Woodcraft Horizontal Wetstone Grinder

[stevebirkes]

This from the Woodcraft site:
Water is good, slow speed is great. Our wet stone grinder has a 7", 1000 grit stone rotating at a practically vibration free 420 RPM and a cool water drip. From gouges to plane blades and scissors to knives, you’ll achieve that edge faster and with less effort than ever before – with no chance of bluing an edge. Includes adjustable tool platen. Accessory Planer/Joiner Jig lets you sharpen and hone knives up to 12" long. 110V, 1/6 HP motor.

Price is $94.99. It really does run smooth, vibration free. The stone is hard enough that doing a gouge doesn't eat a groove in the stone surface in just a moment as happens with the Delta flat grinder.

I can put a feather edge on a knife in less than a minute. Unlike what we're finding about the Jool Tool this grinder works well on both sides of the blade. The stone is good enough to take out nicks in the blade also. Water drips from a trough mounted to the grinder. Water adjustment is a bit bothersome but still works.

To me the tool is worth the money for a flat grinder with a good stone.

[chuckt]

So are you saying you'd pass on the JoolTool in favor of this? Or only for your knife sharpening needs?

I am just on the cusp of making sharpening purchases and trying to decide. I was hoping the JoolTool would be the "end all be all" in sharpening and that I could pass on all the hand stones and other grinders, sharpeners and power hones. But it sounds like that may not be the case. <sigh>

Wish someone could come up with the "one tool to rule them all" for a reasonable price. Ah well . . . the search continues.

ChuckT

[stevebirkes]

ChuckT, I suppose that if I were buying only 1 tool for sharpening I would have to quit carving.

No matter whether I bought the Jool or the Woodcraft or ???? I would still need a buffing wheel with cotton pad for touch ups after grinding even on a 1000 grit wheel to get rid of the feather edge. I use the buff to touch up while carving and the gritted devices to take out nicks and put back the correct bevel after dozens of buffing sessions.

But back to the real question: Jool or Woodcraft flat grinder? I would go with the Woodcraft flat grinder and a $35.00 grinder from Lowes onto which I would put my 8 inch or so cotton pad with gray rouge.

My reason for the Woodcraft choice is that I can sharpen gouges, knives of all sizes, and most any other blade on the Woodcraft without a problem. I know for a fact that I have problems sharpening some carving knives on the Jool Tool and don't have those problems on the Woodcraft.

With the Jool Tool I cut the 10 micron disk with the knife blade when turning the cutting edge into the rotation of the Ninja disk. And I have found no other way around the problem.

The water cooled, slow RPM, flat stone Woodcraft grinder will put the feather edge on knives and gouges in a flash. I still need to knock the feather edge off with a buff but that is where the $35.00 grinder from Lowes comes in.

I have the Delta Delta 23-710 Sharpening Center which for my use has too soft of a 1000 grit wheel. It grooves very quickly when sharpening a gouge.

The paper slotted and gritted wheels from Texas Woodcarvers work well on a grinder motor but are not a flat system which to me is the way to go.

Another system using a "thermal" grit on 2 wheels, can't remember the name right now, was OK but again, not horizontal.

So at least for not I have to go with the Woodcraft flat grinder and a buffing wheel.

[chuckt]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Steve. Sounds like I have to rethink my plan to go with the JoolTool. I like your idea since it more within my budget. Would you mind if I cross post your entries to the "other" mag discussion. I'd like to get Mark Gargac's take on this as well.

Cheers!
Chuck

[Nancy Goff]

Steve - I've sure appreciated your post. Thank you. I'm one of those carvers who tends to buy every new gadget that comes out hoping it will make me a better carver
Do you have the Woodcraft Internet site or address available that you could post here? Thanks again.

[mikeg]

Oh great Nancy! Looking at your carvings, I guess I'll need to start buying the gadgets because you're one heck of a carver! And here I just thought it was talent!

mikeg

[chuckt]

Well - here's ANOTHER gadget to look at in the sharpening realm. There is a thread going on over on the "other" mag's board where someone raised this tool for consideration in comparison to the JoolTool. Steve I'd be curious to hear your take on this one.

