Belt Sander Out of My League?

Make no mistake...a belt sander is by far the best way to go.

There are some great how to threads on the net by Jerry Hossom and Mike Stewart to name a couple.

It doesn't take long to get good with a belt sander and when you are using 800-1000 grit belts they are forgiving.

Convexed edges are easy on a belt and when you finish with a leather belt you will have a amazingly sharp edge.

I can put a scary sharp edge on S30V in just a few minutes.

Go with the belt....:thumbup:
 
THG said:
I'm not into convex edges, but I'm almost done doing a full convex grind on one of my S&Ws :)

It was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Gonna try it on the Gerber, and if it comes out alright also, I'm gonna do it on my Delica. I've been wishing for a FFG Delica for a long time, now, and I can finally do it :D
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Alright, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be :eek:

I knew the VG-10 would take longer than the S&W crap to flat/convex grind, but I didn't know it would take this much longer. My hat off to Tom Krein.
 
Well Tom uses a large grinder to do his work. Nice to see that you are trying it yourself. I know members have in the past used diamond plates to do a FFG on knives.

For future users, not to turn you against a belt grinder, but if you have the volume and are comfortable a grinder and richards paper wheels are the way to go power sharpening.
 
THG said:
Alright, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be :eek:

I knew the VG-10 would take longer than the S&W crap to flat/convex grind, but I didn't know it would take this much longer. My hat off to Tom Krein.
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Remember to switch out belts often because grinding hardened steel will dull the belt extremely fast.
 
Roger999 said:
Remember to switch out belts often because grinding hardened steel will dull the belt extremely fast.
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Dang, that must be it. It started getting slow... Do you know any good places to get belts? They're something like $5 for a 3-pack at Home Depot (assorted grits: 50, 80, 120), and I think that's too expensive.

Edit: I forgot to say that I think my sander has a problem. The belt always runs off to the right. There is an adjustment, but no matter which way I turn it - from one extreme to the other - the belt still runs to the right. Any advice?
 
Any chance your drive wheel came loose? I had that happen on a HF and had to exchange it because it wore through the plastic belt guard sidewall. Just something to watch for in the future. There is a set screw that is intended to hold the wheel onto the shaft of the motor.

Happy modding and sharpening
 
ChapmanPreferred said:
Any chance your drive wheel came loose? I had that happen on a HF and had to exchange it because it wore through the plastic belt guard sidewall. Just something to watch for in the future. There is a set screw that is intended to hold the wheel onto the shaft of the motor.

Happy modding and sharpening
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That's exactly what mine is doing. I don't know anything about a what-wheel coming loose, but it is rubbing against the chassis and sometimes the plastic cover.

Is there anything I can do to fix this myself? I'm not sending the thing back; that would triple the amount I paid for the damned thing.
 
Let me make a couple observations. For starters, to expect a $40 belt sander to hog steel very effectively is being a bit optimistic. You have to have considerable tension on a grinding belt to prevent it from wandering under the pressures required to remove much steel. That is as true of my $2000 Bader BIII Belt Grinder and it is of this little beast. If you don't have sufficient tension, the belt will wander. The tensioning spring on the idler wheel is very thin and pretty anemic so you really aren't going to get much tension. You can try replacing it with a stronger spring, but that will bring you to problem number two. Loading down that lame little motor for any length of time, from increased tension or excessive pressure on the belt, will probably burn it out in short order. This really is not a knifemaking machine. It does however make a great little knife sharpening machine.

Frankly, a coarse file is probably more efficient at removing steel than a HF sander.

One thing you probably should be careful with, given that the tensioning spring is pretty weak, is don't leave a belt on the machine when it's not in use. That will keep pressure on the spring and probably cause it to fatigue in short order. On another score, don't leave a leather belt on the machine for any longer than you absolutely need it there. It WILL stretch, then it will track VERY badly if it tracks at all.
 
elkins45 said:
Belt sanders are useful tools but they aren't particularly portable and they have to be plugged in to work.
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I just had to comment on this. Get one of these and your little HF belt sander (sharpener) becomes portable - at least as portable as some manual sharpeners which don't exactly ride in your pocket.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200365316_200365316

Pull into hunting camp this fall with this rig, set it up on the bed of your pickup or even the hood, and sharpen every knife in camp in about 20 minutes. You'll be an instant Knife God to all your friends. That's until they don't get their deer and think you put bad juju on their favorite hunting knife. :D

I've done this a couple times, showing folks how easy this is. We also used the same inverter to run the coffee maker in the morning and the blender for some pina coladas in the evening. Handy little gadget!

Keep your engine running though. It will suck down your battery if you let it, and dead battery = no more pina coladas! :)
 
Jerry Hossom said:
You have to have considerable tension on a grinding belt to prevent it from wandering under the pressures required to remove much steel.
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The belt wanders without me even touching anything to the belt. I turn it on, and within a few revolutions it is already all the way to the right.
 
Try this. Remove the large wheel by loosening the set screw. Wrap about three turns of 3/4" masking tape around the center of it. That will increase tension and aid in tracking.
 
Jerry Hossom said:
Try this. Remove the large wheel by loosening the set screw. Wrap about three turns of 3/4" masking tape around the center of it. That will increase tension and aid in tracking.
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I'll try that when I get around to it... Thanks.

Also, my D4 has become magnetized. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?
 
THG said:
Also, my D4 has become magnetized. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?
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I hope not. All my knives are magnetized by the time they leave my shop. In 20+ years I've never heard anyone comment on it. I guess if you were disarming land mines it wouldn't be too good... :)

It occurs to me that there is another, simpler explanation for the belt being loose and wandering. Some belts, especially cheaper ones, don't hold size tolerances very well, so if the belt is slightly oversize it could cause the same problem. 3M and Norton belts are usually spot on. German belts seem to run a tiny bit small. I don't now about others. Most knifemakers will tell you that grinding belts are NOT the place to save money. Better belts cut better, run smoother and last longer - more than paying for themselves in the long run.
 
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Jerry Hossom said:
I hope not. All my knives are magnetized by the time they leave my shop. In 20+ years I've never heard anyone comment on it. I guess if you were disarming land mines it wouldn't be too good... :)
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As long as it's not getting too hot, right? I dunk it in ice water after every stroke. It only ever gets to warm/medium warm.

Jerry Hossom said:
It occurs to me that there is another, simpler explanation for the belt being loose and wandering. Some belts, especially cheaper ones, don't hold size tolerances very well, so if the belt is slightly oversize it could cause the same problem. 3M and Norton belts are usually spot on.
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Well the ones I'm using right now are Nortons, and it's all 3 belts (50, 80, and 120 grits) doing the same thing running off to the side.
 
THG said:
As long as it's not getting too hot, right? I dunk it in ice water after every stroke. It only ever gets to warm/medium warm.



Well the ones I'm using right now are Nortons, and it's all 3 belts (50, 80, and 120 grits) doing the same thing running off to the side.
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Ice water ?

what are you grinding that you would need such abrassive belts?

I use mostly 800, 1000 and leather...once in a great while 400 to repair a damaged edge...i wouldnt even consider touching one of my blades with 50-120. :eek:
 
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