Wet grinding. What is your experience? What belts?

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

I've gotten sick of the amount of dust in my shop and overheating blades/ constant quenching and have decided to convert all of my grinding (and hand sanding) to be done with water. I bought all the spray nozzels, tubing, water pumps etc... and am converting my grinder to run wet tomorrow. Im putting in a big piece of sheet metal from the drive wheel to the tracking wheel to catch sludge that gets thrown at the ceilling and wall, adding a massive drip pan and sludge collection system and coating my KMG, all of its accessories, and my grinding poncho and gloves in Neverwet for sludge management. Ill report back on how it works. :thumbup:

But here's my big question, what belts work best for wet grinding when 1. Hogging 2. higher grit finishing 2. for handle materials?

I have alot of experience with the 977's from 3M and love them. Its a tough belt to beat from 50-120. They work like a dream on the 10in wheel. Only problem is they destroy platens. I use one of Nathan the Machinists Radius platens for most of my grinding (seriously check them out, they will change the way you grind) and I've actually just about ruined one from the black gunk that the 977 and 967 belts build up on the face of the platen when they run. What is a good alternative wet belt for the lower grits on a flat platen?

In terms of higher grits I typically use Trizac's and am very happy with them. Is there a high grit belt that can be run wet and come anywhere close to the performance you get with the Trizacs and not tear up a platen?

Lastly, handle materials-- the source of most of the bad dust in my shop. Nathan told me that J flex belts can be run wet. They are my go to for handle materials right now and I love them. I'm not sure if he was using them for handles or blades though. Do they handle micarta, wood, G10 etc... well when wet or do they clog up? Are there any other good belts for shaping handles wet? I do most of my shaping on a contact wheel or slack belt with a 2in rubber coated idler.

Thanks in advance and feel free to post anything you have to add about your experience with wet grinding and possible safety tips. I'd love to facilitate some good discussion for other guys who are interested in wet grinding.

 

[curtis K]

I started wet grinding about 3 years ago and have not found a better way. You can finish grind double the amount of blades that you can dry. As Nathan said, the J-flex belts work very well wet and the water tends to keep them cleaner. I run X weight belts too but you do have to watch for a bit of a curl on edges of the belt as they get wetter. Another benefit to wet grinding is that when the belt begins to loose it's "cut" during wet grinding, just let it dry out and you can use it again for pre-heat treat grinding and handle work.

 

[wbeatty]

I would love to see some pics of wet setups.

 

[scott.livesey]

there are some zirconia belts that are waterproof, that would take care of >120grit. I use silicon carbide for 220grit to 800grit. the belts are waterproof and designed for wet/dry. have had good luck with http://www.supergrit.com/products/products_belts-blacksc.asp and http://www.trugrit.com/. I use a 4x36 belt sander for my wood; I hook it up to a shop vacuum and it takes care of the dust.
scott

 

[kc custom]

I would love to see some pics of wet setups.

Here's a quick pic of a J-Flex running wet, messy but with a plastic apron on, grinding micarta
its great. Also at slow speed you can do nearly a zero grind without ever worrying about
the temper on the edge. Pretty much any belt I've ever used works. Sorry for the sad pic.
Ken.