Silicon carbide belt longevity

C

canid

Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
196
I'm just getting used to my new grinder and I seem to be having pretty poor results with my belts. I notice that the cheap A80 paper backed belt which came with the grinder outlasted the comparatively expensive S80 belts I bought. I'm beginning to wonder if I should be grinding differently to get the best mileage out of silicon carbide abrasives. Do you find that you need to grind with less pressure with such belts. This is not the kind of thing I was able to rind by searching, though I'm sure the information/advice is out there.

Maybe it's just the bonding but I believe I do understand carbide is more brittle than the aluminum oxide grit.
 
A80, and S80 ? What are these belts? Let us know if they are ceramic, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or and perhaps we can help you more.
Most often the more expensive the belt the longer it will work for you, but there many things that can change this.
Frank
 
Silicon carbide 80 grit and aluminum oxide 80 grit. I actually got the silicon carbide belts in a range of grits, but for the moment those are the coarsest grit I have.
 
The silicon carbide belt should certainly outlast the aluminum oxide by say 3 times or more. I still use a few of those on mammoth tooth. They are the best there, and even show up ceramic for that material. Sure they will work on blade steel both soft and hardened, but ceramic will do the job better.
Frank
 
Silicon carbide is highly friable, meaning the grit breaks into new sharp grains easily. This is good for grinding soft materials because it stays sharp, but it wears away quickly on hard materials or high grinding pressure.
 
Well it may be that I just won't buy these particular belts again. I mean to try the trizact belts, based on what I've read, so I think could give me a fair basis for comparrison.

Thank you by the way, for taking the time to help.
 
Thank you Nathan. That is what I was thinking. While I'm using these I'll see what reducing my pressure and taking more passes does for me. It begins to seem like that will make for a whole lot more grinding, but I suppose I'll see.

If my technique is wrong I'd better address that foremost.
 
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