It's the Work Sharp WS3000 system. Basically a powered horozontal, see thru "scary sharp" (ie abrasive sandpaper) type system. It doesn't have the ability to get to the inside bevel like the JoolTool though. It is less expensive, however, and can handle longer edged plane and knife blades AND has the ability to grind specific bevel settings in 5 deg increments from 20 deg to 45 deg for plane and bench chisel bevels. Plus it can LAP the backs of the same. So for those looking for double duty (woodworking tools AND carving tools) it may be a better buy.

http://www.worksharptools.com/content/view/20/47/

Thoughts?
ChuckT

[chuckt]

Forgot to mention it is $200 and available from Garret Wade, Grizzly, and several other retailers. They are also coming out with a $100 less fully featured version in July.

ugh! Too many things to consider. I'll never make a purchase at this rate.

ChuckT

[stevebirkes]

Would you mind if I cross post your entries to the "other" mag discussion. I'd like to get Mark Gargac's take on this as well.
Chuck

No problem, do whatever you want. Sorry for the slow reply. I went on a weekend motorcycle trip and just returned.

[stevebirkes]

Do you have the Woodcraft Internet site or address available that you could post here? Thanks again.

The link is: [url]http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=4866

[/url]

Well, I'm doing something wrong since it's not coming up a hot link. Guess folks can copy and paste/

[stevebirkes]

Well - here's ANOTHER gadget to look at in the sharpening realm. There is a thread going on over on the "other" mag's board where someone raised this tool for consideration in comparison to the JoolTool. Steve I'd be curious to hear your take on this one.

Thoughts?
ChuckT

Chuck after watching the video and looking over the site I tend to think the Work Sharp has the same problem I found with the Jool Tool. When turning a carving knife blade into the rotation of the disk you're going to cut into the paper on the glass plate or the slotted abrasives. Other than that is seems fine.

I will still have to go with the $100 horizontal grinder from Woodcraft coupled with a buffer from Lowes. I really wish I had spent more time sharpening carving my knives with the Jool Tool before buying. I wouldn't have bought it if I had. Great for gouges and V tools. As I believe the Work Sharp would be. For knives I have I doubts. Of course I may just be heavy handed and someone with a better touch may not have the same problems.

I have used numerous horizontal sharpeners with paper adhered to a disk and have never failed to cut into the paper sooner or later no mater how careful I was. That was never the problem using a horizontal stone. I have made a couple and bought a couple. The Woodcraft is the one I like best. Just my opinion based on what I sharpen and my techniques. You may well like a different system.

[chuckt]

Thanks for your thoughts Steve. I was thinking that because the glass backing plates seem more rigid than the JoolTools it may avoid the problem. But I guess not. Ah well - I guess there may not be any "perfect" system out there. Perhaps I'll end up needing multiple systems eventually. grrrr

I wish there was a way to try all these systems for awhile to determine which one truly works the best for me. But short of laying out money for all of them, or finding friends who have them (none) I am stuck. I am truly at a loss as to how to make a decision on this one.

Confused in Cornwall . . .

[stevebirkes]

I wish there was a way to try all these systems for awhile to determine which one truly works the best for me. But short of laying out money for all of them, or finding friends who have them (none) I am stuck. I am truly at a loss as to how to make a decision on this one.

Confused in Cornwall . . .

What I use for a long time was an aluminum disk that was made to mount to a 1/2 inch utility motor shaft. The kind of motor out of a washer/dryer running at 1725 rpm. I just don't remember where I got the disk. I would use 3M spray adhesive to adhere 400 grit wet/dry paper to the disk.

I removed 1 or 2 of the long bolts that hold the motor together and replaced them with all-thread and attached the motor to a board and clamped the board to the bench. Or some such nonsense. Don't remember the exact mounting method right now but do remember taking out the standard bolts from the motor. Put a switch in the power cord and you're in business.

I'll try to remember where the disk came from. Maybe you could come up with the same kind of setup. Cheap and lets you try that style out before buying something different. I still cut into the sandpaper once in awhile but at least the paper wasn't expensive and I didn't have much invested in the motor. And it worked. Not perfectly smooth running but by far well enough to keep me carving for years. Still had to use a buffer after putting the wire edge on the tools.

[stevebirkes]

Just an update on the Woodcraft Horizontal Grinder.
After a couple of weeks more of use I'm liking it more and more. It is doing the job. I especially like the ability to see the feather edge appear as I'm grinding.

[hi ho sliver]

I have a "Woodtek" flat stone, water cooled and it does ok on the right side of the blade, but the machine is not reversable....a big mistake on the engineers part in my opinion! I don't like it and rarely use it....but as they say, "different strokes for different folks!"