# Worksharp3000



## Sark (May 31, 2017)

I use mine all the time. I bought 5 extra glass disks and keep them loaded with grits from 80 to 2000. It truly gets 5 stars for convenience speed and gets my chisel blades sharp enough for the work I do--but not incredibly sharp. With extra disks, grinding through the grits is really easy.

My main complaint is that the mechanism for holding the chisel to the disk is a little clunky. On the the smallest chisels I cannot get a perfect 90 degree edge. The mechanism is a good design, but not very precise.

A fact of the overall design is that the chisels are always held at exactly the same place on the sanding disk. So this wears out the sandpaper in that place, and not all the sandpaper is used. That being said, one can get a lot of sharpening out of one disk before needing to replace.

An essential part of my shop.


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## RyanGi (Jan 13, 2021)

You're correct. I don't use the built in angle gauge for the very reasons you list. I use a separate honing guide, which necessitates the addition of the table I built along side it. Good points….


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Mine seems to make a square edge on my chisels. I guess I'll have to check that out.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> After spending time learning to sharpen plane blades and chisels by hand…and getting back, leg and hand cramps from it…I figured there had to be a better way. A couple years ago I did my research and it seemed the WS3000 would best fit my bill.
> - RyanGi


+100. Tried and spent money on other methods (Rob Cosman etc). Bought a used WS3K on Craigslist for $25 and have never looked back. Using a honing guide with the table lets you easily make a primary, secondary and even tertiary bevel effortlessly on plane blades, and during chisel use, I just turn it on and insert the blade into the guide for a second or two and keep going. The thing literally puts the easy in easy peasy.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

I've had mine for years and I'm happy and satisfied with it. Just a reminder, 1/4 inch chisels and less are to be sharpened from the left side of the guide, not the right.


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## LittleBlackDuck (Feb 26, 2016)

I happen to be a *Tormek* tragic, however, thanks for the post to give others a greater choice…

Have heard good feedback from multiple sources as well.


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## tinnman65 (Jan 19, 2009)

I came upon this tool at a carving class with Alex Grabovetskiy . He could sharpen a carving gouge in literally a minute or two and it was so sharp you could cut with it by only holding it with two fingers. The set-up included some Tormek accessories as you can in the picture, and I bought several 6" diamond lapping plates for about $8-$10 apiece from Amazon 120 to 3000 grit, I back them with a 1/2'' MDF disc I made because of how thin they are, I also made a MDF disc that has some leather glued to the top for honing. They should last for a long time. I very seldom use the sandpaper because most of my sharpening happens from above. For the price you can't beat it.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Great review and I agree completely, it's a fantastic machine. I use mine for almost everything except for my HSS turning gouges that I use a bench grinder for. I got lucky and got the Wide Blade and Tool Bar attachments before they were discontinued and use both often. Like you, I use a honing guide on the wide blade table for plane irons. I do use the port thing for my chisels though and get good results. For those that may not be aware, you can adjust the platform to correct for skew if you aren't getting square edges from the port.

I have several Tormek jigs I use for skews and carving tools with the Tool Bar attachment. If I didn't have that attachment, I'd do what Tinnman did^.

And I have seen stands built for the Worksharp that had the top-flush table but I haven't seen a shop-made version that attaches to the machine like yours Ryan. I know there are a lot of folks out there that wish they could get the (now discontinued) table they used to sell. I bet it would be much appreciated if you posted a blog or a project on how you made yours


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## eruby (Oct 21, 2010)

Nice review. I have the machine and also think it does the job it was designed to do very well. Also agree w/ HokieKen- I would like to know a little more about your shop-made wide blade attachment.


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## RyanGi (Jan 13, 2021)

I wish the table attachment was more impressive than it is, but truly it's just a piece of MDF shaped to fit snugly against the edge of the sharpening plate, then leveled and made complainer with two sets of paired wedges inserted at angles to take advantage of the shape of the WS3000 case at that location. One set of wedges is visible in the pic, the other set is hidden behind the first set as viewed in the pic.

After dry fitting it, I marked the edges of the wedge stacks against the MDF table, then used a long piece to double sided tape (I use XFasten, amazing stuff) to attach the top wedge to the bottom of the MDF. Then I re-leveled the MDF with the wedges and pinched the wedges together with my fingers, marked their location, then taped the top wedge to the bottom wedge to fix the height. Then another strip of tape to affix the wedge stack and MDF to the WS3000.

The XFasten is so strong that nothing has so much as shifted in the several years I've been using it. Works like a charm! As I mentioned, the strop disc sits higher than the sharpening discs, so I have a small piece of hardboard the same thickness as the difference in height that I drop onto the MDF table when stropping a finished blade or iron using the veritas MkII.

During bench work, I just free hand hone the tool on the strop disc. All good!


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