Belt Sanders

adrock1978

adrock1978

Joined
May 30, 2009
Messages
2,538
I've been searching for a homeowner/hobby version of a belt sander but only two come up that are vertical that don't have a continuous platen behind the belt: The Central Machinery sander from Harbor Freight, and A belt/disc combo from Steele Products, at Sears. Can anyone comment on either of these, or suggest another for less than, lets say $150?
 
I got my HF sander on sale AND with a 20% off coupon for $31.xx. If you do go the HF route, print out a 20% coupon.
It's cheap and does the job, but only my first belt sander, so I can't compare to others. I've heard of folk putting a variable resistor on the power cord to slow it down a tad. For the price, its quite effective.

My assortment of belts cost more than the sander!
 
I just scored a Palmgren USA made 2x42 with 6in disc for $130.. platen can be removed, its about 6-8inches long and 2.25 inches wide or so.. search on the web and ye might be lucky enough to find one.. :D


edit: all parts are cast aluminum I think.. its way better than any plastic made HF pos.. sealed motor. weighs 35lbs. bye!
 
tobotech said:
I got my HF sander on sale AND with a 20% off coupon for $31.xx. If you do go the HF route, print out a 20% coupon.
It's cheap and does the job, but only my first belt sander, so I can't compare to others. I've heard of folk putting a variable resistor on the power cord to slow it down a tad. For the price, its quite effective.

My assortment of belts cost more than the sander!
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I think it goes as low as 500 RPM. That's not slow enough for general knife sharpening/work?

sloth357 said:
I just scored a Palmgren USA made 2x42 with 6in disc for $130.. platen can be removed, its about 6-8inches long and 2.25 inches wide or so.. search on the web and ye might be lucky enough to find one.. :D


edit: all parts are cast aluminum I think.. its way better than any plastic made HF pos.. sealed motor. weighs 35lbs. bye!
Click to expand...


If I'm looking at the one you're talking about, it seems perfect. Their website has an msrp of $174. You're saying I can find it cheaper elsewhere? I haven't looked.
 
I have a Kalamazoo 1sm that is perfect for sharpening and general cleanup work. It has one speed at IIRC 1725 RPM. If you have one at 500 RPM that is plenty slow, maybe too slow depending on what you're doing.

adrock1978 said:
I think it goes as low as 500 RPM. That's not slow enough for general knife sharpening/work?
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oeser said:
I have a Kalamazoo 1sm that is perfect for sharpening and general cleanup work. It has one speed at IIRC 1725 RPM. If you have one at 500 RPM that is plenty slow, maybe too slow depending on what you're doing.
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Interesting. As I've never owned a sander like this, tell me what I may stand to lose if I don't have higher speeds around 3000rpm. Are they unnecessary?
 
adrock1978 said:
Interesting. As I've never owned a sander like this, tell me what I may stand to lose if I don't have higher speeds around 3000rpm. Are they unnecessary?
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You stand to lose the chance of burning up your blade even faster. The kalamazoo is PLENTY powerful for sharpening and finishing work. IMO.
 
adrock1978 said:
Interesting. As I've never owned a sander like this, tell me what I may stand to lose if I don't have higher speeds around 3000rpm. Are they unnecessary?
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richstag said:
You stand to lose the chance of burning up your blade even faster. The kalamazoo is PLENTY powerful for sharpening and finishing work. IMO.
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Exactly. You don't need anything faster IMO. Although it's not the ideal tool for the job, you could use it to smooth out the grind on your BJ as well as shape your handles and then sharpen it all up when you're done. It can also completely destroy a perfectly good knife unless you have some practice under your belt.
 
