Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Sharpener
Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Sharpener Review
Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Sharpening System
Manufacturer: Work Sharp
Model number: WS3000
Price: 250.00
Power source: 6-Foot Cord
Motor size: 1/5 HP
Weight: 16 lbs
Work Sharp WS3000
Ive been using the Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpener for nine years in my shop. If you’d like to read my review from 10-years ago click here. Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Review.
It’s an air cooled, dry sharpening system and uses 150mm pressure sensitive adhesive [PSA] sand paper, on a spinning disc to sharpen tools.
Some of the PSA grits I use are:
- P80 Ceramic Oxide
- P120 Ceramic Oxide
- P400 Aluminum Oxide
- P1000 Aluminum Oxide
- Micro Mesh 3600 [honing]
First Impression and 10-Year Look Back
My first thought brought me back to a job site where I used a belt sander to dress up a chisel in a pinch. The Work Sharp WS3000 is a dry sharpening system but not nearly that crude – it can quickly, accurately and consistently sharpen, flatten the back and hone a blade.
It stores neat and compact on my workbench and has completely changed how I deal with my chisels and planes in the shop. Now if I nick a chisel, I immediately touch it up and don’t place it off to the side until I have a dozen of dull chisels. The whole process takes maybe 5-minutes.
Looking back at this tools, its a 20-year investment that keeps your tools razor sharp and saves you time in doing it. I’ve personally recommended this tool to dozens of contractors over the years.
Work Sharp WS3000 Specification
- Motor: 1/5 hp
- Wheel Speed: 580 RPM [gear reduced]
- Wheel Material: 150 mm tempered float glass
- Cooling System: Heat sink with router air flow
- Power cord: 6-foot
- Air Cooled
- Heat Sink
Work Sharp WS3000 – How It Works
The WS3000 weighs around 16 lbs. and is a well built machine that uses a 1/5 hp induction motor. It spins fairly quiet and with almost no vibration and does not bog down when blade pressure is applied.
The WS3000 has two types of wheels for sharpening;
- Tempered glass wheels [2-sided adhesive]
- Slotted “see-through” Edge-Vision wheel allows for sharpening curved, carving and lathe tools from underneath the wheel.
Who Would Benefit From Using It?
The Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool dry sharpening system is recommended for the serious woodworker, contractor or DIYer and easily sharpens:
- Chisels
- Plane irons
- Lathe tools
- Carving tools
- Other woodworking and contoured tools
Sharpening Options and Angles
There are three ways to sharpen tools on the Work sharp:
- Freehand with tool rest
- Sharpening port [precise]
- Edge-Vision disk – [lets you hold tool below but look at edge]
My favorite feature on the WS3000 is the sharpening port, and I pretty much only use this method. The sharpening port enables sharpening of chisels and plane irons up to 2” wide and has four pre-set, easily adjustable, and most importantly REPEATABLE angles from:
- 20 degree
- 25 degrees
- 30degrees
- 35 degrees
- Great for micro-beveling
I found adjusting the sharpening port super easy to use and super accurate. Wider tools can be sharpened freehand on top of the wheel, using the top mounted tool rest and lathe tools can be sharpened under the wheel with the Edge-Vision sharpening wheel.
The sharpening port has a left and right guide rail and is complimented by an adjustable fence that can help you achieve a square grind on Tools up to 2-inches wide.
A “lapping” self-sticking adhesive abrasive is provided with each set of abrasives and is applied to the sharpening port to help remove burs from the back edge of the tool your sharpening. The sharpening port also acts as a heat sink, air is forced up and through the sharpening port heat sink to help cool it. This air coming system and geared down motor both work to allow for higher material removal rates without overheating affecting the steel temper.
How I Set Up My Work Sharp WS3000 Discs
I set up my two glass wheels and Edge-vision wheel with several different grits of abrasives to suit my needs. I have a P80 side and a P120 side on the same glass disc for rapid grinding and the other disc with a finer abrasives for more honing and finishing. On my second disc I have P120 and P400. The slotted wheel has P120 grit. I find that the 120 grit is used the most, and I really like that I can quickly flip the glass wheel over to use the two different grit abrasives.
Lessons Learned
The biggest lesson learned for me was time and pressure. What I mean by that folks at Work Sharp recommends a 1-2 second “plunge-pull” contact with the abrasive wheel. I’ve been known to use a 5-10 seconds contact which can negatively affect temper and overheat the tool blade.
The other lesson is using the correct pressure. Let the WS3000 do the work, not you. Wearing of the abrasive disks seemed to vary on several factors 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
- Amount of pressure applied to the abrasive disk
A Crepe Stick provided does help extend the life of the abrasive disk as does letting the tool do the work.
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.
Pro 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 abrasives since the amount of grinding is greatly reduced.
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 $14.00.
10-Year Look-back – Impression
The Work Sharp WS3000 is a real deal sharpening system and is priced extremely fairly for what it delivers. It completely eliminates the problems I encountered with hand sharpening jigs by delivering a precise, accurate, repeatable bevel angles every time!
I’m not a big fan of sharpening anything but I want sharp tools. Having to stop to sharpen tools slows the project down and let’s face it, often times it doesn’t happen.
The Work Sharp WS3000 takes the pain and the time out of sharpening, you can sharpen blades quickly, consistently, and easily and oh yea…. did I mention its FAST?
I highly recommend this tool!
Where To Buy the Work Sharp WS3000
The Work Sharp WS3000 can be purchased at most quality woodworking stores for approx. $250.00 and Amazon and around $200 at ACME Tools or here
Work Sharp Work Sharp WS3000 Tool Sharpening System
Work Sharp WS3000 Sharpening System Video Review – 10 Year Look-Back!
About the author
Rob Robillard
Robert Robillard is a remodeler, general contractor, and principal of a carpentry and renovation business located in Concord, Massachusetts, and serves as the Editor of Tool Box Buzz and founding editor of A Concord Carpenter . Rob is in charge of our Tool and Product Review - Tool and Product Review - Video Channel, , where we post all of our tool reviews and video tutorials. Rob enjoys using his knowledge and experience to help and educate building professionals as well as DIYers on best practices in the remodeling industry. The Concord Carpenter's motto: "Well done is better than well said!" : Read more about Rob
http://www.aconcordcarpenter.com/@https://twitter.com/robertrobillardRob Robillard
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