Belt sander or grinder?

S

shot3gun

Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
26
If you had to pick one, which would you choose?

(BTW i'm very poor, so I can only choose one )= )
 
Belt sanders are intended for wood, belt grinders intended for metal.

You can get by with a belt sander, though it's very frustrating, to make a knife.

If you really want to make knives by doing stock removal, you won't really be happy until you get a grinder.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by a "grinder". A belt sander/grinder is pretty darned handy--the Craftsman 2x42 while far from perfect works pretty well for 100 bones. The Harbor Freight 1x30 for $40 is better than nothing. A $30 angle grinder is good for cutting out blanks and rough profiling.

Of course, you can do pretty much everything with hand tools (hacksaw, files)--it just takes longer. You will also want to invest in a small drill press (though you can use a hand drill to get started).

If you haven't already, read the stickies at the top of the forum.
 
If you mean a bench grinder ( with two Carborundum wheels) forget it. They are basically useless for knifemaking.
 
Stacy is right about the stone wheel grinders, they are not suitable for knife making. Abrasive belt grinders or "sanders" are much more flexible in what they can be used for and are preferred for knifemaking.

George
 
One thing I've learned so far is that you can never go wrong with files and sandpaper. I actually find it very relaxing and rewarding.
 
Have a look at a craftsman 2 x 42 belt sander, many people have been happy with them as entry belt sanders and Truegrit or others make decent belts available.
 
the count is correct , a 2x42 grinder is great to start and doesn't cost too much. When it comes time to upgrade, they are great for sharpening.
Cheers
Shant
 
So bench grinders are not actually suitable for making knives? Because I've made my last 3 knives and profiled/rough ground 2 more with mines with the only problem being the rough grindmarks.
 
Just to clarify some language, a belt grinder and belt sander are the same thing (in my mind). If you are using it on metal it's a grinder and if you are using it on wood it's a sander. My guess is the OP is talking about a bench grinder with the stone-type wheels vs. a belt grinder. In my opinion, the belt grinder is much, much more suitable for knife making and overall handiness. I first got the 1x42 Delta ($100) and like it, then built a 2x72 grinder. There's really no comparison between the two for knife making but I use the 1x42 much more often for general purpose shop stuff. My hard stone grinder is never used for anything anymore.
 
shot3gun said:
I just want something to reprofile/ change blade angles and etc.
Click to expand...

If the reprofile is no too radical the suggested HF 1 x 30 is fine, you can add a leather belt and do sharpening as well. I use it to make the finale bevel on most blades so it will change angles with no trouble, need to order so good belts.
 
A belt sander is exactly that. A sander. It is meant of sanding and shaping soft materials. Belt speed is typically 100 to 500 surface feet per minute.

a professional belt grinder is meant for hogging hard materials fast. (although they came be slowed down for soft materials. So a Belt Grinder can many times do double duty.

A Belt Grinder, unlike a belt sander, can operate at hight sfpm's. I have three in the shop that can be run continuously at 7800 sfpm. One at over 10,000 surface feet per minute was used in the Lovett shop for years. A belt sander cannot stand up to this kind of abuse.

A belt Grinder has bonded rubber contact wheels to cushion the steel being ground, and stop high speed hammering of the work piece. Belt sanders do not have this feature.

Yes, they are the same thing. Much like a bi-plane and the F-15 are But just as different.
A belt Sander is a hell of a lot cheaper. (soe id a Bi-Plane)

Just a 10" contact wheel for the typical belt Grinder will cost more than the complete HF belt sander. Several times more. A fully set up Grinder, with the needed wheels will be north of 3000.00 dollars. You can build your own for about half of that.

Mike
Maker
The Loveless Connection Knives
 
If I understand the OP right maybe he means a floor belt sander? Those are cheap and I mounted mine upside down on the work bench to use. I'm brand new to this as well (I'm also broke) but this is def not the way to go. Its louder than hell and, even with a rough grit belt, it doesn't remove near enough material.

An angle grinder works wonders but, man, is it dangerous. Use cut-off and flap-sanding discs. Oh, and a VISE! lol

A $30 angle grinder is the best way to go, on the cheap, IMO. I touched mine up with files and a $30 RTX-6 Rotary tool (WAAAAAY better than a dremel, cheaper too!) I'll post up a nice little blog/writeup of it when its all done.

I'm thinking about the HF mini grinder as well, maybe even that Craftsman.
 
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