What belt backing do you use for finer grit belts when grinding bevels?

I bought the Oregon Blade Grinder. I put a D2 platen on it. I will look at the ceramic glass liners after reading these posts. Thanks
 
SamaraVolk said:
I've been reading a lot of posts how makers got to say 600 grit on their bevels prior to heat treating. I can't get past a x back 120 grit without the blade "chattering" off of the platen. I only have a fixed speed grinder (4100 FPM or so). Can this be the problem? I have no problems at 40, 80, or 120 heavy backed belts. Thank you
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bleh read dummy (me)

I don't like J weight belts, because I can never match the plunge radius I started with an X weight roughing belt. Combat Abrasives offers X weight belts up to 400 grit (600 grit if you buy bulk - 48 belts @ $1 a piece), and they're the only ones I've found that go past 120 in X weight.
 
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for higher grits, compact grain belts are a good solution, you can go full speed and their backing is great.


Pablo
 
kuraki said:
I don't use them wet but use them like you're describing. No problem. Use a little green chrome on them and they don't heat up quite as fast. The wax gives the belt/blade contact a little more slick. And the polish helps the appearance of the finish. They're wonderful belts for machine finished knives.

One of the things that always gets me when trying to do a machine finished knife is that no matter what grit you're at, a normal cutting belt can really screw your grind up with a single slip, causing a divot, screwing up your plunge, etc. That's what makes the cork belts so nice. The cork basically protects the blade from gouging if you didn't hold it just perfect. My confidence in a belt finished knife is ^^^^^ higher since using cork.
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I have a reversible disc grinder that's single speed at 1750. While it is great for prepping for hand sanding I get the same thing, easy to accidentaly dig the disc edge in and put a blem in. I am going to try using a 1/8-1/4" thick neoprene backing to give it some give so that should make it more forgiving. Variable speed would really help as well.

+1 on the cork belts though they are very forgiving and long lasting. Throw a quick buff with some green chrome on them after 800 or 1000 grit cork for some extra luster.
 
I visited a fellow knife maker here in Payson this last weekend and he showed me how he puts a scotchbrite belt under his sanding belt.
I haven't tried it yet, but interesting to say the least.
 
Brock Cutlery said:
I visited a fellow knife maker here in Payson this last weekend and he showed me how he puts a scotchbrite belt under his sanding belt.
I haven't tried it yet, but interesting to say the least.
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Could you elaborate? My curiosity is peaked.
 
I can't really elaborate much. What he said was it helps significantly with keeping straight grind lines.
The scotchbrite belt ran under a sanding belt, and there was a noticeable slack between the tracking wheel and top platen wheel on the scotchbrite belt. But it seemed to run straight with no tracking issues.
 
Brock Cutlery said:
I can't really elaborate much. What he said was it helps significantly with keeping straight grind lines.
The scotchbrite belt ran under a sanding belt, and there was a noticeable slack between the tracking wheel and top platen wheel on the scotchbrite belt. But it seemed to run straight with no tracking issues.
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I started doing this and it was a game changer, especially for kitchen knives. Your have to run it kind of slow, I wouldn't want to run this setup fast because the schotchbrite belt sort of flops around. The bad thing is you can't really get good tracking and if you're doing a fine finish the schotchbrite belt can scuff it up it you're not careful. Your also can't really get into the plunges very well. In the next few days I am going to try a workaround: I am going to stick piece of felt (the self stick kind for furniture and stuff) on a platen and then cover it with some UHMW tape to let the belt glide over it. Hopefully it will produce the same effect but still allow for good tracking and more speed.
 
Where did you find uhmw tape? That sounds infinitely useful.
 
kuraki said:
bleh read dummy (me)

I don't like J weight belts, because I can never match the plunge radius I started with an X weight roughing belt. Combat Abrasives offers X weight belts up to 400 grit (600 grit if you buy bulk - 48 belts @ $1 a piece), and they're the only ones I've found that go past 120 in X weight.
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Are you satisfied with the quality of Combat Abrasives? Thanks
 
Yes I am. I still think cubitron 984s are the best ceramic belt on the market but they're 40% more than CA ceramics bought in bulk, and they're not 40% longer lasting.

The higher grit aluminum oxide belts are just deerfoss or other brands at great bulk pricing.

I'm at the point where I know what I like and want to buy 24 or 48 belts in a single grit at a time and CAs quantity discount is the best I've found.
 
TheZep said:
I started doing this and it was a game changer, especially for kitchen knives. Your have to run it kind of slow, I wouldn't want to run this setup fast because the schotchbrite belt sort of flops around. The bad thing is you can't really get good tracking and if you're doing a fine finish the schotchbrite belt can scuff it up it you're not careful. Your also can't really get into the plunges very well. In the next few days I am going to try a workaround: I am going to stick piece of felt (the self stick kind for furniture and stuff) on a platen and then cover it with some UHMW tape to let the belt glide over it. Hopefully it will produce the same effect but still allow for good tracking and more speed.
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I do this all the time with grits 400 and up. I avoid the scuffing by trimming the scotchbrite to 1.75" wide. Works great by allowing just enough cushion for an even finish. I grind up one grit above the desired finish and then hand finish to the desired grit. For example, I can put on a 1000 grit finish on the grinder and then hand sand a nice 800 grit finish in just a few minutes.
However, I do the plunges on the platen with a NEW belt before I add the scotchbrite backer. I'm assuming this will also work with those felt belts with no grit on them. I'm gonna order one the next time I order belts.
 
My felt belt stretched quite a bit more than my scotch brite belts. I was thinking of trying it with my leather belt
 
Darrin Sanders said:
I do this all the time with grits 400 and up. I avoid the scuffing by trimming the scotchbrite to 1.75" wide. Works great by allowing just enough cushion for an even finish. I grind up one grit above the desired finish and then hand finish to the desired grit. For example, I can put on a 1000 grit finish on the grinder and then hand sand a nice 800 grit finish in just a few minutes.
However, I do the plunges on the platen with a NEW belt before I add the scotchbrite backer. I'm assuming this will also work with those felt belts with no grit on them. I'm gonna order one the next time I order belts.
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Thanks for the tip, I tried this with a felt belt that I split in half and I couldn't get it to stay on the grinder if another belt was running over it. My little felt and UHMW tape platten seems to be doing the trick for me so far. Time will tell how it holds up but if the tape wears out I can just add more. This stuff seems pretty good I think it will last a while.
 
Another vote for cork belts and the BEST value I've found in Ceramic belts is VSM from Truegrit.com the belts are made in Germany and priced like a lot of A/O belts. Call Scot if you don't see them on their site. Give them a call. I use the 36. 60, and 120 grit Ceramic VSM for one to three blades depending on size and then they go in the profiling and non important work compared to gri g HTed blades. It cost way less than the 3m or even Norton Ceramic belts
 
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