Work Sharp

[Billy Moore]

Is the Work Sharp system good for sharpening turning tools? all I can seem to find is sharpening knives. If not what would be better. thanks

Billy

[Joe Bradshaw]

Billy, you would be better off getting a slow speed grinder and the Wolverine set up. Your local Woodcraft store will be a good place to start. Good luck as you start the slide down the slippery slope.
Joe

[Greg Just]

I agree with Joe's recommendation. That's what I have and the system works well for me.

[Prashun Patel]

Doable, but not without a lot of customization. Sharpening skews and scrapers is more doable than anything with compound profiles like detail/bowl gouges.

To be glib, don't reinvent the wheel; go for a slow speed grinder and Wolverine per Joe's reco.

[Reed Gray]

The Work Sharp is a nice system, and the Tormek jigs will fit it. I think it is better suited to bench chisels and stuff. You can probably sharpen a lot more different things on it than you can on a grinder with 2 wheels, but the grinder will probably work better for turning tools. Hard to beat a 3/4 hp slow speed grinder and CBN wheels.

robo hippy

[bob svoboda]

When I first started turning, I tried the WorkSharp. I have since moved to the Wolverine system and would't go back for any reason.

[Billy Moore]

Thanks for the answers. I kinda hought it was not the right tool but I have only see it once and that was at a show. That Jet lathe I found at a yard sale cheap is sure getting expensive!!!!! Made a couple of pens and a seam ripper for the better half. Enjoying this a lot!

[allen long]

I have a worksharp and for the longest time did b=not like it for even sharpening regular chisels. Some dude who refers to himself as Stumpy Nubs (or something along those lines) had videos on YouTube showing how he used it with MDF wheels charged with honing compounds of varying grits. Wow it is amazing how well that works - primarily for flattening the backs of bench chisels and for some carving gouge honing. I can see how the worksharp might work well for touching up your lathe tools, but the Wolverine and a grinder work best. In fact, I have found that once you use the wolverine to get the initial profile, you can touch up the edge freehand with a very light touch (using the slow grinder.

For those thinking about getting a worksharp, I would recommend the base model. I gave the deluxe model and have but a corian and aluminum shelf (similar to the one you can buy for use with a plane iron holder). But it is used only for setting some of the honing compound bars now that I sharpen my irons by hand. I would forget getting additional flat plates. They tend to dig into the backs of the tool when using it to flatten the backs. I know this is the turner's forum, but many of us haunt this and the Neanderthal forums. Once I tried Stumpy Nubs trick with MDF, I would have saved a lot of time and money if I had only bought the base model. One thing Stumpy does not show when using it, is if you round the outer edge of the MDF "plate" / disk, it does a superb job of honing the inside of gouges.

Many Kind Regards . . . Allen