Belt sander recommendations!!

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KabirRaut
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Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by KabirRaut »

I would like an inexpensive belt sander for some casual knife work. Something to work mostly on knives and do blade profile changes, blade slab sanding and general small usd shop work. What size has the most diversity of abrasives and general use. A leather belt would be nice too. Here is what I've seen that are inexpensive.
Last edited by KabirRaut on Thu Sep 19, 2019 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by Bill DeShivs »

1 X 30s are useful, but are not serious tools.
There are several 2 X 42 units that will work for your needs.
The 2 X 72 grinders offer the most versatility of abrasives and length of belt life. They are also the most expensive. The Grizzly "knifemaker's grinder" is one of the least expensive.
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JimBrown257
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by JimBrown257 »

If workshop real estate is an limited , you can do a surprising amount of work with the cheap 3"x18" they sell at any hardware store. Usually they are about $40 but they go on sale for about $25. Belts are cheap and easy to find and you can put the sander away when not working on them. It was a while before I found myself needing to move on to the larger units.

Whatever you get, be sure to get the two-year warranty and keep the receipts. If you need to exchange it, when you go to the desk, be sure the employee is over the age of 40. My experience is that the younger ones will tell you to call the number on the warranty whereas the adults will just let you go get a new one off the shelf.

One other thing; if you are working with raw steel, you can get a lot done with a file. Profile changes on an existing blade, or anything with steel that has already been treated will require the sander, though.
tedmen
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by tedmen »

JimBrown257 wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2019 1:51 am
One other thing; if you are working with raw steel, you can get a lot done with a file. Profile changes on an existing blade, or anything with steel that has already been treated will require the sander, though.
Are there no files that are useful on hardened steel? I thought that was what diamond files were for? Or I thought I had read that somewhere but don't really know.
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JimBrown257
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by JimBrown257 »

There might be some files that are better on hardened steel but it is still going to be very difficult and will wear the file down pretty quickly. You always want to get the blade as done as possible before treating. Heating the blade should be the last thing you do as you will often want to make adjustments to it at the very end.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Diamond files will cut hardened steel, but they don't remove much metal.
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Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
tedmen
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Re: Belt sander recommendations!!

Post by tedmen »

Thanks guys.
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