Favorite belts.

@ Don Hanson III and Nathan the machinist -thanks!

I have few more information about belt speed.
So higher speed is, higher is rate of cut-but also lifetime of belts will be shorter.
Optimum belt speed by materials go like this (it is in M/sec-hope you'll convert):
aluminium,carbon steel 20-25m/s
stainless steel 25-35m/s
here is list how to convert M/s in RPM
http://www.grindtech.com/pdf/TC20_Speed.pdf

In my previous post I spoke about needed pressure by zirconium grain on belts.
First you can make pressure with workpiece, by your hands, and also you can make pressure from back side with different hardness of contact wheel. So if you have soft contact wheel and flexible belt (Klingspor yellow), when you press on belt, grains will be pushed a little bit into the contact wheel and you will get finer result. If you have hard contact wheel, there will be no space for grains to move inside, so grains will be forced to cut as much as they can. I this way zirconium grains stays sharp all the time, because pressure make them to brake and stays sharp.

So if you have chance try to reach this rules or some of them, priority is hardness:
rough grinding: hard contact wheel (rubber 70-90 shore of hardness), small diameter (2") with serration-(not plain).
middle grinding: medium diameter contact wheel (8"), (rubber 40-65 shore of hardness), with serration-(not plain).
finishing: large diameter contact wheel (12"), (rubber,foam,felt 20-35 shore of hardness), plain-no serration.

Few facts about finish:
Higher the belt speed, the finer will be finish
the softer contact wheel, the finer will be finish
larger diameter of contact wheel, the finer will be finish

There are many ways to reach same result, but if you doing correct steps, you will come to the end, by the fastest and cheapest way.
Sorry for my english-hope you'll understand.:D
 
hathegkla said:
I've been using the 36 grit "AZ-X 2x72 Aluminum Oxide / Zirconia Combination Belts" from pops knife supply. they seem to work great for the price but I don't have anything to compare them too, I just got my grinder and this is my first set of belts.

btw what would you guys recommend for grinding the bevels? I ordered some cheaper belts from pops which work ok, but some of them don't stay flat on the platten unless you are applying pressure across the whole belt (they are x weight). should I be using a softer belt? I think the problem is specifically with the 120 and 220 belts I got.
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For bevels (I hope you mean sharp edges), If yes I recommend you belt with hard backing cloth (Y-polyester/polycotton weight), with zirconium or ceramic grain. If material is SS zirconium will be enough, if carbon steel use ceramic grain.
If belt is not flat, it could be that you draw it to much, but you can use also belt with harder backing.

hathegkla said:
I guess so. it just didn't happen with the heavier grit or the lighter grit belts though. it might have only been one belt, but I'll check out my rig again. the belt seemed to curve toward me on both sides (not just on one side like it would be with a crooked platen). I'll see if I can straighten things out and try again with a different belt.
Click to expand...

Be careful with JF and X belts, because they are humidity/wet sensitive. Always keep it in dry places. One of the reasons of curving it could be humidity, but only in beginning of working, after time of use it will dry up and stay straight.
 
I have always used Hermes, I am a dealer of them but I am not married to them. Has anyone had a chance to compare them to the others you guys have mentioned? I want to use and carry the best that I can.
 
Thanks for all of the info here. :thumbup: I've been grinding A2 on my KMG at 3500 rpm and have been a little disappointed by how quickly the Blaze belts fall off. I'll give the 967's a shot and see how I like them.
 
I've tried pretty much everything over the last couple of years, ended up using:

3M 967's for rough grinding and Klingspor J-Flex for 200 and higher grits.

Nice and simple. Consistent belts = consistent knives :thumbup:
 
I have been using Norton zirc and Blaze belts. My top speed is around 3500sfpm, and I grind strictly carbon steels. I've also been disappointed at how long the belts last. It seems like after 10 minutes they feel like they're not cutting much, especially post heat-treatment.

I switched to 3M 967s as a result of this thread, and I was stunned by the difference. Thinning the edge of my last razor down from .030" to .005 took maybe 30 to 45 minutes instead of several hours, and the belt still has a lot of life in it.

I'm not knocking the Norton belts, but I think they are better for stainless grinding where you can use a lot more pressure.

Three cheers for the proper tool for the job!!!

Thanks for the help, guys.

Josh
 
I profile with 36 blaze orange and rough grind with 60 blaze orange. I have all the others and knothing rips the steel off like blaze orange. I have lots of belts they all have there purpose.
 
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