I have to say that I like this feature very much. It keeps the chisel steady, and you can get a very consistent bevel using it. I've tried the high-speed grinder before, and it's almost hit and miss (at least the first time you use it) to get a clean bevel.
With the 400 grit, I already get a nice shiny surface on the bevel. I still have to use the next two higher grits to really finish the sharpening, but it was getting late and will do the rest tomorrow. I'll eventually try to sharpen the iron that came with an old Stanley No. 7 that I got last week and see how the freehand sanding from the top of the machine goes.
I don't expect a lot of work to maintain my edges after this initial process. Advantages I can see with this machine:
1. It's pretty compact.
2. It's fast and easy to get a sharp edge.
3. The supplies are not too expensive. I use a wax stick to clean up the abrasives, and that helps to make them last longer.
Disadvantages are primarily the price and the maximum size that will fit the angle fixture. I'd probably still get it anyway because it has allowed me to tackle this whole icky sharpening business. I've procrastinated on this long enough, and now I have no excuses whatsoever.
Hope this helps.
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