belts for micarta?

T

tmickley

Joined
Apr 4, 2001
Messages
1,803
I have a lot of micarta handles to do coming up and was wondering if anyone has found a belt that wouldn't clog or slick up so easy with micarta?
Normally I don't use micarta much and just put up with it when I do but I've got 15 fillet knives, all micarta handles to do and I don't want to go through a hundred bucks in just belts for these.
I use one of those rubber belt cleaners but that doesn't help all that much. Some where there has to be an open bond type belt similar to open bond wood working sand paper. Any suggestions?

Or I guess I could go with cheapy AO belts. Anyone got a source for cheapest AO's?
 
Tracy I've used a lot of Micarta in the past, the key for me has been to use a brand new belt and do the shaping with a really coarse grit, 35 or 40. It doesn't take too much to clean up once shaped, and maybe the AO belts would work for that. A seller named Barb on eBay has been a good source for inexpensive belts and paper.

Also, I've recently had an opportunity to try the new Trizact CF belts, which hold some promise for this. The grit is applied in an open kinda "waffle" pattern. The downside would be these belts require some pressure to fracture the grit and keep it sharp, so they might tend to glaze over after a while. And they ain't cheap if you can find them. But they flat rock for grinding steel! :D

I think Jason's belt lube idea is a good one. I haven't tried that but have thought about it too. Good luck! It'd be nice to have an order like that, what an opportunity for testing various belts against one another; you could come up with the "ultimate" belt sequence by keeping good notes. (hint ;) )
 
Tracy, call GL Pearce and order some 24 or 36 grit a/o belts. They eat micarta like candy! If you have a compressor just blast the crud off the belt every now and then. I run em around 40% speed when I'm doing handles. The number is 1800-938-0021
I still grind my blades with em :D
 
I'll need to try some belt lube. I've got a tube of it some where here. I used to use it but I got tired of the mess so I set it aside a couple years ago.

The low grits don't clog up but it sure dulls them quick enough. It's the 120 and higher grits that get glazed. I'll need to get some cheap AO's any way so I'll have to order some in.

Dave, are those the gater belts? I've got a few grits in from Tru Grit but to be honest I'm not even sure what I got. Tru grit blew out of all their first shipment so I have a few of each on back order to try. Guess I need to dig out those few I did get and see what they are. I am impressed on how thick they laid on the abrasive. They should last awhile if it wears evenly. It's so thick that the first thing I thought when I handled one was that it was going to change the 8" wheel into 8 & 1/4" wheel.
 
Tracy I know what you mean about the wheel diameter! They are thick. Limited experience so far suggests they will last quite a while. Nice thing is they continue to cut as the abrasive breaks away. I worked one pretty hard yesterday doing some hogging and it hung in there longer than I did. :D I'm looking forward to trying the larger grit to see what I can do for removing massive amounts of steel. I did try one this morning on micarta and it did not load up like I thought it might. Jury is still out but so far so good.
 
Tracy, I've been using the Norton Ceramic 80 grit belts for shaping micarta with little or no clogging. When the rubber cleaner stick no longer does a good job, I hit the belt with a good hard chunk of steel. I keep a piece of old shear blade next to the grinder just for this. It seems to work for me, but then again I'm not cranking out 15 filets at a time, either! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top