Add slow speed bench grinder or worksharp 3000?

[Chris Griggs]

That would be waste Harold. If you really want slow speed the variable speed 6" gets plenty slow as is, and you can very easily grind at full speed without fear of burning the edge. In my opinion WAY TO MUCH is made of the risk of drawing temper. Keep your fingers somewhat near the edge and you will feel the heat well before you burn the edge. I had NEVER ground a blade before I got my 6" PC grinder and I was using it at full speed, with the gray wheel and rests (that the magazines say you need to throw away) within a week of getting it without any problems. I will occasionally burn a corner ever so slightly if I'm just flat out being to aggressive but it is not AT ALL hard to avoid. Burning and edge is not something one should fear, it is simply something one should be aware of having the potential to do. I do think a more friable wheel is nice just because its faster, as it both grinds faster and requires less quenching and dressing, but it is not a requirement.

Sorry for the rant. I'm just a big believer in a standard 6" grinder, and I rant sometimes about it because I kept putting off buying one thinking that I had to be prepared to spend $200 or so just to get started ($40-$100 for the grinder, $50-$100 for tool rests, and $40 for a new wheel, plus more if I wanted to balance the wheels). This is not and was not the case, and I'm soooooooooooooo glad I finally just bought one for the $80 or whatever it cost and used it as is...my only regret ever was that I didn't do it sooner. That PC or equivalent will work off the shelf with the gray wheels and stock rests. It comes with a dresser as well as a little water dish, and has everything you need to get started hollow grinding. I'm not saying not to buy after market rests, and I'm not saying not to buy more friable wheels...they are legit improvements, but know that in spite of what the mags say, they are not a requirement.

Happy grinding. Rant over.

[paul cottingham]

How about this (since we're talking about it)?

You go with something like this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_80500-46069-...nder&facetInfo= and use a 6" wheel instead (to slow it down even more)?

I have the delta branded version of that grinder,and quite like it. I have a white 8" Norton wheel on it, and run it very slowly. I still need to quench a lot.
If i were to do it again, i would probably look for a good, old used American made grinder. Stick a white wheel on it, and hand it down to my grandchildren when I can no longer work wood.

[Chris Griggs]

From the picture,I can't tell if the variable speed Porter Cable grinder has double jointed tool rests like my old flat faced Craftsman grinders from the 60's. If they are double jointed,they are MUCH better than a single hinged tool rest.

If by double jointed you mean that it has 2 placed that can be loosened and repositioned then yes it is double jointed. The lower one mostly serves to slide the rest in and out and the upper one adjusts the angle. They not great rests, just cheap aluminum, but with the teeth filed off they are very adjustable and capable (well the right is, the left has one of those stupid drill bit grooves in it)

The cheaper $30 or so grinders (like the skill lowes sells) tend to have single pivot points and very limited adjustibility. One would NEED an after market rest for those. In fact if one was going to buy an aftermarket rest anyway, I'd be inclined to think that it might be worthwhile to save some money on the grinder and just get one of the uber cheap $30 ones. I haven't used the Skill so I can't say for sure that it functions as well as the PC as far as the bearings and motor are concerned, but my impression was/is that the extra you pay for the PC is more about the little conveniences/add ons, and not necessarily an improved "heart" to the grinder (again though, haven't used the $30 ones so can't say that for sure)

[glenn bradley]

I am an avid WS3K user but, I would not use it to make major changes to profiles. You could but, a coarse grinder is better suited. If you are changing the leading edge from 25* to 30* as a sort of El Grande secondary bevel, the WS3K is your tool. JMHO.

[Jim Koepke]

My electric sharpening system is the Veritas Mk II. I am not sure if it is equivalent to the Worksharp or if the Worksharp is equivalent to it.

It has been quite useful for almost all of my work.

At times a grinding wheel could be an effective alternative. Especially for some of my regularly sharpened tools like a shovel or scythe.

jtk

[Matthew N. Masail]

I took Georges recomendation at the time and I have been very happy:


- 6inch grinder
- tool rest (I went with the veritas - for easy adjustability)
- coarse white wheel (I found 46grit I think)
- diamond dresser
- learn to grind - and the white wheel help with this


the only thing I plan to add is a jig for the diamond dresser that will allow my to true\refresh the wheel without having to change the tool rest position.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

the only thing I plan to add is a jig for the diamond dresser that will allow my to true\refresh the wheel without having to change the tool rest position.