I second Jared's conclusion. I also used mine to shape/make micarta grips. It shaped quickly with low grit belts and finished detailed contours with the flexible belts.
 
oeser said:
Exactly. You don't need anything faster IMO. Although it's not the ideal tool for the job, you could use it to smooth out the grind on your BJ as well as shape your handles and then sharpen it all up when you're done. It can also completely destroy a perfectly good knife unless you have some practice under your belt.
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Hmm. Leaning towards the Kalamazzo then. What do you mean by smooth out the grind? Sharpen the factory convex? Change the profile if I wanted to? Typically the tasks you mentioned would be the ones performed most often.
 
adrock1978 said:
Hmm. Leaning towards the Kalamazzo then. What do you mean by smooth out the grind? Sharpen the factory convex? Change the profile if I wanted to? Typically the tasks you mentioned would be the ones performed most often.
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You could use it to give it a full zero edge convex and a nice satin finish. You could reprofile it and do overall finish work/touchups on the blade and handle. I used mine to reprofile this B11 to have a zero convex edge then I used scotch brite wheels to give it the final satin finish.

Sorry for the crapy pic.

IMG_6450.jpg


IMG_6451.jpg
 
I said it before J, but sick work. If I didn't know better I would say it came from the custom shop.
 
What is the highest grit belt you've (any one) found in a 1x42 size belt? That is also my other concern. Finding the greatest variety of belts in the chosen size.
 
oeser said:
I have a Kalamazoo 1sm that is perfect for sharpening and general cleanup work. It has one speed at IIRC 1725 RPM. If you have one at 500 RPM that is plenty slow, maybe too slow depending on what you're doing.
Click to expand...

+1000 :thumbup:

I actually had an order into HF for the 1x30 sander and when I found the Kalamazoo I canceled it.

With tools you typically get what you pay for and the Kalamazoo 1SM is a superb piece of machinery.

I have sharpened everything from lawn mower blades, to axes, hatchets, fillet knives, $400 Busses and more :D

The machine/motor is made in the U.S. (in my state actually) and is built like a tank.

As others have stated- this thing is MADE for knife sharpening/grinding so the slower RPM's are a huge help.

As far as belts go - I purchase through Lee Valley and have every belt from 40 grit for mower blades/hard stock removal up to 1200 grit for detail work. I finish off with the leather belt with the 5 micron paste... the end result is wicked sharpness.

The 1x42 has a large variety of belts to choose from and is typically seen as the more professional route over the 1x30.

My 2 cents... goodluck Adrock! :thumbup:
 
SirSteve said:
+1000 :thumbup:

I actually had an order into HF for the 1x30 sander and when I found the Kalamazoo I canceled it.

With tools you typically get what you pay for and the Kalamazoo 1SM is a superb piece of machinery.

I have sharpened everything from lawn mower blades, to axes, hatchets, fillet knives, $400 Busses and more :D

The machine/motor is made in the U.S. (in my state actually) and is built like a tank.

As others have stated- this thing is MADE for knife sharpening/grinding so the slower RPM's are a huge help.

As far as belts go - I purchase through Lee Valley and have every belt from 40 grit for mower blades/hard stock removal up to 1200 grit for detail work. I finish off with the leather belt with the 5 micron paste... the end result is wicked sharpness.

The 1x42 has a large variety of belts to choose from and is typically seen as the more professional route over the 1x30.

My 2 cents... goodluck Adrock! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Ah perfect! I've ordered from Lee Valley. Definitely a good source.
 
I'm having a hard time finding that Kalamazoo for sale anywhere. Does anyone have any experience with this sander:

Rikon 50-150

I was thinking about getting that before getting derailed by the Kalamazoo.
 
SirSteve, right on brother!!

Kevin, at the end of this year when the mower gets stored away for the winter I plan on doing just that.:thumbup::cool:
 
MSC Industrial Supply Co. carries the Kalamazoo 1SM and is where I bought mine from. I had to hunt high and low to find a retailer that actually carried it in stock. They are a hidden treasure! :D

I would call them on the phone to order and new customers typically get 30% off first order, it's awesome! Also, they ship same day if it's early enough. I received mine at 30% off, with free shipping and it arrived the next day :thumbup:
 
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