i live in hawaii and need a belt sander for sharpening and reprofiling, i was planning on purchasing a belt sander from harbor freight but that would mean additional shipping costs. the only place that i can purchase sanders are sears and homedepo. can anyone suggest a good belt sander for a begginer? i was looking at a sears model bench top 4 x36" vertical sander http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00921536000 and a 2x42" horizontal http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00921513000 sander if not a sears brand how about a ryobi http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...earch&cm_pla=HD&cm_ite=bid10111496-home_depot or a delta http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...earch&cm_pla=HD&cm_ite=bid10111496-home_depot both are the vertical type. any suggestions. thank you
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belt sanders
- Thread starter reggie38
- Start date
You would get better results over in Shop Talk, but as long s I am here...
Harbor Freight offers free shipping every now and then, if you decide to go that route. As for what is available at Sear or Home Depot, I would recommend the Sears 2x42 belt sander. Most knifemakers use a 2" wide belt, and this model can go vertical or horizontal, and anywhere in between. It is one of the models recommended as a strater grinder often enough, and as I recall a few makers here started on that model. I have one of them as I am trying to get started, and it seems to work well enough.
Harbor Freight offers free shipping every now and then, if you decide to go that route. As for what is available at Sear or Home Depot, I would recommend the Sears 2x42 belt sander. Most knifemakers use a 2" wide belt, and this model can go vertical or horizontal, and anywhere in between. It is one of the models recommended as a strater grinder often enough, and as I recall a few makers here started on that model. I have one of them as I am trying to get started, and it seems to work well enough.
blgoode
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2003
- Messages
- 7,260
I use the 2x42 sears modle to put the edge on my knives. You can get belts made for it from different abrasive supliers. I have gotten mine from SuperGRit.com I think. Be carfeful! You can burn up the edge in no time flat. Unless you practice to see how fast the blade heats up you may be sorry. Dont use much pressure at all. I use a 120 grit to put the edge bevel in and a 320 grit to put the egge on. Keep in mind my knives are about .025" to .030" thick before the edge so that is the ONLY tile I use the 120 grit. I am telling you this because if you go to Sears and get belts that they have in stock you will end up with a recurve!! Order 220 to raise the shoulder if you need to and 320 to get an edge. Then leave the toothy edge if yyou want or strop it off with a piece of leather. Again I stress the heat factor. It may be better to buy an edgepro or something that wont ruin your knives. Ask this on shoptalk and see what the other guys say before you decide.
Good luck and try it on old blades first. Also this grinder will throw the blade at you if your not careful.
Good luck and try it on old blades first. Also this grinder will throw the blade at you if your not careful.
Yep, I totally neglected to mention the overheating issue. If any part of the edge changes color that means it is to late, the temper has likely been ruined. This is especially an issue near the tip. Work slowly, and cool the blade often, when it starts getting to warm to touch comfortably it is time to cool it off.
And practice, practice, practice! Use an old knife that you don't care about to start with, then work your way up to more expensive knives.
And practice, practice, practice! Use an old knife that you don't care about to start with, then work your way up to more expensive knives.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
I use a 4x36 a lot. It works a lot faster for reprofiling and sharpening than any manual hone. The intrinsic drawback is that the 4" wide belt pulls on the blade harder than a 2" wide belt. You might think that a wide belt would give you a more uniform grind line than a narrower belt, but the higher drag of the wide belt makes it a bit more challenging to hold the blade steady as you work. I also think that the 4x36 probably runs a little slower than the 2" wide models.
Given your remote location I would mostly check on the belt supply when I made my decision. Locally I mostly find the coarser grades of belts for the 4x36 (say 50 to 220 grit). I seldom finish anything with these grits without doing some manual work. This includes belts from the local wood workers specialty store. Mail order I have bought as fine as 600 grit. This works as a finish edge for some blades. You should compare the local grits available for the 4x36 and the 2x42 before you make your choice. You want to try and cover at least 80 to 220 grit and preferably a span of 60 to 400 (or 600).
Given your remote location I would mostly check on the belt supply when I made my decision. Locally I mostly find the coarser grades of belts for the 4x36 (say 50 to 220 grit). I seldom finish anything with these grits without doing some manual work. This includes belts from the local wood workers specialty store. Mail order I have bought as fine as 600 grit. This works as a finish edge for some blades. You should compare the local grits available for the 4x36 and the 2x42 before you make your choice. You want to try and cover at least 80 to 220 grit and preferably a span of 60 to 400 (or 600).
Cougar Allen
Buccaneer (ret.)
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- Oct 9, 1998
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- 77,347
Moving to Shop Talk ...