The Makita Sharpener is a necessity for the serious woodworker. It works like a motorized Japanese Waterstone (which in fact it is). Included in the basic package is a great blade rest that will accomodate most jointer/planer knives and a 1000 grit wheel. You have to practice a bit with the water control knob in order to keep the flow of water onto the wheel at the correct rate, but this is easily done. I recommend that you also purchase a coarser stone for use with removing knicks from your blades; this will save lots of time. One of the best features of this sharpener is that it is one of the few that will allow you to flat grind your edges; other water sharpeners like the DELTA and the TORMEK hollow-grind knives which removes a lot of metal from near the edge. This weakens, I believe, the knive blades when compared to flat grinding. You can also find a great technical supplement for using this sharpener. Makita 9820-2 1.1 amp Horizontal Wheel Wet Blade Sharpener
I've been in the process of researching an electric sharpener and have decided upon the Makita 9820-2. I've noticed several reviews that raise the concern over the lack of a coarser wheel.
Highland Hardware (www.highlandhardware.com) has developed their own "Green Wheel" for this unit, a 120 grit wheel that will ..."grind the hardest steels as aggressively as a course wheel on a bench grinder". They also have a HandTool jig for sharpening chisels and other tools and a 6000 Grit Fine Wheel. Hope this helps!
I love this thing! I got mine and right away put my Dewalt planer blades to the test, I got a very sharp flat straight edge in minutes after reading through the directions once. I then took the guide off and sharpend my chisels and gouges after which I sharpened every knife I could find. The 1000 grit stone removes metal at just the right speed. After I get a good edge I turn it off and just hone the blades on the wheel while its not moving to put a finishing touch on the edge. I plan to buy the 6000 grit stone for hunting knifes and chisels. The water system takes practice and the plastic skirt around the stone that keeps water from spraying around has to be up or you get a mess. Its so easy to set up it saves a lot of time over using hand stones. I also plan to get the chisel guide to make getting a perfectly straight edge easyer to acheive
I received my Makita 9820-2 promptly and unpacked it. Assembly was minimal. Instructions for its use were sketchy in parts but it is a fairly straight forward tool. The learning curve is short and my results met my expectations. My planer and jointer blades are sharper than when I had them done professionally. I would recommend getting a courser stone if you have to do anything but hone your blades. Overall I would say that this product performed as advertised.
First the downside: I agree with another reviewer regarding getting other wheels. Accessories are very hard to source. However, the wheel that comes with the machine is perfect for obtaining and maintaining a very sharp edge on a blade in good condition. If you have serious gouges in your blades, you may want to consider a one-time sharpening by a pro and then use this machine to keep the edge.
The good stuff: It works perfectly!! The directions were simple enough and the operation of the machine is basic: start the water flow, set the angle guide, turn on the wheel, and bring the blade to the wheel. The manual does not speak specifically to sharpening chisels (the holder provided is for planer/jointer blades and so are the instructions). But here's how I did it. Don't use the holder. Place the chisel ("back") flat on the guide. Adjust the angle of the guide so it brings the chisel to the wheel at the correct angle. Take the chisel away, start the machine and place the chisel on the guide but away from the wheel. Bring (slide)the chisel forward on the guide, keeping it flat on the guide. Keep it moving forward until it makes contact with the wheel. Think of it as trying to slice away a very thin layer of the wheel rather than grinding the chisel with the wheel (if that makes sense).
I am very pleased with the results.
I have had a Makita 9820-2 for over 6 years. I would not try to sharpen my planer blades or chisels with any thing else. You can never burn the blade. I lost my 9820 in the Isabell Hurricane when it was submerged for 4 days in salt water. I bought a new one. To the person who complained about not having a coarse wheel for the 9820-- there is a 60 grit, 7 inch wheel made for it. check Makita 741074-9, at $44.99 free shipping. How can you go wrong or isn't 60 grit coarse enough?
Man was I fed up with burning my good chisels & plane irons with that 3600 RPM bench grinder! Those things were designed for sharpening lawn mower blades & axes not fine woodworking tools. Although this tool is primarily designed for sharpening jointer & planer knives it also excels at sharpening chisels & plane irons with absolutely no fear of burning the edge. I set it up & sharpened an old block plane iron to a perfectly flat square bevel. After a couple of passes on a Japanese waterstone I had a razor sharp edge. I also prefer the flat as opposed to the hollow ground bevel. The edge holds up longer and stays sharper.I haven't yet used the Makita to sharpen my jointer blades but I'm confident it will do a good job. I am saving my money for the coarse stone for those nasty nicks. If you enjoy a well tuned sharp tool as much as I do you gotta get yourself one of these!
The most obvious and severe flaw, is the steel backing plate on the stone. It rusts. That's right. It rusts. Even if you don't use it often, the stone doesn't dry out for weeks. And to compound the problem, Makita chose to use a very brittle adhesive to mount the stone to the backing plate. Because the two unlike materials are held together with a non-flexible bond, the adhesive develops fractures which allow water to seep through to the steel. Steel expands up to twelve times in volume, when it oxidizes. This expansion lifts the stone from the wheel, resulting in a wobble that increases over time. Eventually the stone becomes unusable. Makita should consider a one part polyurethane adhesive, such as that used in the marine and automobile industry. When the stone failed on my first 9820-2, I pried it off of the backing plate and remounted it in a bed of polyurethane caulk. I had no more trouble with that aspect. The spindle/flange assembly which is driven internally and the stone is mounted to externally is steel as well, and corrodes to the point where the threads disintegrate. I fixed this by re-tapping the hole, but threw away the knob because the threads didn't match. This was no great loss because the threads were rusted off as well. Amazing! No more quick mount. Have a wrench and an assortment of washers on hand to mount the stone. There is in fact, not a single piece of stainless steel used anywhere on the Makita sharpener. Why doesn't Makita use stainless steel on something that's intended to be wet? I am amazed and perplexed by this lack of common sense in design, every time I walk by an armada of stainless BBQ grills or stainless appliances at my local Home Depot. In addition I purchased the expensive 6000 grit stone, which had a wobble so bad, I couldn't see the edge of my carving tools. This is a polishing phase. You don't need to look for the "wire edge" and so I performed this step by feel. I stopped using it all together, when the up and down wobble became impossible to work with. I now use an 8000 grit bench stone to perform this task. I am in the fourth year of using my second sharpener now, and again experiencing all of the above problems. Makita's earlier models had an issue with the nylon gears not meshing properly, due to the plastic housing impeding moving the motor in its slotted brackets close enough for proper engagement. My first sharpener was just such a model and has afforded me with much knowledge, but my relationship with Makita is souring. Why did I buy another? It offers a large flat grinding surface, which is invaluable for honing and polishing the backs of chisels and plane blades. It is gear driven as opposed to belt drive, and believe me when you start to hone the back of a plane blade and it starts to "drag", you'll really appreciate that. I can only attribute the positive reviews it has received, to the duration of use. I've been using my current unit four years now. If you have any doubts, call Makita's toll free number and speak with tech support. One star for the status quo. It's sad, because it could so easily rate a five.'
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