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just bought a craftsman 2x42, if you have $50 to drop on belts...

U

Uhurungus

Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
62
what would they be.

preface all this by saying i'm brand new and unable to find this info searching. i've messed around with files and a HF 1x30, small bench grinders etc and i just bought a craftsman 2x42. i'm hoping for input from those in the know what grit and type belts you would use for general purpose, start to finish knife making. i'm starting slow and don't feel like throwing around $200 on belts quite yet when i don't really know what i'm doing.

say you have $50 or even $100 to spend on abrasives and you were me, what would you buy and why? 1 each of 36, 80, 150, 220, 320? is only having 1 each going to piss me off when i burn through the first one in 5 minutes? ceramic or alum oxide zirconia? mixture of both? norton or 3m or XXX?

i'll be using 1084 steel and playing with my own heat treating some and also a little bit of 1095 and sending it out if that matters in the way of hardness.

thanks in advance.
 
ok i've since pulled my head out and learned to work the search engine better and found some info. mods can delete this post if they feel like it, or not. i'm always open to redundant or fresh info.
 
I have a 2x42 and use mostly 60 grit belts for profiling and initial bevels, then I hit them with a 120 grit belt. From there I hand sand. If I had $50 to spend I'd get (7) 60grit and (3) 120grit for starters. With shipping these would pretty much eat up your Grant. (forgot to mention, I buy the ceramic belts.)
 
Uhurungus said:
i went 5/5/5 60/120/220 ceramic with a couple AO for wood handles. $10 shipping = $49 @ trugrit
Click to expand...
That will work. Add a glass platen and you will be surprised how good a grind you can get with the Craftsman.

[video=youtube;Lg6QHc314LI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6QHc314LI[/video]
 
I'd do 5x 36 ceramic, 5x 60 ceramic, 5x 120 ceramic, 2x 220 trizact, 2x 400 trizact and 2x 600 trizact for around 100$
 
NC Biker said:
That will work. Add a glass platen and you will be surprised how good a grind you can get with the Craftsman.

[video=youtube;Lg6QHc314LI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6QHc314LI[/video]
Click to expand...

First I've heard about the glass platen.. Can you give me more detail on the glass paten material? Is it tempered glass or a composite? where did you get it?
 
is the pyroceram or glass used for heat dissipation or flatness? there is https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=bZwemN7t45g&v=SvbGy_SqMtc where the guy uses a .23 cent piece of ceramic tile from home depot. i bought 1 of those today and also a 1/4" marble slab hoping one of those would work. also, square bolts as it turns out, are hard to come by. i guess i see no reason why hex wouldn't work the same way.

so i unpacked my new grinder today and at some point in shipping the disc wheel was hit and bent. you can actually see a crack in the metal. i can trade it in but now i'm all :jerkit: at home.

edit: and holy crap, i just called my local glass shop and they quoted me $93 for a 3/16" 2x6 peice of pyroceram ceramic glass. i'll put 1 home depot tile on every week for the rest of the life of the grinder at that price.
 
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Uhurungus said:
is the pyroceram or glass used for heat dissipation or flatness? there is https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=bZwemN7t45g&v=SvbGy_SqMtc where the guy uses a .23 cent piece of ceramic tile from home depot. i bought 1 of those today and also a 1/4" marble slab hoping one of those would work. also, square bolts as it turns out, are hard to come by. i guess i see no reason why hex wouldn't work the same way.

so i unpacked my new grinder today and at some point in shipping the disc wheel was hit and bent. you can actually see a crack in the metal. i can trade it in but now i'm all :jerkit: at home.
Click to expand...

That sucks. Just don't :jerkit: too hard or you'll have more than a broken disc wheel lol
 
Tru grit for belts.
As far as the planten, I went through a couple of the pyro glass that one of the knife supply listed pretty quick, the edges kept chipping I thought them to be quite fragile.
I went to lowes and picked up some polished granite back splash tile, much more durable pretty much the same dimensions, couple of bucks a piece, much more durable and way less expensive. IMHO
 
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Uhurungus said:
is the pyroceram or glass used for heat dissipation or flatness? there is https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=bZwemN7t45g&v=SvbGy_SqMtc where the guy uses a .23 cent piece of ceramic tile from home depot. i bought 1 of those today and also a 1/4" marble slab hoping one of those would work. also, square bolts as it turns out, are hard to come by. i guess i see no reason why hex wouldn't work the same way.

so i unpacked my new grinder today and at some point in shipping the disc wheel was hit and bent. you can actually see a crack in the metal. i can trade it in but now i'm all :jerkit: at home.

edit: and holy crap, i just called my local glass shop and they quoted me $93 for a 3/16" 2x6 peice of pyroceram ceramic glass. i'll put 1 home depot tile on every week for the rest of the life of the grinder at that price.
Click to expand...

$93 is a rip off. I think I paid around 10 bucks. The ceramic is for both heat and flatness, The tile might work, I considered it until I found the pyroceram. Whatever you use, be sure to have a shelf under it as I would not want to find out what happens when a piece of glass gets forced between the belt and bottom wheel.

As far as the damage to your grinder, call Sears and get a new one sent to you.
 
First, I would highly recommend doing the modifications listed in this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZwemN7t45g
Don't make your own tracking knob, any decent hardware store will have a thumb screw knob in that size and thread.

I too use Trugrit for belts. I would recommend getting 6 of the 60 grit Best Value Ceramic, 4 of the 120 grit Best Value Ceramic, 2 of the 220 grit Aluminum Oxide and 2 of the 400 grit Aluminum Oxide. With shipping that should put you right at $50. If you want to spend a bit more to justify the shipping I would recommend adding the scotchbrite belt, a couple 600 grit aluminum oxides and maybe a couple Blaze or Gators to see if you feel they are worth double the price.

Personally I don't see the need to start at 36 grit, maybe with the high end stainless steels available, but not with 1080/1084. I also don't see how some people start hand sanding after 120 or even 220 grit. I normally use the grinder to 400 or 600 grit and then drop back to either 320 or 400 grit hand sanding.

The 2x42 is still what I use to grind. Be prepared for how fast it moves and that you can overheat a blade in a hurry especially at higher grits.

Good luck,
Chris
 
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