Hello:)Just bought a belt sander...(what grit belts do I need)

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boki_zca

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Im planning to sharpen and modify some of my blades with belt sander.What grits would I neet to get a real high polish edge.I only have 80 and 120 grit belts.
 
Start with 400, finish with whatever grit suits you.
Make sure the belts you get are metal cutting belts.
 
Here is how I do it. I prefer 3M Micron belts and get them pretty cheap at Supergrit. 80, 30, and 9 are all you need of those. Start with a 120 zirconia belt for serious chip removal on thick blades. Micron belts need about 30 seconds or so of breaking in, otherwise their scratches start out a bit too deep. Finish with a surgi-sharp leather belt loaded with some Hand American chromium oxide paste for a mirror finish.
 
thx Im really surprised how easy is it to use belt sander to charpen or reprofile edges and grinds.Already sharpened and reprofiled few junkers and few better blades.Excellent convexed edge!
 
boki_zca said:
Im planning to sharpen and modify some of my blades with belt sander.What grits would I neet to get a real high polish edge.I only have 80 and 120 grit belts.
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Boki, I have had and used a Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander for a while now. I bought mine due to a mega thread that was started on here in 2007 by KeithAM here http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496644 in this thread Jerry Hossom and others really give some good advice on using the belt sander. In this post http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4916570&postcount=78 Jerry lays out his advice on what grits to get, where to get the belts and other supplies, he also lays out how to use the belt sander. IMHO this thread is well worth the read. Good luck with your belt sander.
 
Belt grinders are absolutely the best edge in the least amount of time, and best of all, they are incredibly versatile.

I've got a 1x30, 1x42, and the bad boy, a 3hp VFD. I use grits from 36 to 1200, plus the 3M micron belts (really good stuff) plus half a dozen leather belts charged with diamond and boron compounds, and abrasive scotch brite belts (some of my favorite stuff).

It totally depends on what the customer wants, and what the steel is capable of. You don't say much to give me something to go on, so all I can tell you is the range that I use.

For medium quality steel, I start with 80 grit if there needs to be any fixing, then about 240, then 80 micron. Polish that with 1u diamond, and you will be super sharp.
 
I sharpened few old hickory knives to razor edge......whittles hair........also I reprofiled those to almost full convex.........its my first time with grinder so I think I did pretty good job (had just one nick with sanding belt near tip but almost fixed it...Will practice little more and then ill try it on my Bark River knives.(dont have camera otherwise would post pics....turned out great;)....cuts paper like straight razor and also tried it in kitchen little....cuts better than most 200-300dol knives.
 
for the final step, you can take an old 600 worn out belt and put some white compound on it to get a good polish on the edge without using the leather belt. You can also turn a belt inside out and put the compound on the back side to knock off the burr.
 
dwebster said:
for the final step, you can take an old 600 worn out belt and put some white compound on it to get a good polish on the edge without using the leather belt. You can also turn a belt inside out and put the compound on the back side to knock off the burr.
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Why would you need to turn the used belt inside out? Have you tried using the worn out side?

I have some 3M super fine belts that are worn out, and I'll try this with them.

Also, are you saying basically to put different compounds on each side of a leather belt? Would never have thought of that, but it sounds like a good Idea. I'm thinking emery compound on the inside of one of my belts may work well.
 
that would be a not so good idea. each time you change the side of your belt i think there may be grit transfers from the wheels that were in contact with the other compound. after a couple of changes you'll be working with 2 mixed grit sides.
 
I have leather, felt, cork etc... for my cheap 1x30. But what I have the most consistent results with is 20 or 15 micron then down to 9 micron then I have a really old 9 micron that has some paste on it OR I'll use the felt belt. Most of the time I finish on a piece of hobby store felt. It has a sticky side to it. I cut a strip and stick it right on my metal work bench and then coat it with some mothers mag/aluminum. Works great!

On the wore out 9mic belt I'm using the grit side to put the paste on. And one thing about these belts is they are supposed to get "finer" as they are used, which I think is a good thing.
 
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