Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener

By Robert Robillard on Tool Reviews

Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Sharpener Review Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener


How often have you put off sharpening a chisel because you’re in the middle of a big project and you didn’t want to take the time?

I do it all the time, I’m lazy, in fact I procrastinate sharpening so much that I eventually run out of sharp tools and have to sharpen a whole pile of them at one time. That really sucks!

The Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener :

The folks at Work Sharp recently sent me their Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener to evaluate.

I’ve been wet sharpening my chisels and hand planes on a wet stone for years so when I saw the WS3000 I was intrigued. The Work Sharp WS3000 sharpening system is an air cooled, dry sharpening system. It used abrasives, similar to sandpaper.

According to the manufacturer the WS3000 allows even novice woodworkers the ability to quickly, accurately and consistently sharpen and hone their hand tools to razor sharp results in only minutes.

I admit I have sharpened a chisel or two on a belt sander in a pinch but never put a whole lot of credence in dry sharpening, especially with sandpaper.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

At first I was intimidated with all of the parts in the box. I eventually realized that I was sent several optional accessories in addition to the WS3000.

Some of the accessories were:

  •  Wide blade attachment
  • WS3000 Belt sharpening attachment for scissor and knife sharpening

Once I started playing with the Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener I realized that it was easy to set up and use. Nothing complicated here, it was easy to set up and start using.

The WS3000 has 1/5 hp induction motor that runs fairly quiet and with no vibration. I usually need to clamp my wet grinder to the bench to use it.Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener The WS3000 uses tempered glass wheels that self-adhering PSA abrasives are applied to.

The WS3000 looks and feels like a heavy duty, quality made tool. Work Sharp offers a full 2 year warranty. Unit shipping weight is 16lbs.
There is also an optional slotted “see-through” wheel allows for sharpening curved, carving and lathe tools, as well as a tool rest for sharpening larger blades on top of the wheel.

The best part of the WS3000 is the sharpening port. The sharpening port enables sharpening of chisels and plane irons up to 2” wide and has pre-set angles at 20, 25, 30, and 35 degrees.

USING THE WS3000:

The 1/5-HP motor produced high torque with a max wheel speed of 580 rpm. This low-rpm wheel maintained wheel speed regardless of the pressure I  put on it.
I found adjusting the sharpening port super easy to use and super accurate.

One of the problems I’ve found with hand sharpening is that once you stop and restart you risk the chance of holding the tool at a different angle. The precise bevel angles are set in the sharpening port, not in a fixture or jig, so switching between angles is simple and fast until you change it. It was precise, accurate and repeatable every time.

The sharpening port also has a miter fence and skew cam adjustment to ensure the chisel or plane iron is perfectly squa

re during sharpening, which produces a consistently square bevel edge on your tools.

A “lapping” self-sticking adhesive abrasive is provided with each set of abrasives. This lapping abrasive is applied to the face of the sharpening port to remove burs from the bottom edge of the blade as your sharpening. I’m so used to removing the burr myself I was shocked at how well it worked.
Under the sharpening port air is forced up and through the sharpening port heat sink which allow for higher material removal rates without affecting the steel temper.

The WS3000 comes with two glass wheels, 1 slotted wheel and several different grits of abrasives. [P80, P400 and P1200 grits]  The beauty of the glass wheels is t

worksharp 3000 Tool Sharpener

hat it is hard and super flat and stable surface for adhering the PSA abrasives too.  I set my first wheel up with a coarse grinding abrasive for rapid shaping and the other side with a fine abrasive. The wheel can be flipped over to use the two different abrasives. Having two glass wheels allows you to have 4 grits on your 2 glass wheels (one grit per wheel surface).

The WS3000 provides premium, long lasting adhesive backed abrasives.   Replacement abrasives are available for purchase from Work Sharp with grits as high as 2 µ micron (Micro-Mesh™ 6000), or you can use your preferred abrasive and trim them to fit the tempered glass wheel.

One thing I noticed when I first started using the WS3000 was that I was applying too much pressure to the tool an

d prematurely wore down my abrasive disk. Let the WS3000 do the work, not you.  Wearing of the abrasive disks seemed to vary on several factors; variables 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, and user’s load force on the abrasive disk.

An abrasive cleaner provided seemed to extend the life of the abrasive disk as well as letting the tool do the work (not use forcing the tool in the sharpening port) both extend the life of the abrasives. Rubbing or denatured alcohol worked well to clean the glass disks.

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.

Tip: micro-bevel your chisels. Sharpen a 25° chisel to a 30° micro-bevel. This not only dramatically speeds up the sharpening process, but also extends the life of your abras

worksharp 3000 Tool Sharpener

ives since the amount of grinding is greatly reduced.

WS3000 FEATURES:

• Air Cooled, Dry Sharpening System: Routed air flow and heat sink system keeps tools cool without the mess of a wet system.

• Maintenance Free, 150mm Tempered Glass Grinding Wheel: Provides an always flat and true grinding surf

ace on which to adhere PSA abrasives.
• Slotted ‘see through’ Wheel: See the cutting edge of carving and lathe tools as you sharpen. Offers increased precision and user control for sharpening a variety of gouges and V tools.

