Which roughing belts? Ceramic vs Zirc

B

Brian.Evans

Registered Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
3,267
Hey guys it's time again for me to order some more belts for my Craftsman grinder. Previously I ordered Norton 60 grit belts ceramic for my roughing belts. However, this time I thought I might try something different. I thought about trying the Klingspor CS411X zirconia belts in 80 grit for my roughing. I'm going to be primarily doing slip joints out of 3/32"A2, however I am going to be doing some 1/8" D2 fixed blades as well. How do you all like the zirc belts?

I will be following it up with a 400 grit Gator, if that makes much difference.
 
zirconia is ceramic, is it not? When discussing belts I find it useful to use a model #, there are so many different types that it's really hard to be sure what you are specificaly talking about otherwise. Norton makes at least several models of ceramic belts that all probably come in 60 grit, so without more specific info your question is hard to answer.
My favorite belts for roughing are the 3M 967 and 984F. Both outperform anything else I have tried, especially the 984F, although I have bought 2 that were not spliced straight and the edge wobbled across the platen which is about the only bad thing I can say about them so far.
 
I just have a 2x42 craftsman, so that limits my belt selection quite a bit.

Specifically the two I'm looking at are the Norton Blaze R980 Ceramic 60 grit and the Klingspor CS411X Zirconia 80 grit.

I've used the 60 grit Blazes before, but I thought I read somewhere that Stacy liked using the CS411X belts and that they gave a superior finish for a roughing belt. I could be making that up in my head though.
 
I have never used the Klingspor belts before so I can't comment on those. I have used the Blaze belts, but not since trying the 3M models I mentioned above, which says enough about that. If I were looking for the best finish from a 60 or 80 grit belt I would choose the 984F, but at that stage I am more concerned with the flatness of the bevels than the finish.
 
Hi
After using 36 grit Klingspor zirconia belts and 3M 967 belts for a few years now I will stick to all 3M 967.
For me the 3M 967 last longer and track better.
Dave
 
I just checked 3M's site and All I could come up with was 967F, 2 in x 72 in 36 YF-weight and the Cloth Belt 302D, 1-1/2 in x 42 in P220 J-weight.
Sorry I could not help.
Dave
 
Try Tru-Grit. They have quite a few belts and seem to be willing with their customers if they don't have a particular belt.

Tim
 
Trugrit has the two belts I mentioned. They have more belts of course, but those two are the only real roughing choices.
 
I've been grinding on a 2x42 for over a year. I have rough ground my profiles with the CS411 Klingspore in 36 grit, obtained from Tru Grit as well as the 60. The 36 will get you there in a hurry but will leave some deep scratches that you'll need to make sure you get out with either a 60 or 80 (I prefer the Blaze belts in those grits). After the 60 or 80 grit belts, I then go to a 120 Blace before changing over to an A300 Gator followed by A100, A45 and then A30.

Personally, I think you'd be making a mistake by going from an 80 grit or even a 120 grit belt on the 2x42 to a 400 grit Gator. That's a big jump in grits for the Gator imho. Not that they couldn't do it, but you'll spend a lot of time at the Craftsman and put a lot of wear and tear on the Gator.
 
Mudbug007 said:
Personally, I think you'd be making a mistake by going from an 80 grit or even a 120 grit belt on the 2x42 to a 400 grit Gator. That's a big jump in grits for the Gator imho. Not that they couldn't do it, but you'll spend a lot of time at the Craftsman and put a lot of wear and tear on the Gator.
Click to expand...
Have you ever done it? It works really well. 36, 80, 120, 240, 400 is incredibly redundant and time consuming. I didn't come up with the 60 to 400 routine, but it does seem to work well. Also,I don't care about wear on the belt so much, as I am planning on using a new belt for each blade this time around. I have the money and I'm going to see if the "use belts like they're free and your blades will improve"
mantra holds true.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top