I'm in love with a belt sander

[ahains]

I picked up a sharpmaker last month, quickly followed by a diamond honing stone frm harbor freight. I've been practicing on kitchen knives and gotten some pretty decent edges, but I'm hoping to do better. I know I can improve in getting the microbevel, but the main area I have struggled with is just the initial profiling.

I seem to be mediocre at best at free handing against the diamond hone. Probably a large part of this is impatience. :)
My goal was to give a 10*/side profile, and then a 15*/side microbevel on the sharpmaker. My consistency is low enough that I would peak over 15* with the profiling, so then I would have to start all over again or never be able to get the microbevel.

The project after this was sharpening up a machete to cut back some blackberries. This was way too much work with the diamond hone, so I tried my grinding wheel. As poor as I am at freehanding with a hone, I seem to be much much worse with a grinding wheel. Absolutely terrible.

Come father's day I decided to check out belt sanders at harbor freight. There was a 3" x 21" that I intended to buy, but when I looked at the one out for demo I didn't see how I would be able to get the entire blade on there. It looked like the sandpaper would never get all the way to the edge of sander. Then I spotted a cheap little handheld one that was only a 1/2" wide belt, and the sandpaper goes all the way to the edge of the supporting structure. The link is http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-i ... 92158.html
Added bonus - you can adjust the angle of the sander. So I took this home and bungied it down to my grinder stand, set the angle around 10*, and went to town on my machete edge.
I can't adequately describe my joy at the results. :)
With a few passes of the blade edge I had a nice smooth consistent edge going. I really wish I had video taped how quickly I went from ugly-gnarly-edge to shiny-even-edge! I felt with my thumb edge and it had an obvious burr.. then I flipped it over to the other side and quickly had the burr back the other way. I did quick swipes against a wet paper towel to keep the heat down. I'm too lazy to finish a big machete edge on the sharpmaker, so I just adjusted the angle a little steeper and did a very light pass on both sides. Oh man those blackberries are SO much easier to whack through than with the crappy job I performed with the grinding wheel.
I broke the first sanding belt right before completing the machete.. I'm not sure if this is because they don't last long, or maybe I was pushing too hard. After this I applied a thin layer of grease under the sandpaper when replacing it.. no idea if this is a bad idea, but I'm hoping it will help the belt to not get too hot.
I haven't measured to double check, but it appears that 1/2" x 18" is a standard belt side, so I'm hopeful I can get some quality replacements after I burn through the 5 that it came with. IIRC it was (3) belts at 60 grit, and (2) at 100-something.. like 120 or 160 (I don't recall).

So for $20 I am ecstatic. I can't wait to reprofile my testing kitchen knives tonight and work on a microbevel with the sharpmaker!

[Left Hand Path]

Congrats on the success! I know what you mean about the inital re-beveling. It can take forever to get an edge down to 10-15 degrees per side. I use a DMT XX-coarse diamond stone and it works great compared to any other stone I have ever used, but it can still be quite a job on some edges. I have never tried power tools, but maybe some day... Especially for something like that machete you described.

There is nothing like a thin, clean edge :D

[swanseajack]

I use a bastard file on axes and it works a treat, It might work on a machete too.

[Grizzled Gizzard]

Congrats on your score! I sharpen professionally, and I have a 1x42 Kalamazoo belt grinder that I love. I'm not familiar with the grinder you describe. Do you know how long the belt is? I am going to have to assume it is a detail sander, so the belt you have might be pretty light and flexible. Have you tried to get belts for it yet? I use 3M Trizact belts, and they give a beautiful finish.

Please try to get the grease off the belt! :) That won't keep the belt cool, may result in slippage, will surely shorten belt life, and gum up the machine. I'm sure you haven't messed anything up though. Paint thinner would work well, WD40 probably do ok.

If you were trying to sharpen edge leading, that's why the belt broke. The belt will be directional, and if you didn't notice that, that could be another reason it broke.

[ahains]

Congrats on your score! I sharpen professionally, and I have a 1x42 Kalamazoo belt grinder that I love. I'm not familiar with the grinder you describe. Do you know how long the belt is? I am going to have to assume it is a detail sander, so the belt you have might be pretty light and flexible.

I found the specs online and it is quoted as 1/2 by 9. I'm assuming/hoping this is the same as the 1/2 by 18 belt size that I see on Amazon.. I think so based on the picture. The belt is definitely pretty light duty looking. There is a physical backing that it slides over where I'm holding the blade, so I don't think there is much/any flex at that point.

Have you tried to get belts for it yet? I use 3M Trizact belts, and they give a beautiful finish.

They have replacements belts at harbor freight just like it came with. I'm not sure yet if you can get a real quality belt. I'm not too concerned about that, since I'm just doing large grit shaping on the belt. I'm planning on sticking with the sharpmaker for the microbevel.

Please try to get the grease off the belt! :) That won't keep the belt cool, may result in slippage, will surely shorten belt life, and gum up the machine.

