Work Sharp Sharpening System - Manual (Page 15)

Using the Work Sharp
Here is a collection of hand cutting tools,
probably a lot like those in your shop or
studio. I use two sets of standard chisels,
some mortise chisels, lathe tools of sev-
eral types, carving tools and hand planes.
These are the items that we will sharpen
in this section.
The roll-around
stand that the
Work Sharp is
sitting on is one I
built to house
both the Work
Sharp and the
Drill Doctor drill
bit sharpening
system.
I like to keep
these close at
hand so I am al-
ways working
with the same
fine cutting edge
each time I grab
a one of these
cutting tools.
The cabinet uses
simple rail, stile
and flat panel construction. One shelf
behind the two doors and one drawer
hold all the accessories and supplies for
both the Work Sharp and the Drill Doctor.
The top is stainless steel that has been
buffed in a cross pattern with a scouring
pad similar to 3M synthetic abrasive
pads. A quick rebuff is all it takes to keep
the top clean and bright. I use the same
technique on all my cast iron work sur-
faces as well.
Like most furniture makers I use the chis-
els for a lot more than “just” cutting tasks.
They frequently are used to remove glue
squeeze from corners, to scrape burrs
from inaccessible places, to shave a fin-
ish flaw and the like.
Anytime water comes in contact with
metal, as it does when removing glue
squeeze, the metal will begin to rust very
quickly. The more polished the edge, the
more quickly it rusts. Rust by it’s very na-
ture causes microscopic pits to form so it
is important to either remove the glue
from the metal as soon as you can or, as
I now can do, reestablish the cutting edge
frequently.
We will see shortly how the Work Sharp
will remove those blemishes and reestab-
lish the finely polished cutting edge
quickly since most of these chisels have
been sharpened by Work Sharp before.