Care and Use of 2x72 Leather belts

L

Living The Dream

Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
158
I obtained one. I promptly stretched it out by leaving it on the machine:( Oh well. I may wet it down and let it shrink.

Are there any tips or hints for using the leather belt for polishing and sharpening on a 2x72 grinder? Mine did not ride very well. It flopped a lot and would run off one side with any pressure on it from a blade. I heard a suggestion about gluing an old worn out belt backing on the inside of it to make it ride better on the grinder. Anybody done this?

any other helpful hints?
 
You almost always have to adjust the tension to get them to run right. Use just enough tension to make them run true. Speed is the biggest issue. You have to run then VERY slow to safely use them. Too fast and it will burn the edge, as well as possibly snag a blade and take off part of a hand. below 100 FPM is wise. I run mine at just a crawl, probably 20-30 FPM.
Charge them with a fine abrasive like green chrome.
 
I would not recommend a leather belt on a one speed grinder ... unless that one speed was dead slow.

About 20 years back I was sharpening blades late at night at the end of a 12 hour day in the shop. One needed the bevel angle touched up a bit more, so I switched the belt to a 400 grit belt. I put the leather belt back on and started to hone the edge .... but forgot to turn the speed back down. The tip snagged a tad and the blade whipped across my palm. It cut the palm off my glove, and the heel of my hand right off. They landed on the grinder bench with the meat sitting right on the cloth. I didn't feel a thing. It took months to heal and I still have a dent in the heel of that hand. It could have been so much worse, and I was lucky. A tad different angle and it could have slashed my wrist to the bone.
 
Is there a similar concern with using a cork belt? I have a single speed grinder running around 1800 fpm.
 
No, cork belts are grinding/polishing belts. They run at normal belt speeds.
Leather belts are for stropping only. They run slow.
 
I've used leather on a single speed 1X42 but I move the blade across it really fast. Still adjusting to finer grits on the TW-90 and variable speed.

Scary tale there Stacy :eek: I'm cringing.

Jim
 
Good to know. That is scary. I guess I need a VFD on my grinder.

I spend more time fiddling with gear than grinding knives lol.
 
I had a leather 1x42 belt for years. it did a good job sharpening. It finally popped one day. I had a good hold on the blade though. just another shop surprise.
 
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