Ceramic belt question

[wvdavidr]

Do ceramic belts, (esp. for the WSKO w/Blade Grinding Attachment) last much longer than silicon carbide or aluminum oxide belts (enough to justify the higher cost)?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

I think so but I'm no expert. I switched to a blue belt a while ago and like it a lot better then the old brown ones I had been using. If your using them for only wood it may not be worth it but if your doing any steel shaping with them than i think it is.

 

[cbwx34]

Do ceramic belts, (esp. for the WSKO w/Blade Grinding Attachment) last much longer than silicon carbide or aluminum oxide belts (enough to justify the higher cost)?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

So I looked thru my belt use/inventory to see.... I'd say I used almost 3 "economy" belts for every 1 WS I used in the coarser grits anyway, (not to mention the couple I had where the joint failed on the economy belts). The other nice thing about the WS belts is they cut at their rated grit until the abrasive is pretty much gone... vs. the economy belt that gets finer as it is used... (and I probably pushed beyond their usefulness). I don't really use the finer belts enough to make an accurate comparison... but I will say I have some blue fine economy belts that I don't much care for.

(Also, I like the stiffer "precision" WS belts vs. the standard ones they sell, although either work just fine).

Now I use the WS belts for sharpening... the economy belts I use to sand the occasional piece of wood, or similar task.