Belt Sander Questions

Swoop03

Swoop03

Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
840
I was thinking about getting one of those super cheap harbor freight 1x30's for occasional use such as a quick reprofile maybe full convex a knife or two and just stupid little things non knife related I've thought "hey a belt sander would be handy for this" My quarrel is I don't know where to get belts for it, I've checked my local hardware stores and they have absolutely nothing. So I'm stuck with the internet, and I have found a few sites but they charge 3 and 4 bucks a belt plus 10 bucks shipping. Is there anywhere to get them cheaper or even in bulk so that the per belt price is lower? Also I haven't found anyone that has belts over 400 grit. So I can get lower grit belts but what do I do if I want to get a finer satin finish or even attempt a polish?

Oh and if you can tell me where to get a better sander for a similar price, under $100 for sure, then please inform me :D
 
try Supergrit. You may want to consider grizzley industrial. I prefer working with them over harbor freight for value priced china made tools. Their stuff always works better and they are great to deal with.
 
Hey I got a Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander a couple months ago. Have not used it on any knives though - just some wood splitting tools and that cheap ($5) Harbor Freight machete.

I think you'll find the finer finishing work will have to be done by hand or on another type of machine. The sharpening pro's will have to weigh in on that.
 
My harbor freight carries a multitude of the belts that go with that sander. I can't speak to their quality, but I seem to remember they were pretty dang cheap.
 
I bought the Harbor Freight 1X30 with the 5 inch disc almost a year ago and have found it surprisingly useful. BTW- the disc does come in handy as well, if you want to pay a little more. As mentioned above, harbor freight has some cheap belts for it, but I would recommend you avoid the aluminum oxide ones they stock. They tend to wear out or break in almost no time. The HF zirconia belts are stronger and last considerably longer, though I've only seen them stocked in a couple course grits (40 and 80 or similar). You can find better quality belts at http://usaknifemaker.com/abrasives-c-94/abrasive-belts-c-94-42.html. Home depot also carries a 1x30 belt combo pack (i think it has 3 belts up to 150 grit or so) that is fine, but you can find better deals online.
 
True Grit and Econ Abrasives have decent selections of 1x30 at good prices. I'm pretty sure I have acquired surface conditioning, leather, gators, blaze, and micron belts from one or both of those before. I know I have purchased felt and cork belts from Supergrit and they are good to deal with. Last time I ordered some 1/2x12 Micro-Mesh belts for my Worksharp I picked up some 1x30 and 1x42 belts too, so I know Micro-Mesh carries a selection. If I remember correctly the reason I loaded up on belts from Micro-Mesh is because of their minimum shipping fee, so keep that in mind. Speaking of shipping fees, Lee Valley is good for Trizacts and AO belts when they are having a free shipping special.
 
Brisket said:
True Grit and Econ Abrasives have decent selections of 1x30 at good prices. I'm pretty sure I have acquired surface conditioning, leather, gators, blaze, and micron belts from one or both of those before. I know I have purchased felt and cork belts from Supergrit and they are good to deal with. Last time I ordered some 1/2x12 Micro-Mesh belts for my Worksharp I picked up some 1x30 and 1x42 belts too, so I know Micro-Mesh carries a selection. If I remember correctly the reason I loaded up on belts from Micro-Mesh is because of their minimum shipping fee, so keep that in mind. Speaking of shipping fees, Lee Valley is good for Trizacts and AO belts when they are having a free shipping special.
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I went with tru grit and they arrived at my door step within two days of them recieving payment, which took a week for some reason, my bank's slacking again. I'm still waiting on my HF sander now, they didn't have the one with the disc on their site and I wasn't too worried about it, I know I'd use it if I had it but I'm not concerned if I don't have one.
 
I went with tru grit and they arrived at my door step within two days of them recieving payment, which took a week for some reason, my bank's slacking again. I'm still waiting on my HF sander now, they didn't have the one with the disc on their site and I wasn't too worried about it, I know I'd use it if I had it but I'm not concerned if I don't have one.
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If you got a leather belt, be sure to not leave it on the belt sander as it will stretch out and become very floppy in use. The HF 1x30 doesn't have the adjustability to eliminate the slack, so you will end up having to shorten and re-glue the leather belt to make it usable should it get stretched out. I would also suggest that you practice on some beaters until you get the hang of belt sander sharpening. Happy sharpening.
 
Ok thanks i didn't know that, ill be sure not to leave the leather one on there and i have to keep it out if reach from my cat as well i noticed, i caught her starting to chew on it lol. Yea I have a few expensive ones I want to take to the sander but I will def. start out cheap. I have plenty of kitchen knives that could use a reprofile and my mom will definitely have plenty to sharpen and take damage out, cheap ones of course. I got about 10-15you sub 20$ folders i use as beaters too that i won't really miss too much. Im good with practice knives lol.
 
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