Belt sander

J

jstokes1

Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Messages
219
I just got into convex knvies, so I decided to get a belt sander for a super sharp edge and my first one arrived today! Unfortunately, it's a $80 piece of crap; getting a refund asap. Does anyone know a good quality 1x30 belt sander that will last?
 
Harbor freight has one that is 30$ with a coupon, many people have had them for awhile with no problem. The extended warranty is cheap insurance in my opinion. They run fast so you need to have a light touch and be careful. As far as"quality" goes you could get a Kalamazoo for under 300$ but that is 1X42. Hope this helps... Russ
 
mycough said:
Harbor freight has one that is 30$ with a coupon, many people have had them for awhile with no problem. The extended warranty is cheap insurance in my opinion. They run fast so you need to have a light touch and be careful. As far as"quality" goes you could get a Kalamazoo for under 300$ but that is 1X42. Hope this helps... Russ
Click to expand...

Yep I'm using the 30.00 HF 1x30 as well.

If you put too much pressure on it, you're gonna regret it. But just let the belt do the work, and buy the appropriate belt for the job and I don't see how this could not handle any 1x30 belt sanding task. You really must use the appropriate belt for the job. It takes less then 30 seconds to swap them out.

Currently using this for my custom Enzo trapper on the piece of burl block I bought for the handle and it is finishing up super nice. Less then 30 minutes on the belt from a huge square block and I am already transitioned to hand sanding at 120 grit.

I have also used it to completely regrind a flat grind S&W flat grind blade (1095 steel) and worked like a charm, after removing their black coating.

edit: here's the handle i'm working on, which is far from finished - these pics weren't meant to be a tut or anything, but my brother keeps bugging me for pics because I think he wants my knife. So these are a couple i've taken along the way, all done on the HF 1x30:


http://imgur.com/a/a21ir
 
Last edited:
VClaw said:
Yep I'm using the 30.00 HF 1x30 as well.

If you put too much pressure on it, you're gonna regret it. But just let the belt do the work, and buy the appropriate belt for the job and I don't see how this could not handle any 1x30 belt sanding task. You really must use the appropriate belt for the job. It takes less then 30 seconds to swap them out.

Currently using this for my custom Enzo trapper on the piece of burl block I bought for the handle and it is finishing up super nice. Less then 30 minutes on the belt from a huge square block and I am already transitioned to hand sanding at 120 grit.

I have also used it to completely regrind a flat grind S&W flat grind blade (1095 steel) and worked like a charm, after removing their black coating.

edit: here's the handle i'm working on, which is far from finished - these pics weren't meant to be a tut or anything, but my brother keeps bugging me for pics because I think he wants my knife. So these are a couple i've taken along the way, all done on the HF 1x30:


http://imgur.com/a/a21ir
Click to expand...

I tried my out an decided to use keep it. I have a 120grt,400grt, 800grt, 1000grt, and leather stropping belt on the way was we speak. I going to practice on some of my cheap knives before I use it on my nice ones.
 
jstokes1 said:
I tried my out an decided to use keep it. I have a 120grt,400grt, 800grt, 1000grt, and leather stropping belt on the way was we speak. I going to practice on some of my cheap knives before I use it on my nice ones.
Click to expand...

If you are removing material from metal stock i'd go with ceramic belts. When polishing my blades I still do it by hand haven't tried that on the belt yet. Mainly used belt for shaping handles or hardcore metal material removal with ceramic belts. 40, 60, 80.


Would like to see your results GL.
 
My second HF 1x30 just took a dump last night. It lasted about 3 years of moderate use, just like my first one. Not terrible for $40, but even better for $30. I don't think I'll buy another, though. I'm gonna save up for a Work Sharp Ken Onion edition. :thumbup:
 
I've been looking into getting a belt sander as well, and have been doing some research. I came across an older thread here, which linked to another website for instructions. This is the link: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/776367/tp/1/

In that thread, the OP's first reply, I believe the fourth or fifth reply overall, seems to say to sharpen in the opposite direction of normal. He says that the belt will be moving down in front, and to hold the knife oriented edge down as well. Am I interpreting that correctly, and is this the normal way to sharpen with a belt sander?
 
Why is sharpening with a belt done in the opposite direction it's done with a stone?
 
So you don't catch the edge of the knife on the belt running at 3000 feet per minute.
 
I'm using this to get a very fine edge on my convex knives. Also have 3000grt sandpaper on its way as well
 
Bo T said:
So you don't catch the edge of the knife on the belt running at 3000 feet per minute.
Click to expand...

I've always sharpened my knives edge down on my 1x30's for this very reason. On the other hand, the way the Work Sharp is set up, you're sharpening one bevel edge down and one edge up (in effect, though you hold the blade in the same position) since the belt only moves in one direction, so I wonder how much we should actually worry about this. Of course, the WS rotates slower and the edge is guided, so maybe that eliminates this concern? :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top