Need sander upgrade?

R

Ryansknives

Joined
Nov 9, 2019
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64
I’ve been using a 1x30 belt sander an edge pro and whetstones for quite a while now. I rarely use the edge pro anymore. Mostly whetstones on the kitchen knives and the belt sander on everything else. Unless mobile sharpening then it’s all on the sander.

I’m wanting something but can’t seem to find exactly what I’m looking for. What I want is either a slow speed or a variable speed 1x30 or 1x42 belt sander that can be adjusted to lean back. Variable speed or slow speed is not 100% necessary but I’d prefer it. I also want it to also have a grinding wheel or buffing wheel on the other side.

I want to be able to have a sanding belt on one side then make a leather strop/buffing wheel for the other. I do a small mobile knife sharpening gig on the side. I don’t make much off it but it’s more of a hobby.

My plan is to have my current 1x30 belt sander set up with say a lower grit say 600. Then the new one set up with 1000-1200 grit and the leather wheel. Just seems like it would expedite things instead of having to flip flop belts all the time. I don’t really like “batch” sharpening where you run all your knives on one belt then the next. I like to work on one knife at a time. When setting up at a flea market ect I often get one or two knives from a customer not 10.

If I wind up getting a 1x42 I’m going to replace the 1x30 with a 1x42 that I have and set it aside as a back up. That way I’d be running the same belt length on both machines.

Anyway any suggestions? On a side note I know they are more expensive but I’m also considering a 2x42. My only hold back is I’m noticing they have a more limited grit range. However I have read that you can run 1x42 belts on them just fine.

Anyway any guidance would be much appreciated!!! Thanks.
 
When I was shopping for my 1x42, I really wanted variable speed too. I also wanted to be able to run the belt horizontally. I was considering the Veil S-5-M with the kit that Steve Bottorf sells so you can attach a variable speed motor. But I didn't want to mess with trying to put something together myself and ultimately bought the most popular 1x42 for sharpening. the 1SM. I ended up spending more money to get a custom designed angle guide for it (called the KallyRest) and that's been very helpful.

I could still get a variable speed motor from Penn State Industries. It's meant for a lathe, but is said to work just fine on the Kally. It's almost $200, which is close to the price of the sander itself. So I will probably just stick with what I have. The belt speed on the 1SM is "normal" and not super fast. I believe the SFM (surface feet per minute) number on a 1x42 is quite a bit smaller than a 1x30. The 1x30 has a bad reputation for being overly aggressive. That doesn't seem to bother Curry (on youtube). He uses a bunch of different 1x30s and modifies the heck out of them. I don't have the interest or energy for all that. I just want something that works. I've been pretty happy overall with the 1SM.

Curry likes to have 3 sanders lined up. Sometimes 4. Then he doesn't have to switch belts, like you said. But belt switching on the 1SM takes about 10 seconds. If you include power down and power up, maybe 15? It's really pretty quick.

Not sure if any of that helps.

Brian.
 
I’m really eyeballing the 1SMVP. The one where the belt tilts back. I’m going. To be building a sled for the back of my pick up. I want to be able to fold it down so I can put the bed cover on.
 
pwest said:
If you budget is flexible, check out the AMK-75.

-Phil
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That may be a future purchase. I need something that I can use for more high volume. I’ve been wanting a Tormek for a while now but this may blow the Tormek out of the water! You can use whatever belt you want. Slow it way down or speed it way up. Kinda surprised to see it in a 1x30.
 
Ryansknives said:
this may blow the Tormek out of the water!
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Ha ha! Almost literally in the case of the Tormek! (how often do you come across a good knife sharpening joke?)

There are lots of belt choices, but you need to pay attention to belt thickness: I've been using the 3M Trizact belts in the 80 micron to 6 micron range and, after I get the edge angle set on the coarse belt, I very quickly go through the finer belts (just a couple of passes on each side). But, I've been finishing with CrO2 on a leather belt: this belt is much thicker, requiring an awkward, inconvenient tool-rest adjustment. As a potential alternative I've got some linen belts and some CBN emulsion on order. I've also thought about adding a removable leather 'shim' to the top of the platen to use under the trizact belts and then remove when stepping down to the leather belt.
 
