Would this belt sander be adequete for me to learn on?

N

nuckingfuts

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Dec 20, 2011
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I've been getting into knife making just using files to shape them and I really want to start looking into getting some real tools.

Would this Craftsman belt sander be OK for me to start learning on? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

I know 1/3HP is pretty under powered compared to what you would really want but I cant spend tons of money on one and want to start learning how to grind ect.
 
That is the most commonly recommended belt sander for beginners. However, wait to buy it, because it does on sale pretty regularly for about 140.
 
If you want to get the machine I think more pros use, the Kalamazoo 1x42 is a workhorse. It's commercial quality all the way. A 1/3hp Baldor motor has way bigger horses than Craftsman 1/3 hp. The disk isn't big enough to be of any use, but you pay for it anyway.

The Kally is slow speed. The craftsman looks awfully high speed to me. That is an enormous difference. You really don't have to worry about heat nearly as much with a slow speed grinder.

The Kally goes on sale from Enco regularly for under2 bills delivered.
 
@gizzard-thanks for the suggestion, I will look into it!

@thegeek- thanks for the link, I did a search must have skipped across that.
 
The short answer is YES.

The Craftsman is fast and a bit underpowered, but serviceable. It NEEDS a hardened steel or ceramic face on the platen. It can be easily adapted to run 2x72 belts (better price in the long run and far better selection). Wait for a sale, coupon, or deal on a used one and go for it.
 
The Craftsman is a good tool with plenty of options to customize. It is underpowerd and super fast but both of those problems can be solves by taking off the disk plate, putting on a pulley, and add a larger slower motor behind the grinder. That way you could eventually have yourself a 1.5 hp variable speed grinder.
 
You can learn on anything. What you learn (and how useful it is) will vary. That sander will teach you the basics, plus a bit about being patient and finding alternative methods of doing some things not easily done on underpowered sanders. Those are, by the way, good things to learn.
 
This is somewhat off-topic, but since several folks have mentioned belt speed I thought it might fit in.

If the goal (for heavy stock removal, not polishing or sharpening) is to remove steel as quickly as possible while generating the least amount of heat, what is the ideal combination of speed and pressure?

The craftsman runs fast and has a small motor, so in use it will be high speed low pressure. I imagine the main point of going with big motors is so that more pressure can be used, and people mention running them slower than the Craftsman, so those will be low speed high pressure.

In a nutshell, does a grinder at 3500 fpm used with 10 lbs of force generate more heat per amount of steel removed than the same grinder run at 1750 fpm used with 20 lbs of force, all else equal? And if you ignored heat and simply wanted to remove steel as fast as possible, which would work faster? It seems to me, from a basic physics standpoint, that both would generate friction heat at the same rate, but I am not sure how abrasion varies with belt speed and pressure.
 
Part of the equation for speed is the ability to get the knife in position and hold it where and how you want it for the majority of the time. A super fast grinder makes it harder to gently make contact and be sure of the angle THEN apply pressure and make a meaningful grind. In contrast, a slow but high powered grinder lets you gently position the knife with a light touch, firmly apply pressure and make your grind, then come off the belt, more at your own pace and without melting any fingertips.
 
Remyrw said:
Part of the equation for speed is the ability to get the knife in position and hold it where and how you want it for the majority of the time. A super fast grinder makes it harder to gently make contact and be sure of the angle THEN apply pressure and make a meaningful grind. In contrast, a slow but high powered grinder lets you gently position the knife with a light touch, firmly apply pressure and make your grind, then come off the belt, more at your own pace and without melting any fingertips.
Click to expand...

Good point. I noticed the same thing when shifting from my old underpowered sanders to a grinder. Being able to feel the contact angle before applying pressure is a real advantage.
 
I don't understand why you guys want someone to buy a machine that has such enormous inadequacies. Underpowered and twice as fast are two things that would really be important to change before you even use the machine.

It can't be better to learn on a fast machine, and then change your machine to low speed. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The opposite would be much much better.

How could it be easier than starting on the same machine you use for ever? Kalamazoos are made to last forever. The Baldor motor, actually worth the price of the whole machine, and one bearing are all that you could ever possibly wear out, and are so easily replaced. With the Craftsman, you already know that the motor runs too fast and is underpowered, so you will have to change it. It's not going to be a good knife machine until you.... mount a completely different motor??

The Kalamazoo is tailored to knife guys. Why the heck wouldn't you buy the knife machine? The same one you will be using for the rest of your days?

It doesn't make much sense to me to buy two machines for about the same price, one you have to totally modify before it's useful, or one that you take out of the box and have a real, honest knife machine, that you put a belt on and start your knife career.

This way you learn on easy to use equipment, instead of starting on hard to use equipment. Also, you don't have to re-learn anything when you do get your hard to use machine modified so that it works how it should have in the first place.

I don't have time to stay current on this forum, so it's odd to me that one could get such conflicting opinions from different forums. I don't remember anyone saying anything about this ill equipped machine.

I guess I live in Kally-land.
 
The reason I don't like it is the 1" wide belt. I'd much rather have a 2" belt. That's about it.
 
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