2" belt sander/grinder

B

Blackcloud

Joined
Dec 20, 2019
Messages
169
Anyone use a 2" belt sander and grinder combo for shaping, beveling and sharpening knives? 1" seems good for sharpening but doubt they are up to much stock removal until you get into the big $$$. Just curious as a hobbyist.
 
My 1 by 30 has made several knives, it couldn't hold a candle to a proper grinder but it does get the job done. Most serious knife makers seem to go with a 2 by 72 and assuming your motor is sufficient pretty much any 2 by 72 grinder would be faster and should be better suited to grinding a consistent bevel although even a relatively affordable 2 by 72 is approaching 10 times what my 1 by 30 cost so it isn't really a fair comparison. so if i understand your question correctly a 1 by 30 or 1 by 42 grinder should be perfectly adequate for sharpening and profiling work and some minor grinding but if you want to make knives and cost isn't an issue than a larger grinder would probably be a better choice.
 
GABaus said:
My 1 by 30 has made several knives, it couldn't hold a candle to a proper grinder but it does get the job done. Most serious knife makers seem to go with a 2 by 72 and assuming your motor is sufficient pretty much any 2 by 72 grinder would be faster and should be better suited to grinding a consistent bevel although even a relatively affordable 2 by 72 is approaching 10 times what my 1 by 30 cost so it isn't really a fair comparison. so if i understand your question correctly a 1 by 30 or 1 by 42 grinder should be perfectly adequate for sharpening and profiling work and some minor grinding but if you want to make knives and cost isn't an issue than a larger grinder would probably be a better choice.
Click to expand...
A 2 x 72 works excellently for sharpening I can say by personal experience of sharpening Thousandz of knives over the last 25 plus years, you can split belts or buy 1 x 72” if you like. Also having variable speed where you can slow things down along with dipping your blade in water before each pass helps keep things cool! O
 
I have the Multitool 2x48 grinder attachment, it works great for sharpening. For bigger grinding jobs it can bog down if you lean on it but overall works very well for the $.

In my experience the 2" belt presents a little more flat across the width of the belt than a 1".
 
Cost is a factor and size is a huge factor. I don't have much space in the garage. It may pull duty for other things besides an occasional knife making project. Jet has a model in the $450 range. Palmgren and Bucktool have cheaper ones in the +$200 range.All are 2"x 42". Probably do the same thing as the Jet. Cost jumps big time or VS models.
 
How is the quality on those particular $200 belt sanders?
 
Last edited:
My Multitool 2 x 36 combined with a cheap Delta variable speed grinder from Lowes wasn't more than $450 (not including belts) and that's been great for low speed sharpening and high speed material removal. I made it even faster by rigging a garden sprayer to drip water at the leading edge of the platen so that I don't have to take axes/knives/chisels off of the belt to dip in water.

T
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top