What my wife got me for Christmas

nifegrinder said:
I've never bought belts in that size, but norton SG belts for roughing and refining (36-220 grit) are the gold standard. Norax and trizact engineered abrasives(EA) from norton and 3m are fantastic for refining and polishing (150-1200+ grit). I also like Hemes belts, especially their 400 cork. Whatever you use, I'd always go with butt jointed belts, no finger joints. There are other great belts out there that might be better and cheaper, especially for the steel you're grinding. I'm mainly grinding S30V, which can be a pain to grind.
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I checked out trugrit and couldnt find any of the above mentioned belts in 2x42. I may just be interpting it wrong. They list KLINGSPOR Aluminum Oxide, Zirconia. 3M Gator Structured,Norton SY965 Ceramic. Is there a better site or is that about the only options. Any one have a recomendation on these?
 
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Quote: By the way got my first cut today but learned a very valuable leason. Be sure you are in postion before setting th steel to the disk sander. The steel was snached right into the sander. I got left with the cut in the pictures. It wasnt to bad bout 1/8 inch deep.

I think it took me about 30 seconds from the time I turned on my Sears grinder to when it grabbed the blade I was working on and cut my hand. It taught me to respect it REAL quick. It is not perfect but I like my grinder a lot. I want to get a glass platen for it this year. Jantz has a pretty good selection of belts, and I'm sure other places do too. Have fun!

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Tru grit has about the best selection for 2 X 42,It's one of the draw backs abut it,the belt selection is limited.
Get the Norton 60 grit ceramic,a few 120's and a couple of 400's.
I used alot of the gators on my 2 X 42 they work well on it.
Stan
 
would you get the 120 in gator or just the 400's? Also do you guys use the belt table or just free hand? I thinking I did hold the blade in my hand for a while and liked it a lot better I think it cut cleaner. I am glad i cut my self. i know that it sounds stupid but it gets the first cut out of the way. It also teaches you that yes you can get hurt and that was jsut a good flesh wound. i would rather it turn out like this than missing finger or have a chunk of steel hanging out of me.
 
One more question bout belts and well disk as well. What grits do you use on the scales?. I started working on some scales I have for a different knife. It was given to me by my father but the scales came off. I barely touched it to the 100 grit and it was charred. I also tried my well used 80 grit belt that I got with the sander same result. I barely removed anything from the scales. They are osage orange I think.
 
I have gators in 80,120,400 & 600 for my Kmg.
I would get atleast 1 in 120 and then a couple of regular belts in 120 and see which you like the best.Belt selection is kinda individual,what works great for one person may not work so well for another.Try a couple of each to see which you like the best.
Stan
 
Thanks I will take your advise and get 1 120 grit gator and 1 400 grit gators and also 2 60 grit,2 120 grit and 2 400 grit norton ceramic. I am also thinking of getting some AO for working the wood
 
Congratulations on your first grinder. And your first grinding injury. Welcome to the "black boogers" club. Even though you are getting a respirator.
 
Congrats!! It's a great little machine and many a knives have been made on it from members on here. Do yourself a favor for when you're going to be grinding bevels in teh future. Go to USAKnifemakers and get the ceramic glass platen for it and attach it as shown. The metal platen on there isn't the greatest surface to get a good grind on. Also be aware that the belts from Tru Grit, aside from the Gators, will give you a good amount of "belt bump" when you grind. Anything much higher than 220 most likely will rattle your blade quite a bit.

Belt bump is basically where the belt is joined and it tends to be like hitting a speed bump while you're grinding.
 
Thank you all for the advise. I will have to check out the glass platen. I hope I will not find out just how much you guys have saved me in trail and error. I am ordering the belts and 6 feet of 1/8x 1-1/12 1095. I am wanting to swap over to D2 after I get some time and blades under my belt.
 
I suspect that the Sears grinder is going too fast to work with most woods. It's real easy to burn whatever wood you put to the belt. The answer would be to slow it down but apparently that is not an option with the motor being used.

I do most of my wood shaping with rasps and use my Sears belt grinder mostly for cleaning up the exposed tang. I have some success using a real light touch when working with wood, but even then I can screw it up if I'm not very careful. I apply very little pressure and I don't leave it on very long, just a second or so and check what it did. This is one of those things about this particular grinder that makes it "less than perfect", but a heck of a lot better than using files.

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
I got my work bench this weekend was going to build but after going to harbor freight I decied to buy their 60 inch Oak Woodworking bench. I am very hapy with it and the 3 inch vise. I also ordered 3 feet of 1/8"x1 1/2" 1095 plus pins and tubing. I got a respirator and also a goody supply of Ceramic and Gator sanding belts. I just need to get a drill press. Any suggestions on a good drill press. I will be making fixed blade knives. Thanks to all of you for your input on what I need.
 