Thanks for the tip, I'll clean it off.

If you were trying to sharpen edge leading, that's why the belt broke. The belt will be directional, and if you didn't notice that, that could be another reason it broke.

Leading edge is a little too exciting of a proposition for me (didn't want to worry about kick back), so I went with edge trailing. I did not notice the direction, but the first belt (the one that broke) came installed from the factory. Of course that doesn't mean it was definitely correct..
I didn't pay attention to direction when I replaced it, I'll check it when I clean the grease.

[2cha]

I have a 1x42 Kalamazoo belt grinder that I love.

I have one of those--when I bought it, ad said it had a contact wheel, I can't figure out how to make contact with that wheel,... any pictures of your set up? Do you work off of the slack or the platen?

[Bolster]

HF sandpaper is notoriously low quality. I think you can upgrade your paper just about anywhere sanders are sold. Possibly even Sears.

The backs of belts are often printed with an indicator of direction of rotation.

Congrats on discovering the "secret" of belt sanders as sharpening devices. They tend to keep the blade pretty cool, particularly using the coarser grades (fine paper will heat the blade more).

I used a Bosch 4" wide belt sander for years, coupled with a Veritas Grinder Tool Rest, and it served me well.

When I got my Coote 2x48 belt grinder that became the sharpening machine of choice for me. Except not for my spydies, they get hand sharpening only.

[Grizzled Gizzard]

I have one of those--when I bought it, ad said it had a contact wheel, I can't figure out how to make contact with that wheel,... any pictures of your set up? Do you work off of the slack or the platen?

AFAIK, Kalamazoo only makes one 1x42, and you're right, there's no contacting the wheel. I use an EdgePro for precision on V bevels, so I don't use the platen much. When I'm roughing in a bevel for the EP, I use light pressure and go just above the platen. When I want a lot of convex, I pinch the belt together to get a bit of slack and go a little below the top wheel.

[2cha]

AFAIK, Kalamazoo only makes one 1x42, and you're right, there's no contacting the wheel. I use an EdgePro for precision on V bevels, so I don't use the platen much. When I'm roughing in a bevel for the EP, I use light pressure and go just above the platen. When I want a lot of convex, I pinch the belt together to get a bit of slack and go a little below the top wheel.

Thanks! That's pretty much how I've been dealing with it. I also have one of the horizontal set-ups from knifekits. I wouldn't do that again. In hindsight, I should have saved my money and put it toward a 2x72--I have several motors lying around and have a good source for used 3 phase,.... oh well, live and learn. I don't really think the Kalamazoo was a waste, just not broadly useful. The main attraction for me was a great US made motor and small footprint.

[Donut]

This will be the next big hit from T-Pain. :)

[Grizzled Gizzard]

Thanks! That's pretty much how I've been dealing with it. I also have one of the horizontal set-ups from knifekits. I wouldn't do that again. In hindsight, I should have saved my money and put it toward a 2x72--I have several motors lying around and have a good source for used 3 phase,.... oh well, live and learn. I don't really think the Kalamazoo was a waste, just not broadly useful. The main attraction for me was a great US made motor and small footprint.

Thanks for the tip about going horizontal, I'll know what you are talking about when I see it.

We share very similar views. I have looked into using a 3hp, 3 phase that I already have, with a phase converter for variable speed, on a 2x72 Coote or Kalamazoo. I'm not ready to start making knives yet, so it's on the back burner. I bet I'll still use the 1x42 for sharpening too, so it was $ well spent IMO.

[Simple Man]

The HF 1 x 30 works real well for what it is, especially when mated up with belts from Lee Valley. Strope is real nice.....

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... at=1,43072

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-x-3 ... -2485.html

Awesome BF thread on the subject...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... p?t=496644

[2cha]

Thanks for the tip about going horizontal, I'll know what you are talking about when I see it.

We share very similar views. I have looked into using a 3hp, 3 phase that I already have, with a phase converter for variable speed, on a 2x72 Coote or Kalamazoo. I'm not ready to start making knives yet, so it's on the back burner. I bet I'll still use the 1x42 for sharpening too, so it was $ well spent IMO.

Yes, buying variable speed control and hooking up to "acquired" 3 ph motor is much, much less expensive than buying a tool with motor. I looked at the Coote too, but didn't press the button because I think that KMG offers most versatility for the money--and versatility without compromise too,... problem is it all that quality and versatility takes serious cash, even supplying my own motor and speed control.

The nicest thing I can say about the horizontal table from knifekits, is that after some head scratching, I now have a somewhat useful small wheel for making knife handles/finishing inside curves.

[demoncase]

I read the title "I'm in love a belt sander" and couldn't help but think of Hedonismbot from Futurama:

[bearfacedkiller]

Gotta love when the spambots dig up the necrothreads. They seem to dig really deep.

[demoncase]

Gotta love when the spambots dig up the necrothreads. They seem to dig really deep.

Didn't notice that. Arrgh.