Reccomendations on a convex belt sander?

BJE

BJE

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Apr 12, 2006
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I am looking into getting a small belt sander so I can put convex edges on some knives that are too thick to do it by hand. What would be some good choices? Also, how much slack do you put in the belt and how do you keep that slack consistant after you change belts? I would like to keep the price down as much as possible, because if it is too expensive, I would rather just send a few to Mike Stewart and have him work his magic.
 
You actually run the belt taught, and the slack comes from putting a VERY SMALL amount of pressure on an unsupported section of the belt. Pressing the blade into the belt will make it deform and produce a convex edge.

You keep consistency across belts by varying the pressure and angle by hand so that the current belt conforms to the bevels set by the previous.
 
i use a 1x30.

depending on how convex you want it, you apply more pressure. if i want a flat edge, i use the platen. if i want a very slightly convex edge, i use the area of belt above the platen with a little pressure.

if i want it pretty to very convex, i take the platen off and just run the blade on the unsupported belt.
 
BJE,
Here is what I have to do convex edge grinds and also with a leather belt can power strop your "V" grind edges...
 
Thanks for all the help, I think I might get one soon.
 
I'll second the belt sander from Harbor Freight, although there are better ones available for not much more. I got mine on sale for $30. I use the 220 and 320 grit belts from Klingspor, plus the leather. I really need to try the finer belts, but the setup I use now will whittle hair with all the kitchen knives in less than half an hour, from nicked, dull and dishwashered edges. I am having some trouble with taking off too much metal, so maybe the finer belts are the way to go. The 1" wide belts will do all the recurve edges I've tried too, and then I can touch them up on the Sharpmaker for a long time before having to go back to the sander. For large knives that are too hard to file, the HF sander cant be beat for the price. Nothing cuts like a kukri with a freshly power stropped edge. No heat trouble since I learned to keep the knife moving. Even pushing against the platen, I rarely overheat a blade, but its much easier against the platen than slack.
 
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