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The only thing I dislike more than sanding is sharpening. This means I have a pile of dull chisels and planes that never work right when I need them. My chisels all have the factory edge on them and they tend to get abused. I chose the 3000 model over the 2000 model after reading all the glowing reviews of the 3000. I also watched a video review of the 2000 on lumberjocks.com. So, on with my first tool review...
The box came via ups ground and was pretty dinged up. I opened the outer box and took out the product package and was relieved to see the punctures did not penetrate the inner box. The grinder was packaged really well and to hit the unit you would have to penetrate the shell by about 3 inches.
In the box were 2 tempered glass wheels, 1 slotted wheel, Several discs of varying grit sandpaper, manual, and DVD. There were at least 2 of every kind of PSA disc.
The manual is very clear and to the point on how to setup the machine. Clean the glass using Isopropyl Alcohol or paint thinner. I followed a tip I found online and used my 1/2" extension as a guide to align the PSA backed discs. This will help you tremendously. Any bubbles you can't roll out with your veneer or laminate roller, must be punctured with a pin and rolled out. If not, your chisel or plane iron will catch and that will be the end of the disc. Using the extension as a guide, I was able to get the 120, 400, and 1000 grit loaded onto the glass wheels without problems. The 3600 got a bubble that needed the pin treatment.
I decided on a 1/2" Craftsman chisel that had been particularly abused as a test subject. Starting with the 120 grit facing up, I flattened the back. The chisel will get hot fairly quickly once you get it mostly flat. Keep some water nearby for cooling. This step took about 5 minutes.
On to the bevel. The tool has preset bevels at 20, 25, 30, and 35 degrees. I chose 25 degrees as my primary bevel and started with the 120 grit paper. This part of the operation will take the longest. I don't know what my original bevel was, but it was not 25 degrees. I used a sharpie on the edge so I could see my progress. Grinding the primary bevel creates a lot of tiny iron filings and it flings them everywhere. To limit this mess, I put a couple ceramic magnets inside the rear sharpening port. They caught a good deal of the filings. To pick up the rest, I just moved the magnets still in the plastic across the bench. This whole operation took about 10 minutes.
Once I had reground the primary bevel, I moved on through the 400, 1000, and 3600 grit discs. Going through all the wheels after the initial 120grit took only about 5 minutes. After the 3600 disc, I could shave hair off my arm with the chisel. No tool has ever been that sharp in my shop!
I also purchased the honing abrasive kit and leather honing wheel as accessories.
The abrasive kit came with another 3600 grit and a 6000 grit disc. I applied the 6000 grit disc to the underside of the new wheel and tried that one first. The result was a mirror like shine on the bevel.
The leather honing wheel came with another glass wheel that has a leather disc applied to one side. It also has a small pouch of petroleum jelley and a stick of green honing compound. I then loaded up the leather disc with the jelly and then charged it with compound as the directions indicate. To use the leather wheel you must have the leather facing up and freehand the blade. I must need to practice this a bit more as I only succeeded in messing up my shine from the 6000 grit disc.
Further on in the manual it tells you how to add a microbevel to your chisel. This means you only have to resharpen the microbevel instead of the whole primary bevel of the chisels when they get dull. I reset my bevel gauge to the 30 degree preset and used the 1000 grit wheel to establish a microbevel. I then finished up with the 6000 grit wheel.
Good points:
Bad Points:
In conclusion, I am pretty happy with my purchase. I feel it is worth the $199 I paid, but if you can find it on saleeven better. At this point I can't recommend the leather honing kit but I would spend my money on another glass wheel and the honing abrasive kit.
The pictures are kind of dark but show what I started with and where it ended up. Thanks
Mike
PS. The pic with the shaving is from my block plane. I have never been able to get a shaving that thin before.
The box came via ups ground and was pretty dinged up. I opened the outer box and took out the product package and was relieved to see the punctures did not penetrate the inner box. The grinder was packaged really well and to hit the unit you would have to penetrate the shell by about 3 inches.
In the box were 2 tempered glass wheels, 1 slotted wheel, Several discs of varying grit sandpaper, manual, and DVD. There were at least 2 of every kind of PSA disc.
The manual is very clear and to the point on how to setup the machine. Clean the glass using Isopropyl Alcohol or paint thinner. I followed a tip I found online and used my 1/2" extension as a guide to align the PSA backed discs. This will help you tremendously. Any bubbles you can't roll out with your veneer or laminate roller, must be punctured with a pin and rolled out. If not, your chisel or plane iron will catch and that will be the end of the disc. Using the extension as a guide, I was able to get the 120, 400, and 1000 grit loaded onto the glass wheels without problems. The 3600 got a bubble that needed the pin treatment.
I decided on a 1/2" Craftsman chisel that had been particularly abused as a test subject. Starting with the 120 grit facing up, I flattened the back. The chisel will get hot fairly quickly once you get it mostly flat. Keep some water nearby for cooling. This step took about 5 minutes.
On to the bevel. The tool has preset bevels at 20, 25, 30, and 35 degrees. I chose 25 degrees as my primary bevel and started with the 120 grit paper. This part of the operation will take the longest. I don't know what my original bevel was, but it was not 25 degrees. I used a sharpie on the edge so I could see my progress. Grinding the primary bevel creates a lot of tiny iron filings and it flings them everywhere. To limit this mess, I put a couple ceramic magnets inside the rear sharpening port. They caught a good deal of the filings. To pick up the rest, I just moved the magnets still in the plastic across the bench. This whole operation took about 10 minutes.
Once I had reground the primary bevel, I moved on through the 400, 1000, and 3600 grit discs. Going through all the wheels after the initial 120grit took only about 5 minutes. After the 3600 disc, I could shave hair off my arm with the chisel. No tool has ever been that sharp in my shop!
I also purchased the honing abrasive kit and leather honing wheel as accessories.
The abrasive kit came with another 3600 grit and a 6000 grit disc. I applied the 6000 grit disc to the underside of the new wheel and tried that one first. The result was a mirror like shine on the bevel.
The leather honing wheel came with another glass wheel that has a leather disc applied to one side. It also has a small pouch of petroleum jelley and a stick of green honing compound. I then loaded up the leather disc with the jelly and then charged it with compound as the directions indicate. To use the leather wheel you must have the leather facing up and freehand the blade. I must need to practice this a bit more as I only succeeded in messing up my shine from the 6000 grit disc.
Further on in the manual it tells you how to add a microbevel to your chisel. This means you only have to resharpen the microbevel instead of the whole primary bevel of the chisels when they get dull. I reset my bevel gauge to the 30 degree preset and used the 1000 grit wheel to establish a microbevel. I then finished up with the 6000 grit wheel.
Good points:
- Much faster than using stones
- Fast!
- Preset bevel stops
- Easy to use
- Fairly quiet
- Very little vibration
Bad Points:
- Messy. Filings go everywhere. Needs a built in magnet or someting.
- Limited to 2" blades or less.
- Discs from Worksharp are rather expensive
- Discs clog up quickly if you are sharpening several things. Requires the rubber disc cleaner fairly often.
In conclusion, I am pretty happy with my purchase. I feel it is worth the $199 I paid, but if you can find it on saleeven better. At this point I can't recommend the leather honing kit but I would spend my money on another glass wheel and the honing abrasive kit.
The pictures are kind of dark but show what I started with and where it ended up. Thanks
Mike
PS. The pic with the shaving is from my block plane. I have never been able to get a shaving that thin before.