Here's something that might be of interest, a Power wet/dry Sharpening center for under $150...

Very simple idea, take a standard Delta Bench Grinder and turn one of the wheels on a horizontal plane...

Check it out here.

I have been looking at Power Sharpeners but did not want to spring for the $300 to $500 most are asking, so I was going to build one and found this on the web while looking for parts...

Comes with a 120 grit and 1000 grit 8" wheel, make or buy a leather wheel, charge with diamond paste and you’re in business.  (Dave Collyer)

I have one, it works well FOR ME.  I finish on an old belt charged with jewelers' rouge and mounted on a flat board.  Just a few strokes to remove the wire edge.  Don't forget to turn the water off, and you need a bucket or can under the wet wheel to catch the runoff.  The tool rest on the dry wheel isn't much so I made one with a piece of 1/2" conduit and a couple of 2 x 4s. Seems like I saw that in "Fine Woodworking" sometime.  (Neil Savage)

This model, as well as another version is offered in the Tool Crib cat. Amazon bought them and they are $10 more, but offer free shipping, which comes  close to the same price. Have seen them both & are very good units. The Leather Strop wheel from Rockler looks like a good buy, compared to others I've seen.  (Chad Wigham)

I picked one of these units up in Pigeon Forge, TN at the local Delta Tool Store.   What they do is sell primarily refurbished units.  If my memory serves me it cost me about $127.00 there.

I really like the unit.  (Joe Byrd)

Getting one of them WorkSharp  sharpening systems for Christmas. What extras do I need to get with it? Is the leather honing plate a good idea?  Do you sharpen your plane irons to 30 degrees or is 5 better.  (Tom Kurtis)

I don't have a WorkSharp, but I do have a Tormek. The leather honing plate is a good idea. I don't know if they recommend a particular lubricant and polishing abrasive, but generally you want to impregnate the leather with light machine oil first and then use a product they recommend, a rouge, diamond paste, or Tormek sells a very good paste for something like $6. Definitely buy as fine a finishing sandpaper disk as they sell and then follow by the leather strop. Sometimes if I think my blade is starting to get dull (but not too far along) then I put it on the strop for a minute to touch up  the edge and then go back to work.

As far as what angle to use, start at 30 and if you don't like it, increase it incrementally until you do. Keep the 30 degree bevel (or whatever the blade came as) and add a smaller secondary bevel to suit the degree of your preference. This also shortens the time to re-sharpen since there is less material to remove since the primary bevel is less of an angle.  (Scott Bearden)

I have one and love it!  Its the first time I have had really sharp irons ever! I don't think you need the leather strop wheel but I think an extra wheel would help. The  number of grits supplied leaves some gaps in the progression. I sharpen my block planes to 30 degrees and add a  35 degree microbevel.  (Doug Easton)

If I may ask, what were you sharpening with prior to getting the new toyl?  (Larry Blan)

Scary Sharp with a Veritas guide.  (Doug Easton)

Got one this summer.  Love it.  My sharpening improved noticeably for two reasons.  First of all...I've never been patient enough to sharpen as often as I should.  It's not that sharpening was all that big a deal with my "scary sharp" setup, but I just didn't like to stop and go thorough the process.  The work sharp system cut the sharpening process to a fraction of the time and it's kinda cool to use the machine.  The second thing that improved for me was getting a consistent bevel in both the vertical and horizontal planes.  The blade sharpening fixtures I had been using produced inconsistent bevels from one sharpening session to the next.  That equates to more time sharpening and less than adequate bevels if you're impatient like me.  The fixture on the work sharp machine produces consistent bevels every time.

I purchased the leather strop.  It's nice to have if you don't already have a leather sharpening wheel but it's probably not necessary.  I touch up the blade on 600, 1000, 3600 and the strop 10 or 12 times each for a few seconds after planing a few strips.  I think I was resharpening after every three strips on the last rod but I can't remember for sure.  It takes 2 or 3 minutes to remove the blade from the plane, resharpen it and remount it.  You could purchase another glass plate if you want more grits in the sequence but that's probably not necessary either.  The sequence I'm using does not remove all the scratches from the final bevel.  But that doesn't seem to affect the performance of the blade.  Scroll down in this photo album to see pictures of the machine and a sharpened blade.  You can see the scratches in the blade.

I'm cutting the primary bevel at 30 degrees and adding a 35 degree micro bevel.  Using a micro bevel makes resharpening faster.  I don't know that it has any affect on the performance of the blade.   Maybe it does,  I just can't tell any difference planing.

