Good investment?

[Caleb M.]

I don't know if you saw earlier, but I want to make knives. is this sander a good investment?

 

[Fred.Rowe]

It depends on your goals. Its a machine you can play around with but I don't believe its a machine worth investing in if your are thinking long term. The 2x72 belt machines are by far the best suited for knife making.

Fred

 

[Caleb M.]

Thanks for the tip Fred. I don't plan long term though, just something for off and on use over winter in Washington.

 

[Stark Knives]

I think if you get a 1x30 you should just get the one from Harbour Freight. It's only like $40.

 

[Caleb M.]

I think if you get a 1x30 you should just get the one from Harbour Freight. It's only like $40.

Noted my friend, thanks for the info.

 

[quint]

If you look online up here the 2x42 ones are on craigslist all the time. Plus the 1x30s are as well. Pretty cheap usually as well.

 

[haburn]

I would get a 2" x 42" craftsman and cut the frame, put an extension on it so you can use 2" x 72" belts. There aren't many options for belts in 2" x 42".

 

[aarongough]

My experience has bee that if you get a grinder you will ruin at least a few knives just trying to learn how to get the bevels right. It depends on your standards of course, what you consider to be good enough.

If you just want to make yourself a few nice knives without spending too much then I generally recommend starting with a filing jig like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9iNDRwwBQQ

A jig like this controls the angle so that you can generally get decent results even on your first try with a little patience. The rest of the finishing can be done by draw-filing and sanding by hand. It's not as fast as a grinder, but you'll get great results and good hand-work skills are something that will serve you well.

 

[FullyTorque]

A Harbor Freight 1x30 isn't really a bad investment for a beginner, especially a young kid with a limited budget. I got one for sharpening but have been using it for making handles and I'm just starting to use it for grinding bevels. It's probably about the most barely adaquate grinder you can use for grinding bevels but it's by far the cheapest. Make sure you get a 20-25% coupon online or from the paper, to save more money.
Check all the bolts and set screws right out of the box, most of mine were loose and I didn't realize until the drive wheel nearly fell off.
Cheap 1x30 belts are available on Amazon and other online supplies.
The little dinky platen that comes on it may have to be modified, I had to grind one side of mine down.
I also cut off the back side of the work platform so I could tilt it up towards the belt. If you clamp your knife tang to a piece of angle iron you can use the platform as a guide to keep yourself steady.
If you like grinding and upgrade to a 2x42 or 2x72 later, the little 1x30 can still be useful for working on handles, sharpening, or other small grinding needs.

 

[phillipsted]

I would get a 2" x 42" craftsman and cut the frame, put an extension on it so you can use 2" x 72" belts. There aren't many options for belts in 2" x 42".

I've got a 2"x42" sander that I've had for years. I ended up running 1" x 42" belts on it most of the time because of the wider selection - and some of my favorite wood sanding belts are not available in 2" widths (e.g., Klingspor Gold).

If you plan on doing this, carefully test out your machine to ensure that 1" belts track well before grinding away...

TedP