belt width?

M

magnum .44

Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,110
i'm making a belt sander and i was wondering what belt width is enough so that i get an even finish? i know the norm was 2" but i was thinking about going with 3" or 4". i want to be able to finish the knives quickly, becuase i'm tired of hand rubbing finishes.
 
four inch is a great width, especially for flat ground blades, problem is that they dont make belts in a lot of grits in that size, and you might be forced to buy a large quantity of one grit in that width to get a decent price....

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Magnum,
After seeing Bill Simons grinder and the results he gets.... I've been considering a 1" wide setup! I think RJ Martin has posted positive thoughts on this subject also. I will never change my two main grinders but I need a third one, variable speed for finish work and grinding my reverse curved blades.
Neil

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Blackwood Knives
More knives in stock soon!
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Meeting/5520/index.html

[This message has been edited by Dr.Lathe (edited 02-19-2000).]
 
I run 3" belts and sometimes blame the added width for shorter belt life. Belts need pressure to break down the grain and resharpen the belts while you are running other wise the belts get shiney and won't cut. I wouldn't go over 3" but 2" is the low side too for belt availability.

Longer belts give the best life so design around the longest available belt you can find off the shelf.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
I would think that a high power wider belt would be great for rough stock removal, since it would be easier to level the grinds. After that's done you might switch back to 2" for finishing.

The only hand finishing I ever do is a final smoothing on my brushed finishes with a fine scotchbrite pad. I even apply brushed finishes with 500 grit greaseless compound on an 1800RPM loose buff and a light touch. Being basically pretty lazy, I use a machine wherever I can.



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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
This may be a little different approach to your question than what the other suggestions have been so far. "IF" flat grinding, a wider belt as Tom Mayo mentioned is a very good way to go. I just bought a 6X48 grinder from a friend of mine for that purpose. The nice thing about this is that the belts are readily available in numerous grits. As mentioned above by Tom, the 4 inch wide belts are very hard to come by in a variety of grits and with them being 36 inch long belts, they don't last too long. The longer the better is the general rule here.
The 2X72 inch belt is just about the industry standard for knifemaking applications, especially on a contact wheel.
If you are building a grinder, then I would recommend making one of this configuration.
You can purchase a 6X48 grinder much cheaper than you can build one. (I just paid $50 for a used one!) This is not necessarily the case with a grinder that has a 2X72 inch belt.

C Wilkins
 
don't worry i can get the belts, i guess 3" by 132" is good. thanks guys, my dad said he wanted me to use 3" becuase he wants to barrow the grinder for iron work. i can get 3" wide contact wheels from 3" dia. to 16" dia. buy i'm going to be using a platen, so i'll go for 3" top wheel, 6' bottom wheel.
what do you guys use to drive the wheel, flanges, or a keyway? i'm worried about that too.
 
i need to find some pully's though, a 6" drive wheel, 3" width, and with a keyway, and a 4" dia. 3" width contact wheel, with bearings.
 
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