One more thing...read the instructions before you use it.  If you're like me, you'll be tempted to skip that step.  It's a simple process but you'll get better results from the start if you'll read the directions.  You might even want to watch the video on their web site.  (David Bolin)

Question about the Work Sharp grinders - is it really worth the twice the price to get the 3000 rather than the 2000 model?  Does the 3000 really do a better job of sharpening or does it just have more bells and whistles?  (Tom Key)

I looked at the cheaper one and as far as I could tell there is little if any adjustment for the angle. If I remember it right.  I may be wrong, but come on, getting the higher $ machine is the American way. Twice as much MUST be twice as good.  (Tom Kurtis)

I haven't seen them, so maybe I should stay out of this, but from the blurb it looks like the 2000 has a fixed 25 degree angle, which is not ideal for our plane irons.  Has anyone actually seen the two for comparison?  (Neil Savage)

I'm using the 3000.  The fixed 25 degree angle on the 2000 might be a problem.  30 to 35 degrees is recommended by the pros.  But for the money, the best deal is a set of flat glass plates from the scrap pile at the local windshield repair shop (safety glass), some sand paper from the auto parts store, a can of 3m spray on adhesive and an inexpensive blade sharpening fixture.  Google "scary sharp".  I make 3 or 4 rods a year.  At that rate, I never should have bought the Work Sharp thing.  It's totally unnecessary in my case.  But I'm a toolaholic.  I try to stay miles  away from the Grizzly show room, most of the time.  I had a week moment last summer after getting skunked again at Crane creek.  I would feel better about it if I had received it as a Christmas gift.  I'd recommend putting the 3000 near the top of your Christmas list.  (David Bolin)

Never admit that a tool is unnecessary in a venue that Mark Wendt can see. He has a bigger appetite for tools than Tim "the tool man" Taylor.  (Will Price)

I'm of the firm belief that one can never have too many toyls.  You never know when you might just need that one special toyl.  (Mark Wendt)

I've been looking at the Tormek system and have even used one and found it to be very user friendly but also very pricey. I got a Grizzly Tool catalog and they have a system that’s similar so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this system. The price is a third of the Tormek.  (Jeff Volner)

Look at the Jet system. It is similar to the Tormek but about $100 less.  (Rich Jezioro)

I've seen the Grizzly system, but have never used it.  I have a Tormek -- but only because the Jet sharpener I bought was cracked when I took it out of the box and I talked the guy into an even swap because I had to wait 3 weeks for it.  The beauty of the Jet system is that it will take all of the Tormek tools, it has a bigger water capacity, storage drawers and it is infinitely variable speed and it cost about 250-300 on sale.  Have you looked into the Jet?  (Don Peet)

For those who are curious I think this is the item.

As a Tormek owner I must confess that I bought mine second hand in excellent condition and had I not bought it second hand the MSRP would have likely scared me away. Having said that, I love it. It is overkill if you only have one or two planes or blades to sharpen. There are dozens of Tormek jigs to sharpen just about everything you can find in your house. I have several planes now, and having them all sharp at the beginning of planing is convenient, but I will admit not entirely necessary.

To answer your question I would be hesitant to use this model for two reasons. First, they don't state the grit of the stone, and I suspect that it may be rather course for the work we are doing. Secondly, there is another model marketed by Woodcraft that for $99 I suspect would be better. It is another motorized wet stone and it is 1000 grit, but whether that is Japanese grit or American is the burning question. With either of these you will still be left with the need to polish the edge, so it isn't a complete solution like the Tormek or Worksharp.

A third option, albeit still expensive IMHO, is the Jet Slow Speed sharpener is a Tormek knock off that is basically an import copy of the expired patents on the Tormek. They are nearly identical and compatible with accessories and there is a $200 price difference between the two products. Tormek hypes up their proprietary stone as a dual grade 220/1000 which you can change using a stone grader in about one minute. I leave it at the 1000 grit. This draws a lot of criticism and cynicism, after experiencing it myself I am convinced that it works as advertised.

As a newbie to rodmaking myself my advice is unless you have lots of disposable cash to spend, that a Japanese combination stone and a simple honing guide is the most economical and practical method of sharpening. Scary sharp is very effective and cheap up front, but the cost of buying sand paper or the better 3M abrasive strips can really add up over time. I wasn't looking for a Tormek, but I fell into it as a package deal with a lot of other rodmaking tools. My other advice to other newbies like myself is to piece together things as you need them, buy the best you can afford and look for things second hand. Deals come along all the time from list members, other forums, eBay, craigslist, and yard sales.