• Precise Repeatability: Sharpening Port enables precise and repeatable bevel
angles of 20°, 25°, 30° and 35° for chisels and plane irons up to 2” wide.

• Fast and Easy to use, No jigs needed: Select desired angle and sharpen; lapping abrasive in sharpening port increases burr removal and speeds sharpening.

• Powerful 1/5 hp motor: 580 RPM wheel speed.

• Precision: Rigid bevel angle settings and Skew Cam provide precise positioning
of the Sharpening Port. Bevel and skew geometry are not affected by wheel diameter, chisel size, or complex user setup.

• Speed: Forced air-cooling allows higher material removal rates without affecting
the steel temper. Conventional dry systems surface speed is limited by heat buildup in the tool and wet systems surface speed is limited by the mess from water flinging off the wheel.

• The Work Sharp’s design allows for quick reshaping of a new or damaged chisel, and fast honing of a micro bevel. Precise bevel angles are set in the Sharpening Port, not in a fixture or jig, so switching between angles is simple and fast.

• Simplicity: Simple setup. Just set the angle and sharpen. No calibration required for changing wheel diameter. No measurement required forWorksharp 3000 tool sharpening system setting of tool stick out and angle. Coarse grinding for rapid shaping and micro-fine honing in one port. No need to change between fixtures, grade wheels, or move from machine to hand sharpening to achieve a razor-sharp edge.

• Repeatability The system’s repeatability allows the user to sharpen multiple
tools at any combinations of angle and abrasive type without extra set-up. Most conventional systems require a jig or user set-up that requires sharpening one tool at a time because the setup can’t be repeated accurately.

• Tempered Glass Wheel accepts 150mm or 6” PSA abrasives.

• Precise and repeatable 5° micro bevels.

• Adjustable Top Tool Rest: Makes freehand sharpening easier and more precise.

• T-Slot Mounting System: Lets you mount the Top Tool Rest and other accessories

• Sharpening Port Lapping Surface: Unique”plunge–pull” sharpening technique and Sharpening Port abrasive increases burr removal and speeds sharpening

• Skew Cam Adjustment: Precise control of sharpening port for bevel-edge for square-ness

• Tool Construction: Cast-aluminum top; sheet metal housing; impact and vibration-resistant, tool grade plastic base

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 $14.95 at these retailers. More detail on here.

Work Sharp WS3000 sharpening system

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

The WS3000 is not a cheap toy. It’s a real deal sharpening system and is priced extremely fairly for what it delivers. It worked extremely well and provided high quality results.

I’m not a big fan of sharpening anything but I want sharp tools. The WS3000 sharpened a dozen tools in short order. I also used the tool to quickly and successfully flatten and polish the shoes of my two favorite block planes. The results were impressive.

I found the video on the website and instructions straight forward and easy to I was amazed at how fast the tool works as well as the polished surface that the WS3000 can achieve.

The Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool dry sharpening system is recommended and works well for chisels, plane irons, lathe tools, carving tools, and other woodworking tools.

It is designed for the serious woodworker, contractor or DIYer and allows for consistent super sharp angles on flat blades and contoured tools. Sharp tools mean you can cut through materials easier, reducing the amount of strain on you and the likelihood of damaging your project.

Stopping to sharpen tools slows the project down and let’s face it, often times it doesn’t happen. With the Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener, you can sharpen blades quickly, consistently, and easily and did I say QUICKLY?  I highly recommend this tool!

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Wood tool sharpener, two glass wheels, one slotted Edge-Vision wheel, a crepe stick (for cleaning abrasives), an instructional DVD, and 16 abrasives: 11 solid abrasives and 5 slotted abrasives with grits ranging from P80 to 3600 Micro-Mesh.

WHERE TO BUY:

The work sharp WS3000 can be purchased at most quality woodworking stores for approx. $199.00, or here; Work-Sharp-WS3000-Wood-Sharpener

This review contains my opinion of a product. I take pride in providing my readers with an honest and objective information as well as a practical approach to using a product. I never accept payment in exchange for a positive review. Many of the tools and products are provided to for free by a manufacturer for review.

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About the author

Robert Robillard

Carpenter / Remodeler / Editor

Rob Robillard is “The Concord Carpenter” Rob is a builder, general contractor, carpenter, woodworker, and editor of Concord Carpenter and ToolBoxBuzz As a General Contractor and carpenter, Rob owns and operates Concord Carpenter LLC. A full-service remodeling and construction company. Rob is a recognized leader in home building best practices and a source for how-to information for building professionals. On this website, Rob covers all aspects of home construction, building science, home improvement, woodworking, remodeling, and some of the best product and tool reviews. Rob is in charge of our Tool and Product Review series - Concord Carpenter Videos where we post all of our tool reviews and video tutorials. Rob approaches remodeling and building construction with a pragmatic and problem-solving approach. He enjoys using his knowledge and experience to help and educate building professionals as well as DIYers on best practices in the construction and remodeling industry. He's a strong advocate for "raising the bar" in the construction trades and promoting the trades to youth. #BeAMentor #Green2Great Craftsmanship, quality, and pride guide his journey on this channel The Concord Carpenter's motto: "Well done is better than well said!" : Read more about Rob

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