I've seen that bench at HF. If there was an HF in Hawaii I'd probably get it too. Didn't HF have an inexpensive bench top drill press? Or, check Craigslist. There are usually always ones being sold there. Looks like you're on your way!
 
They do have a inexpensive drill press. I was unsure of how it would hold up so I opted to wait. i have been checking craigslist but it is pretty slim for tools here.
 
Congrats! I too just upgraded to a small grinder from files. Man, isn't it WONDERFUL! I'm in love with this little machine.

Just curious, how many amps does that motor draw? Looks like its pretty powerful, for 1/3hp, like mine.

Also, I agree with everyone else here. I ordered my belts from trugrit.com and they were CHEAP and shipped FAST. Very pleased with them. I give thanks to this community for turning me on to them.
 
The little H/F drill press is plenty good for starting out on fixed blades.I started with the same 2 main items youhave. A craftsman grinder and a H/F drill press.
Stan
 
I'll just copy over my last order from true-grit for ya, adjust quantities as budget allows.
36 grit CS411X Zirconia
60 grit SY965 Ceramic
120 grit LS309J (these are the J-flex belts people mention, very soft and flexible)
120 grit A160CF Gator Trizact (structured abrasive, I love these belts for doing bevels but they're not so hot for the plunge lines and other corners, they're thick)
240 grit A65CF Gator
400 grit A45CF another gator. In the past this was my finish belt, when fresh it looks closer to 600grit than 400.
500 grit LS309J another J-flex. Much easier to clean up plunge lines and other tight corners after heat treat. It's also my new finish belt.

Depending on how you're profiling you might be more efficient than I am, but I pretty much kill a 36 grit per knife between post cut profiling and roughing in the bevels. I do fairly small knives so I generally get a couple knives per belt of the other grits. I'm only using the J-flex for specific jobs as well, I fully expect to wear out the edges long before the rest of the belt and just finish them up using them to flat grind.

I also suggest you go to usaknifemaker.com and pickup a glass platen for it. I put mine on with JB weld and two screws for it to rest on. The metal platen isn't flat, won't stay flat, and has horrid edges for knife making. Other than that, I'm doing alright with mine.
 
Python007 said:
Congrats! I too just upgraded to a small grinder from files. Man, isn't it WONDERFUL! I'm in love with this little machine.

Just curious, how many amps does that motor draw? Looks like its pretty powerful, for 1/3hp, like mine.

Also, I agree with everyone else here. I ordered my belts from trugrit.com and they were CHEAP and shipped FAST. Very pleased with them. I give thanks to this community for turning me on to them.
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Sure beats a file. I did manage to make a couple knives with files but this is way faster. Which is both good and bad but the good outweights the bad by a mile.:D My motor is 3.5 amps i havn't bogged it yet however I have only used 1095 and a 80 grit belt on it.
 
Remyrw said:
I'll just copy over my last order from true-grit for ya, adjust quantities as budget allows.
36 grit CS411X Zirconia
60 grit SY965 Ceramic
120 grit LS309J (these are the J-flex belts people mention, very soft and flexible)
120 grit A160CF Gator Trizact (structured abrasive, I love these belts for doing bevels but they're not so hot for the plunge lines and other corners, they're thick)
240 grit A65CF Gator
400 grit A45CF another gator. In the past this was my finish belt, when fresh it looks closer to 600grit than 400.
500 grit LS309J another J-flex. Much easier to clean up plunge lines and other tight corners after heat treat. It's also my new finish belt.

Depending on how you're profiling you might be more efficient than I am, but I pretty much kill a 36 grit per knife between post cut profiling and roughing in the bevels. I do fairly small knives so I generally get a couple knives per belt of the other grits. I'm only using the J-flex for specific jobs as well, I fully expect to wear out the edges long before the rest of the belt and just finish them up using them to flat grind.

I also suggest you go to usaknifemaker.com and pickup a glass platen for it. I put mine on with JB weld and two screws for it to rest on. The metal platen isn't flat, won't stay flat, and has horrid edges for knife making. Other than that, I'm doing alright with mine.
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I have already placed my current order with truegrit however If you dont mind I will keep your order saved to branch out for my next order. I plan to upgrade to the glass platen for sure. I have pretty much spent my knife money for a couple weeks on the table, belts and more steel. So that will come in next couple weeks along with a drill press. I am manageing to drill pretty good hole for the time being with my cordless drill.
 
Yeah, came back to the post and realized I'd missed your last post.

I'll second the "hop" from most belts. The short belt combined with the design of the grinder and the speed make it pretty annoying. It's one reason I use the trizact's so much. I rough in the shape then switch to trizact for the rest. The J-flex isn't as bad about hopping as many others and since I'm mostly using the very edge as it rolls over the glass platen it minimizes the hop.
 
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