I have been sharpening my chisels & plane blades with a homemade guide, assorted papers spray glued to a piece plate glass for some time now and decided to move up to something less bulky. 

Found the FASTTRACK on Woodcrafts web site that linked me to https://www.m-powertools.com/.  Signed up for the news letter & received 20% off my purchase.

 

 

 First thing I noticed was the weight, 2 pounds. As suggested I screwed it down to a board with a cleat on the end and clamped it in my wood vise. One screw and the rubber feet kept it in place.

 Road tested on a used chisel,

and ran thru 100, 220,& 450 diamond stones.Working the sled I had no problem with it sliding out too far.

The set up was easy and there was no movement on the stones as I sharpened, the magnet held the stone in place.

 

 I ran a pin across the chisel and did not feel any grooves or lines that appear in the picture. I think a little time on #600 would take away the lines. 

 This was my worst looking chisel and required the most time, about 10 minutes. My other chisels cleaned up in less than 5 min. Overall I'm happy the way it performed.

 I did have an email question and did receive a fast reply. 

 

 The only thing I did not like was the handle on the sled. Big enough for my hands but, the edge was a bit hard on the hand. I think a file can soften up edge.

Clever device, and one that works well.

Looks like a good idea.  Might go quicker for you if ran the chisel a couple degrees off on the belt sander first.  Then just sharpen the very end, some will hollow grind first.  The idea is to have less area for cutting with the diamond stones.

3 hours ago, HandyDan said:

  Might go quicker for you if ran the chisel a couple degrees off on the belt sander first.  Then just sharpen the very end, some will hollow grind first.  The idea is to have less area for cutting with the diamond stones.

 Dan, this chisel was quite a bit off angle and most of the work was to get it back to 30 degrees. The idea of using the belt sander did pop into my head just a little too late into the process.  The sled does have the ability to lift a degree or two to just do the edge of the chisel, like you said, which is what happened on the other tools.

 Although the homemade jig kept them sharp when needed I think my angles were drifting every time I sharpened.

8 hours ago, DuckSoup said:

Found the FASTTRACK on Woodcrafts web site that linked me

Interesting concept yet simplistic design. I had not seen this before.

I watched some of their videos but didn't see any recommendation to use water or oil or any lubricant. I typically use ~70/30 mix of water & Simple Green on my diamond plates similar to these.

Did you use any lubricant or just dry?

I assume the retaining magnet(s) are likely rare earth? Any issue with them attracting/retaining the swarf?

Thanks for the review Bob. I've bookmarked their Home Page...I may mention this to Santa and to make sure "he" signs up first to receive the discount.

13 hours ago, HandyDan said:

Might go quicker for you if ran the chisel a couple degrees off on the belt sander first.

for some this may be a good plan...

for other they will heat the chisel and de temper it..

maybe suggest a belt sander isn't a good idea...

15 hours ago, DuckSoup said:

Big enough for my hands but, the edge was a bit hard on the hand.

thanks for the write up Bob..

would an RO work better at softening the edge???

Thanks for the review Bob, I will be looking into this further.

19 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

I watched some of their videos but didn't see any recommendation to use water or oil or any lubricant. I typically use ~70/30 mix of water & Simple Green on my diamond plates similar to these.

Did you use any lubricant or just dry?

 Dave, I did email them about lubricant between the sled & base and their reply was to apply a friction oil in the dovetail area. There is a plastic strip in that area so it is not metal on metal.

 I did put a drop of water but I think I'll take your advice on the 70/30 mix, I like that idea. 

 

 

 the small button is the magnet, holds quite well.

The diamond plates have a plastic backing, numbered on the front & color coated for grit, so it pretty much covers the entire magnet. No swarf that I noticed.

 

note:

 In fairness to the company after I posted this review yesterday I did email them a link, today I received a reply:

 

Dear Mr Prochak,

 

Thank you very much for your review.

It really means a lot to us.

 

Your last comment about the handle was very interesting as we have some improvements/upgrades coming out really soon.

End caps for the handle and a center-it-clip for the blade receiving slot (carriage).

Please see images attached.

As soon as these are in production, we’ll send you them.

 

Thanks again,
Cynthia

 

Cynthia Lavigne

Sales Director

 

website: www.m-powertools.com

   

 

12 hours ago, Stick486 said:

would an RO work better at softening the edge???

 Stick, I was thinking down that same line but now I think I'll wait, looks like they have a solution.

Thanks Bob. Appreciate answering the questions and kudos for being transparent with the company about your review.

As for the Simple Green + Water, I used that with my wet or dry sandpaper too when sharpening plane irons & chisels.

 

I've also used about a 50/50 mix of LA's Totally Awesome as the sharpening lubricant...usually can buy it at Dollar Tree, but also have found it at Big Lots and Dollar General. It works great to clean pitch on router bits and saw blades. I use it full strength for that purpose. Wood Magazine (I think) did a comparison test versus some of the high end cleaners and rated it well. They did not recommend using Simple Green to clean carbide tipped tools.

 

 

3 hours ago, DuckSoup said:

Your last comment about the handle was very interesting as we have some improvements/upgrades coming out really soon.

End caps for the handle and a center-it-clip for the blade receiving slot (carriage).

Please see images attached.

As soon as these are in production, we’ll send you them.

If there was even the slightest bit of concern or apprehension about this product or company by anyone, their (FastTrack) response and commitment to satisfaction should eliminate that.

 

Based on your review of the product along with the company's focus on the customer, I'm gonna order one too. It might not be until after the 1st of the year.

Thanks again Bob for the heads up.

36 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

They did not recommend using Simple Green to clean carbide tipped tools.

SG tells ya not to...

I have had one of those, and still have one for,13 years, only it is anodized blue one. I really liked it, was the first time I could get a good edge on chisels, I have a drawer full of stones and guides ,I used for years, but never could get a satisfactory edge on them.

I now use the Work Sharp, but still like the slider.

Thanks for posting the review.

Herb

 Received a prototype clip from the manufacture and spent a little time on a test run.

The clip snaps on the base quite snug and centers the chisel. This also keeps the sled over the center as well

Small modification to the tool but a big improvement to how the chisel is held. 

Without the clip I was using my thumb & index finger to hold down the chisel,and tight against the side.

 With the clip the chisel stayed in place better and I just needed my thumb to hold down the chisel and my fingers

wrapped around the handle. 

 

 Nice improvement.

So the clip works as a spacer for the original fixed stop moving the chisel closer to center?

Am I missing something else? Would it work with the chisel "sandwiched" between the fixed stop and clip?

Kudos!, thanks Bob..  Great feedback on the prototype Centering Clip. Your suggestion on changing the hands grip to the chisel and how it's presented to the FTS definitely reduces the pressure needed to keep it in place. An improvement that'll find it's way into the instruction manual for sure!

20 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

So the clip works as a spacer for the original fixed stop moving the chisel closer to center?

 Correct. You really just need it for narrow chisels. I believe the idea here is to keep the sled over the center of the base.

 

20 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Would it work with the chisel "sandwiched" between the fixed stop and clip?

You could, but it seems like the backstroke does want to pull it away from the fixed stop. I noticed less effort when the chisel was centered.