Disk sander question

The nielsen magnetic discs are machined surfaces. They offer a cheap disc the is non machined mild steel as well.
 
I had asked Nathan for disks two weeks ago. Unfortunately he told me that it was a one time thing when he built the last batch and that he won't be doing them again.
 
A couple years ago folks from this forum asked me to do a run of actual precision machined disks. It was a one time run of 100 disks.

To my knowledge, they are the only true precision machined steels disks that have been made available to knifemakers, balanced alloy steel and .000" runout.

Jo will divorce me if I ever make then again.
nutter.gif


It is my understanding that the aluminum disks by Beaumont are generally pretty good.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
A couple years ago folks from this forum asked me to do a run of actual precision machined disks. It was a one time run of 100 disks.

To my knowledge, they are the only true precision machined steels disks that have been made available to knifemakers, balanced alloy steel and .000" runout.

Jo will divorce me if I ever make then again.
nutter.gif


It is my understanding that the aluminum disks by Beaumont are generally pretty good.
Click to expand...

Dang. Wish I would have hoarded an extra away. Works great.
 
Tru grit has some, don't know anything about them, but they said they could have them made with a different shaft size. I have a 1.5 hp 3ph but it has a larger shaft. I think they said the disk was $60 and maybe another $60 to have a odd shaft size machined.

Nathan, do you REALLY love your wife?! Lol, just kidding!
 
Since the Nielsen system uses a base hub, I would think that getting some discs hardened then machined would be somewhat easier than machining them like Nathan did each with their own hub.

Is the consensus that just the mild steel unhardened would be insufficient?
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
A couple years ago folks from this forum asked me to do a run of actual precision machined disks. It was a one time run of 100 disks.

To my knowledge, they are the only true precision machined steels disks that have been made available to knifemakers, balanced alloy steel and .000" runout.

Jo will divorce me if I ever make them again.
nutter.gif


It is my understanding that the aluminum disks by Beaumont are generally pretty good.
Click to expand...

Was it the ringing ?

Or the time spend to balance ?

Or just using up material on hand ?
 
PT Doc said:
The nielsen magnetic discs are machined surfaces. They offer a cheap disc the is non machined mild steel as well.
Click to expand...

You have to buy the "system" of the replaceable discs and the magnetic hubs.
After it's all said and done, it's about $350.00 just for one disc.

I need to keep looking.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
You have to buy the "system" of the replaceable discs and the magnetic hubs.
After it's all said and done, it's about $350.00 just for one disc.

I need to keep looking.
Click to expand...

if you just need 1 then its probably not the way to go.

fo you need it to be hardened or just precision ground?
 
If you need only one, then get it from Beaumont Metal Works or Tru-grit.

Mike L
 
People need to realize that just because something is "machined" doesn't mean it is inherently accurate.

The problem with most of the disks available has been wobble caused by runout and balance issues which can be addressed by the order of operations and machining strategies. The OD and the working face should be cut in the same setup that the bore is cut. And that bore can't just be drilled and reamed, it really needs to be single point bored to eliminate bellmouth and drifting. A small amount of error in the bore causes a larger amount of runout at the edge of the disk. This is pretty important to some folks.

Making a 9" disk to fit a 5/8" shaft is pretty simple, but preventing runout and vibration requires some special care.



12345678910 said:
Was it the ringing ?

Or the time spend to balance ?

Or just using up material on hand ?
Click to expand...



My lathe is a small (~5,000 pounds) 10 peak HP turning center without much of a gear reduction. It does okay on smaller parts and aluminum but it really isn't designed to take heavy cuts at such a large diameter and I ended up stalling the spindle several times. It didn't have enough grunt to break a chip on this disk so we got a lot of long sharp swarf that gave all three of us a lot of little cuts. And the time/income ratio was quite poor. It's a running joke that Jo will hang me if I do it again.
 
Nathan

Since you're here


I'd kind of like to try making one of my own discs and really like what you did there with the hardening.

Is it reasonable to try turning that hardened 4140 with HSS tools or is carbide a must have ?
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
People need to realize that just because something is "machined" doesn't mean it is inherently accurate.

The problem with most of the disks available has been wobble caused by runout and balance issues which can be addressed by the order of operations and machining strategies. The OD and the working face should be cut in the same setup that the bore is cut. And that bore can't just be drilled and reamed, it really needs to be single point bored to eliminate bellmouth and drifting. A small amount of error in the bore causes a larger amount of runout at the edge of the disk. This is pretty important to some folks.

Making a 9" disk to fit a 5/8" shaft is pretty simple, but preventing runout and vibration requires some special care.







My lathe is a small (~5,000 pounds) 10 peak HP turning center without much of a gear reduction. It does okay on smaller parts and aluminum but it really isn't designed to take heavy cuts at such a large diameter and I ended up stalling the spindle several times. It didn't have enough grunt to break a chip on this disk so we got a lot of long sharp swarf that gave all three of us a lot of little cuts. And the time/income ratio was quite poor. It's a running joke that Jo will hang me if I do it again.
Click to expand...

Nathan, is it something that if you had enough PAID pre-orders you could job out. . . With your guidance to whoever would do it, I think it might be a worthwhile run . . My opinion . . . Just saying . . .

Steve
 
I have the Nielsen magnetic disc system and it was kind of expensive. Just like my Beaumont disc table was kind of expensive...just like my Beaumont Rotary Platen was kind of expensive.. and so on. I have 2 thin 18 gall 9 inch plates and 2 of the regular machined steel plates that Nielsen makes. the less expensive plates require a 1/16 inch cork backing but work well. I put a tiny and slight chamfer on the edges and I now make flatter knives. I was doing fine with the Beaumont machined aluminum disc which I still have but for convenience I like having 4 different sandpapers mounted on discs ready to work. This is a luxury but I must say the Nielsen disc is beautifully made and very useful. I never thought I would get the value out of my rotary platen either but I was wrong. It is also useful if not essential to me. I now think in terms of "how many knives will I have to sell to pay for this?" and it is easier for me to justify. I know that great equipment will never substitute for skill but I am certain that fine equipment will help a skillful knife maker attain more consistency and a finer finish with practice. I also bought Nathan's platen and chiller which are a bargain for what they do. Larry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top