The thing that should not be

[David Mary]

What is in your shop that defies expectations? I was just putting together a new order for belts, and decided to look at my order history in my email archives, and I realized something funny. I bought 40 grit metal grinding zirconia belts from Red Label back in November 2018, and I realized I still have one of them and use it regularly in my shop!

Yep. This old thing right here:


Once it stopped hogging metal (this was before I knew about ceramic belts), I started using it for handle material, but it didn't do very well for very long. One day I tried it on Kydex, and it made quick work of it. I have also tried worn ceramic belts for Kydex, and worn AOs, but I kept coming back to this one belt, it does it better than all of them. I just kept using it and using it. After a year or so, I had forgotten when kind of belt it even was! It was just my blue sheath profiling belt. For over two years now, I have been profiling my Kydex and Boltaron sheaths on this one belt alone. I even use it like a "bandsaw" of sort to cut excess Kydex off a sheath profile when it would be faster than grinding (like if I have two inches or more of material to remove from the profile - I like to cut my Kydex pieces large so I have have lots of room to work). The edges then get cleaned up on whatever 150 grit AO belt is too worn for handles, before finishing with sanding sponges. The 150 grit worn belts get tossed and replaced regularly, but that old warhorse of a 40 grit Zirconia belt has been cutting and cutting and cutting Kydex for two and a half years, and is still going strong!

What unexpected or weird thing is there in your shop that you'd think just shouldn't be?

 

[john april]

i was surprised cork belts last for years. i use mine for about 2 years and buy new ones. i actually ruin them by accidentally applying uneven pressure on the edges before the belt wears out on its own. i have not bought a belt above 400 grit in 5 years.

 

[GABaus]

My most used workbench is a piece of 3/4" OSB which my father screwed onto some 1 by 2s to make a temporary workbench when I was probably around 8 or 9 possibly even younger, although i have braced it over the years to increase rigidity, and i have put a couple hundred pounds of junk on it to keep it from moving around ultimately it is still just a piece of OSB sitting on four 1x2s that are beginning to rot. The only reason why i continue to use it so much is that it is a comfortable height for me to work at. (for reference i am in my 20s)