Wet Belt Usage

[J.S. Carter]

I was wondering if any of ya'll use a wet belt sander as opposed to the dry belt grinder? and if no why not? I've been using a couple of home made jobbies for a while now and love how they cut so smoothly and without over-heating the steel. I blanked this hookbill/wharncliff blade out with a hand held air cut off grinder and then used wet belts to clean up the shape.
Steel is 1095 its 12" overall UGLY ISNT IT!

 

[messinger]

Tell us more. I've been thinking for a while that some sort of wet grinding might be very effective. Steel stays cool and belts wouldn't clog up. Tell us about how you do it.

-Ben

 

[J.S. Carter]

Well I can honestly say I've never burned my fingers on the steel!
They work awesomely and yea belts last longer and can produce glass like finishes very quickly, infact thats how they shape glass (bevels and such) is with wet belt sanders. and the longer you use one the finer grit it gets!
if it'll shape glass it sure as heck wont blink an eye at steel!

I really like my wet belts. you do get a little wet sometimes, but id rather be wet than burned.

Jason