I'm curious about this system.. Any turners using it?
Two main questions:
Is it any improvement for sharpening turning tools over a low speed grinder and a jig?
Does it generate more or less debris than conventional sharpening? My shop is in the house, so my grinders are all outside on the carport.. The main reason for this is to keep metal shavings and sparks out of the house and away from wood shaving, etc..
As the weather heats up and I'm looking at another summer of high heat and humidity, I'm thinking it would be really nice to touch up tool edges inside, to avoid the constant trips from air conditioned shop to hot/humid carport and back..
mac davis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Yes Mac, I bought it a while ago and it doesn't get the use it should. It probably works best for bench chisels or plane irons - straight edge and common bevel angle. For skews you have to freehand it. Same with gouges, there are no jig options like the Wolverine. Therefore, you must use the slotted wheels (like the Joul Tool), darken the bevel with a marker and then freehand sharpen while you can see the bevel. It's OK but just a pain changing platters for the different grits.
After I got the Worksharp I found a used Tormek. The Tormek being a water cooled stone totally solves your spark problem. The Tormek (or the several copies)doesn't remove metal anywhere near as fast as a dry grinder so you can use the regular slow speed grinder to get approximate shape you wish and finish grind and hone on the Tormek. The Tormek has the best jigs out there. It is not problem free but the best option out there in my opinion. For skews I still finish up on a flat waterstone and for gouges, many times I get lazy and just hit them on the Wolverine especially for roughing work.
Overall I'd skip the Worksharp and just go with the Wolverine and Tormek. I'll let others here compare the Tormek with it's various clones. Hope this helps you, it certainly is no help to Worksharp which is a quality tool, but not really for turners.
I am currently re-doing my Woodcraft slow-speed grinder (now deceased), by adding both the Wolverine jig holders, and the Tormek jig holders on both sides. (My first generation, WOlverine only, was a little wobbly.)
This way I can use both jigs on the grinder. This should make re-profiling faster on the Tormek, as I don't have to change tool holders to go from grinder to Tormek.
I've also been using the black Tormek stone since so many of my tools are HSS. This speeds up things as well. Re-grinding profiles on HSS is a bitch using a Tormek only. Which is why this is my current project.
btw - I like the sharpening setup in the current FWW. I'm going to build one of those as well.
I've also been considering the Worksharp for my turning tools, but I also do woodcarving. Do you think the Worksharp is any better/worse for sharpening carving tools over the Tormek (or clones)?
Casper wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Casper
I almost put that in my original post. I think the Worksharp with the slottted wheels may be better for all the odd shapes of carving tools. For the most part they are smaller than turning tools and easier to get a consistant bevel. I'm only starting a little carving and plan on trying the Worksharp there. Also for what it's worth the Worksharp is a flat plate while grinding wheels and the Tormek are er..wheels, leading to a hollow grind rather than a flat grind. Unlike grinding wheels you can use the side of the Tormek wheel for flattening and shaping.
The best said about the Worksharp is its price point which is less than half of an equiped Tormek clone. For turning the Worksharp takes too much concentration freehanding, while the Tormek or Wolverine are throw it in a jig, sharpen, and back to turning without thinking about sharpening. If you are sitting carving the concentration on Worksharp sharpening may be similar to concentration on carving.
As I am in the same boat I thought I would share my thought process. I have had a look at both Worksharp and Tormek close up. I have spent much time looking up reviews and studying the technical lit but have no working experience with either:
1) One of the selling points of Worksharp is "air-cooling". This is plain nonsense on theoretical grounds (water carries heat away 40 times faster than air). At least one review I found states clearly that overheating is
*not* avoided with Worksharp although it is going to be less than a common bench grinder due to lower RPM.
2) Because of the nature of the disc there is going to be an appreciable difference in the surface speed of the section towards the periphery as opposed closer to the center. At least one review mentions this as being of practical importance if grinding wide blades - the edge gets a "differential" grind. I suspect this is less of an issue with turning tools.
3) Another Worksharp selling point is that there is no watery slurry mess. I gather that there is significant *powdery* mess, possibly worse than with a bench grinder as the disc throws the filings horizontally unlike a bench grinder which does so downwards.
4) I don't know about you but the main reason I am looking for a different sharpening system is grinding of fingernail/Irish gouges. Everything else can be done on a grinder with a rest. I cannot see how the Worksharp makes gouges any easier.
5) There is no question in my mind that if I had $700+ lying about spare I would get the Tormek. All the pros I know use the Tormek. One caveat is that it is quite slow at reshaping tools so a bench grinder with a suitable wheel is still needed as well as an identical jig for e.g. gouges.
6) As things stand I shall probably buy the Wolverine jig (a copy I made was less than successful) and use it with my bench grinders. Of interest is that Oneway recommend *high* surface speeds for sharpening turning tools (8" grinder at 3450 rpm).
All that said, if you do decide to buy the Worksharp keep us posted on its performance.
FWIW, I have a tormek, I use it when I want a really sharp edge, otherwise I mostly hand grind using a 1750 rpm grinder - once in a while I'll use Jerry Glaser's sharpening jig
the tormek is slow but gets an excellent edge, there is no mess
I have the WorkSharp, the Tormek, and a dry grinder fitted with diamond wheels and Wolverine Jigs and Tormek Jigs.
The WorkSharp is an excellent little sharpening rig for Carpenter's Chisels, plane irons, etc. It will sharpen most turning tools, but without jigs, only freehand. I use it mostly when going to shows, etc. where I need to have a grinder to touch up tools and not taking up a lot of space..
I've had my Tormek since 2000 and like it very well. It does the best sharpening I've ever had on any machine and I highly recommend it.
About a year ago, I purchased some diamond wheels for my Woodcraft slow speed grinder and currently have an 80 grit wheel on the left hand side and a 360 grit wheel on the right hand side. Both sides are set up to use the Wolverine jigs and also to use the Tormek jigs. The grind on the 360 grit diamond wheel is pretty close to that from the Tormek. It is a little faster than the Tormek, unless the Tormek is all set up and ready to run. Incidentally, the dry grinder with diamond wheels and the two jig systems is more expensive than the Tormek.
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