I use several trizact belts. I really like them.

I think for now I’m just going to go with the Kalamazoo 1x42 as well as a slow speed bench grinder with a homemade leather wheel. I’ll deal with swapping belts for now.
 
I do some sharpening on the side and I agree that a multi grinder setup would be so much faster. It’s also hard to go wrong with the Kalamazoo. here are a couple of ideas to match your OP

Fucina has 1x30s built like 2x72s with a vfd for not a ton of money. Broadbeck has a vfd controlled 1x42 coming out this winter. No idea on price.

two other possibilities include 1)getting a bench grinder and adding a multi tool brand sanding arm which lets you sand horizontal. I think Buck tools makes a similar version available pretty widely, So you can have the sander and leather wheel on the same unit.

2) getting a WEN variable speed 1x30 and mounting it on a piece of wood so you can flip it. Cliff curry has a video on YouTube of how he did that.
 
Ryansknives said:
I’ve been using a 1x30 belt sander an edge pro and whetstones for quite a while now. I rarely use the edge pro anymore. Mostly whetstones on the kitchen knives and the belt sander on everything else. Unless mobile sharpening then it’s all on the sander.

I’m wanting something but can’t seem to find exactly what I’m looking for. What I want is either a slow speed or a variable speed 1x30 or 1x42 belt sander that can be adjusted to lean back. Variable speed or slow speed is not 100% necessary but I’d prefer it. I also want it to also have a grinding wheel or buffing wheel on the other side.

I want to be able to have a sanding belt on one side then make a leather strop/buffing wheel for the other. I do a small mobile knife sharpening gig on the side. I don’t make much off it but it’s more of a hobby.

My plan is to have my current 1x30 belt sander set up with say a lower grit say 600. Then the new one set up with 1000-1200 grit and the leather wheel. Just seems like it would expedite things instead of having to flip flop belts all the time. I don’t really like “batch” sharpening where you run all your knives on one belt then the next. I like to work on one knife at a time. When setting up at a flea market ect I often get one or two knives from a customer not 10.

If I wind up getting a 1x42 I’m going to replace the 1x30 with a 1x42 that I have and set it aside as a back up. That way I’d be running the same belt length on both machines.

Anyway any suggestions? On a side note I know they are more expensive but I’m also considering a 2x42. My only hold back is I’m noticing they have a more limited grit range. However I have read that you can run 1x42 belts on them just fine.

Anyway any guidance would be much appreciated!!! Thanks.
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A few years back I picked up a Multi-tool 2x48 adapter for an 8" bench grinder. Honestly could not be happier with it. I did have to upgrade my grinder to a 1 1/2 HP Jet, but as for the unit itself was easy to set up and true. Changing belts is easy, changing the angle of the platen (normally run with it horizontal) is easy, plenty of belts made for it that are economical. If it was cheaper I;d have two so I could keep one set up for slack belt and one for platten, but I don't do enough slack belt for it to make sense.

The 2" platten is also wide enough I can set a bench stone on it for finish work - belt, stone, done.

I also have a variable speed 1x30, the best thing about that is the ability to run diamond belts at slower speed, with regular abrasives, faster is better. I far prefer the 2" belt to a 1" as it seems to lay flatter on the platen, easier to get a much more flat grind overall when doing larger surface areas.
 
HeavyHanded said:
A few years back I picked up a Multi-tool 2x48 adapter for an 8" bench grinder. Honestly could not be happier with it. I did have to upgrade my grinder to a 1 1/2 HP Jet, but as for the unit itself was easy to set up and true. Changing belts is easy, changing the angle of the platen (normally run with it horizontal) is easy, plenty of belts made for it that are economical. If it was cheaper I;d have two so I could keep one set up for slack belt and one for platten, but I don't do enough slack belt for it to make sense.

The 2" platten is also wide enough I can set a bench stone on it for finish work - belt, stone, done.