Interested in seeing what you come up with, Matthew, this thought has crossed my mind a few times.

[Prashun Patel]

My take's a little different:

Since I discovered cheap 6" diamond lapidary plates that fit the Worksharp 3000, it's much easier for me to establish a primary bevel on a flat blade. the port below is fast for chisels. I sharpen anything wider than the port above the wheel with a honing guide. I can go straight from the WS to my Shaptons.

I have a 200g wheel on my WS and it sharpens as fast as any bench grinder can. I have never been successful at using a grinder to get a square edge on flat blades. Everyone else seems to be able to do it, but not me.

[george wilson]

A USEFUL note: If you use a diamond tipped wheel dresser,tilt the diamond a bit down hill at the wheel. Presenting it at an up hill angle will shatter the diamond. Diamonds are VERY brittle.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I started with sand-paper, had good results.... and then I needed to rehab some problematic items so I purchased a WorkSharp. I had some OK luck with it, but not great. I know some people that really like it. My biggest problem was with wider blades getting the angle to be exactly 90 degrees. Probably just me, but, I gave it to a friend who had nothing and he claims to have good luck with it. Of course, he also had never had any luck with hand planes until I gave him some and he said "I think my problem was that I just did not know what it meant to be sharp".

So, why was I OK with dumping my WorkSharp? Because I purchased a Tormek slow speed wet grinder. I usually put a hollow grind on it, and then I don't need to mess with it on the Tormek until I have worn down the hollow grind on my water stones. With the hollow grind, it is very fast to polish up by hand.

I will admit that I also have a dry grinder that I purchased from WoodCraft. It is mostly a piece of junk, but it was very inexpensive junk and I use it to do very fast adjustment when things are seriously out of whack.

I like the wet grinder because I don't need to worry about burning the tip and it is much faster than by hand. I can't polish the back on my tormek to save my soul. I have, however, gouged a few backs on my test chisels trying. Then again, I had trouble polishing the back on the WorkSharp, but I believe that at least one person has claimed on the forum here that they did this with no problems (I could be mistaken).

If you happen to live near me, or just want to make a long drive, we can try out a few things and see what you like.... but my WorkSharp currently lives in the great state of Minnesota, far from me.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Thanks for that! I always do it that way or straight just cause it seems a smarter cutting angle , but I didn't know what you said.


Joshua I'll be sure to post it. might do it soon but I'm re-doing my shop into "simplicity" so don't know for sure.

[Hilton Ralphs]

A USEFUL note: If you use a diamond tipped wheel dresser,tilt the diamond a bit down hill at the wheel. Presenting it at an up hill angle will shatter the diamond. Diamonds are VERY brittle.

Thanks for the tip George!

[Chris Scimone]

Mike, for what you're looking to do (changing bevel angles on chisels) i think a regular speed 6 inch grinder will be perfect. George's advice about the water drops is all you need to keep from blowing temper. I learned a lot from Larry Williams 'Sharpening Profiled Hand Tools' DVD.

One key thing he taught me- you need a grinding and a sharpening solution. I got a beast of a 6" grinder for 20 bucks off craigslist, added the Veritas grinding rest and kept the 36 grit Norton wheel. I keep a metal polishing wheel on the other side for getting rust off damn near anything, been one of the best shop investments I've made.

With something like this for your quick and dirty grinds, your system of choice (water/oil/work/scary/tormek sharp) will get you the rest of the way.

my 2 cents,
Chris

[Curt Putnam]

I will probably never learn to grind well - shaky hands (condition is called essential tremors.) I am successful with a WS3000. I use the Wide Blade Attachment and can sharpen/hone anything up to an iron for a # 8. I usually have the leather honing wheel mounted. Power stropping is a real kick and get things sharp fast. I also have a Delta 1 x 42" belt sander/grinder upon which I usually keep a leather belt mounted. It gets knives very sharp, very fast. Just more power stropping. Most of my chisels have the primary bevel where I want it - which means I seldom want to use power. In fact, the more important the tool is to me, the less likely I am to use power. One can make mistakes faster and bigger with power. JMO & YMMV

[Mike Henderson]

I have an 8" slow speed grinder and the WorkSharp. For establishing a bevel, I prefer the WorkSharp with a 6" diamond wheel, primarily because it's too easy to overheat a blade on the slow speed grinder. Like Prashun, I then take my blade to a water stone and put a microbevel on it.

Fast, very little chance of overheating the blade, and produces very sharp results.

Mike