Having said all of that I do have a couple of eclipse honing guides and fairly new Japanese waterstone that has only been flattened once if any newbies out there are interested and getting started.  (Scott Bearden)

I have a Tormek system, my only complaint is that the stone wheels can become out of round when they dry out. The manufacturer recommends keeping the stone turning after use until dry to keep the stones from changing shape while drying (this can take at least twenty four hours so I don't do this). I have trued all my stones with the diamond dressing tool and they don't warp a lot, but keeping the cutting edge of the plane blade perpendicular to the body of the blade is a concern. Other then that I like the system. I have purchase a stack of extra plane irons and just sharpen them all at one time.  (Will McMurrey)

I went with the Jet system and it works great. At the time, Woodcraft was throwing in about $150.00 in accessories and the sharpener itself was $100.00 less than the Tormek. From what I was told, Tormek did not renew their patent which left the design open to replicating. Jet made a few improvements to Tormeks design and put it out there for sale. The Jet has a bunch of accessories as well as all the Tormek ones are interchangeable.   (Paul McRoberts)

With all the talk on sharpening options here's my .02 cents -  The Sharpening Sled by Alisam.  Can't be beat for price, speed, accuracy and ease of use.  I have no connection but check them out here.  They have other great product too.  I recommend the #SS2 as covers all stones and diamond plates and can obviously work on any flat surface.  Quality product.  (Rob Smith)

I have one of the WorkSharp WS3000 sharpeners now and I found out that either I wasn't sharpening at the correct angle by hand (even with the Veritas jig) or I didn't know what the heck I was doing.  I ended up grinding all of my irons to 30 degrees with the WorkSharp system (didn't take very long at all) and haven't looked back!  (Todd Talsma)

That's a very nice looking system.  It is a powered scary sharp system, right?  That looks like something that I might go for.  Right now I use a Veritas Mk. II jig and some float glass with the right paper on it.  Sometimes I find the paper with adhesive on it and sometimes I have to use spray on adhesive.  When I want to reset an angle I use some diamond sharpeners that I got from Grizzly for about $15.  Even though I have a workable system, I hate to sharpen.  What you are using looks like it would be really fast and "painless."  Could you give us a quick review of the strong points and any possible problems with the WS3000?  (Hal Manas)

Hopefully more people will chime in here, but here it goes.  I've used the system for a little over a month now.  All in all, I'm very pleased with the system.  I started by taking my irons and initially bringing them to the correct 30 degree angle.  I had been doing this using the scary sharp system and the Veritas angle setting jig (sorry, I'm not sure what model it is).  I was able to get sharp irons using the Scary Sharp system, but I think using the WS3000 is going to let me keep a consistent sharpening angle from one session to the next.  Yeah, you have to change the disks to change the grits, but that's only a matter of loosening up a knob, flipping the disk or grabbing the next one, turn the machine back on and grab another iron.  I have 4 Hock irons for a couple of Stanley planes and one L-N plane/iron and it only takes a couple minutes to go through the process of getting them sharp again. As  is normal, once you get that correct angle set, it makes touching up the  irons a whole lot easier!  (Todd Talsma)

I bought the leather honing plate when I got mine. Soon learned once your irons are sharp, put a piece of the 3600 paper on the back of the honing plate and all you have to do is touch the paper once or twice and the hone to be back at planing. Don't even have to change a plate.  (Tom Kurtis)

I thought about the same thing.  I'll have to pick up an extra plate!  (Todd Talsma)

A while ago on the list, someone told how they used a wooden form to adjust the blade on the veritas. Once the blade is at the correct angle and true perpendicular. put the blade on a small block of wood. take off some wood at the front so that the Veritas fits flush against the block. With the blade in the form fit it so that the Ver... and the blade are flat and flush. Take two small pieces of wood and make stops on the back and left side of the block. glue and let it set. The next time you only have to put the blade in the Var... and adjust it square in the form, simple and fast and works every time. If you are left handed, maybe you should put the block on the right side?

I use sticky sandpaper also, get it at Sears, 100 and 150. then 400 and finally 2000 grit. The whole thing costs next to nothing and really works, best of all you made it yourself.  (Bob Norwood)

My only concern is for the life of the reduction gears (which are a bit noisy). However I re-beveled and sharpened 3 old Stanley blades and a cryo blade in about 1 1/2 hours (not straight grinding time). I needed extra time because my previous scary sharp bevels done with my Veritas guide were, as Todd says, WAY off. I got the machine a month ago. I have squared up strips for 2 rods (I use a MHM) and I haven't had to use the sharpener again except to sharpen all our kitchen knives. I will need to do it again this weekend because I will  be starting a new rod. One note, the progression of grits provided is a bit steep. I was not able to get all the marks made with one grade out with the next.  This would be a case for getting an extra glass disc. However I am sharpening to 30 deg and adding a 35 degree microbevel and the blades cut cane beautifully. Isn't that what counts?   (Doug Easton)

I have just received my new grinder today from Grizzly and I have to say I am quite impressed. It is very close in size to the Tormek and also weight. It has the over the top bar like Tormek and universal jig with angle guide template. The stone is 220 grit (wet) with leather strop. Most impressive is this machine is made in Germany. I will let you guys know about the performance but so far this machine is well worth the much lower price(less than half base Tormek). (Jeff Volner)