I also have a variable speed 1x30, the best thing about that is the ability to run diamond belts at slower speed, with regular abrasives, faster is better. I far prefer the 2" belt to a 1" as it seems to lay flatter on the platen, easier to get a much more flat grind overall when doing larger surface areas.
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I'm also using a Multitool attached to a Delta 8" variable speed bench grinder. I've got the 2 x 36 and I've set that up with a garden sprayer to drip water at the leading edge of the platen. The attachment has infinite adjustability for angle and I have it slightly pointed down from horizontally level so that the water spray points slightly downward towards a backsplash that I made out of coroplast. For most of my knife sharpening, I'm running the grinder on the lowest speed. The highest speed comes in handy for removing a lot of material with the 36 grit. I just bought a second Multitool attachment and will eventually get another variable speed grinder to run a dedicated slack belt.

I have never run a 1" belt. Can't think of a reason why I'd want to run a 1" instead of 2" for sharpening.

T
 
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KidWok said:
I'm also using a Multitool attached to a Delta 8" variable speed bench grinder. I've got the 2 x 36 and I've set that up with a garden sprayer to drip water at the leading edge of the platen. The attachment has infinite adjustability for angle and I have it slightly pointed down from horizontally level so that the water spray points slightly downward towards a backsplash that I made out of coroplast. For most of my knife sharpening, I'm running the grinder on the lowest speed. The highest speed comes in handy for removing a lot of material with the 36 grit. I just bought a second Multitool attachment and will eventually get another variable speed grinder to run a dedicated slack belt.

I have never run a 1" belt. Can't think of a reason why I'd want to run a 1" instead of 2" for sharpening.

T
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I have mine set to run from the idler toward the grinder - have to reach over to turn off and on. This lets me use a guide and get right to zero on the working side if I'm doing a regrind.

I dip whatever I'm working on often enough it never gets hot, the belt never really dries out. I also keep a wet rag hanging in the path of the trailing side of the belt to capture most of the metal dust and sparks.

Honestly, for a low volume operation or a hobby approach the Multitool should be on everyone's short list...and a 2" belt.
 
So adding a multitool to my mix is a definite on my short list. Is their any benefit to going with a 2x36 over a 2x48?

Keep in mind I’m not making knives. Just sharpening knives / tools and knife repair such as re-grinding a broke tip, removing chips. Or grinding down bolsters and on very limited cases thinning. I do wind up doing a lot of axes and machetes around here for some reason.

With all that said 2x36 or 2x48? Also low speed vs variable speed motor. How much of a difference would being able to crank it up for heavy material removal on an axe would it make? Trying to decide if the variable speed would make a significant difference or if I’d be better off buying a higher quality low speed.

Thanks.
 
HeavyHanded said:
A few years back I picked up a Multi-tool 2x48 adapter for an 8" bench grinder. Honestly could not be happier with it. I did have to upgrade my grinder to a 1 1/2 HP Jet, but as for the unit itself was easy to set up and true. Changing belts is easy, changing the angle of the platen (normally run with it horizontal) is easy, plenty of belts made for it that are economical. If it was cheaper I;d have two so I could keep one set up for slack belt and one for platten, but I don't do enough slack belt for it to make sense.
Click to expand...

Looked that up and looks like it would work great! Have any videos using it with your Jet grinder?
 
HeavyHanded said:
I had a few more, not sure if I never uploaded to YT or they just aren't showing on mobile. I normally run with the guide rod level with the platten, and adjust up or down to get the angle.

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Man that is a slick looking setup, mind if I ask where you got the attachment from? I have a grizzly and a jet grinder and would really like to try this attachment.
 
NORTHWEST_KNIFE_GUY said:
Man that is a slick looking setup, mind if I ask where you got the attachment from? I have a grizzly and a jet grinder and would really like to try this attachment.
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The Jet and Multitool are stock, the clamp and guide are homebrew. The clamp is 100% bubba'd and the guide rod is a Tormek adapter for bench grinder mounted to a scissor jack.

This is what it looks like normally, with a better description:
 
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