What belts & discs should I stock up on

V

Vulcanite

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Jan 16, 2009
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So I have THIS wilton 2X42 belt/8" disc sander.

I am planning on making stock removal knives from 440C & having bead blasted finish.

What belts should i stock up on for profiling, beveling, removing scratches, sharpening & polishing an edge. Since I'm bead blasting, I should need too much variety I hope.

Is there some sort of belt I could use to rough up the finish to something somewhat similar to bead blasting in tone?

I'll generally be using some sort of micarta handles, but again, I don't want a polished handle b/c I would like it to have some more texture & grip.

I hear a good place to get 2X42 is supergrit.com. Anyone know of better place to get them?

Should I get one of those belt cleaning rubber blocks?

Thanks.
 
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This is an area where there is a load of opinions. I uses a good 36 grit to get things to shape and do my initial bevels, then go to 60 or 80 grid to smooth up and refine. Then 120 till my rough grit marks are gone and get every thing just the way I want it. Then 240 and 400. I am starting to use Trizact belts more so may drop a intermediate step. I don't know if those come in 2x48 anyway, If you are going to bead blast, I wouldn't go over 400. Use quality belts they are worth it. I use the 3M ceramics on the heavy stuff when doing metal. I use cheaper aluminium oxide when doing scale materials. I usually only rough in the scales and go to 120 or possibly 220 before I hand sand them.

Thats how I do it. There seems to be a lot of different methods and opinions even on the type of belts, the steps to take in grit jumps. People use different wheels and grind different. Get a few of each grit and start grinding. See what works for you. Try a few different brands. Then stock up
 
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The rubber belt cleaning sticks do help.

One thing I never see mentioned, that I learned the hard way, is this:
A) grind a piece of maple or walnut to shape for a handle
B) later on put a fresh belt on and grind some steel
C) What's that smell? Crap, is that smoke? Why yes it is! What the heck?!? Oh yes, I'm an idiot... I didn't clean out the pile of wood dust under the grinder before I started pouring hot steel sparks into it!! :o:foot::grumpy:

Actually it's even possible to ignite steel dust, just ask the guys in W&SS who use steel wool to start a fire. So the moral of the story is keep the area under/around your grinder nice and clean :)
 
Blasted blades aren't too different than any other finish, if you want a really nice blasted finish you need to get all of the scratches out. The very least you'll want is a nice even 400 grit finish before blasting. Pop's and Tru-grit also sell belts for your sander.
 
Thats not my finish that is the last belt I use, I hand sand the rest, sometimes 600g and sometimes 800 or higher.

Before sharpening I use a well worn out 220g.
 
what does one use to polish the convex edge then, so it is really smooth and more corrosion resistant?
 
I put my final edge on with a buffing wheel and green rouge or a cork belt. I also use a 400 grit belt to set the bevel and put on the wire edge, other makers prefer a 220 for a more "toothy" edge. Either way, as long as the edge is somehow honed after 220, I wouldn't worry about it at all.
 
after you run that buffing wheel do you have a "burr" on there that you have to take off w/ a stroop or something?
 
I make the burr with a slack 400 grit belt, or a 400 grit belt on a contact wheel and buff it off with a stiff buff or a slack cork belt. You can skip the buff and go straight to a strop if you prefer, you can strop after the buff or you can just leave it. The buffed edge is sharp enough for me.
 
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