VSM Ceramic belts glazing?

MasonOstrom

MasonOstrom

Joined
Dec 28, 2022
Messages
104
I picked up a few 80 grit VSM XK760x belts a while back to try out. Ive not heard anything bad about them, but Im having big issues with them. They seem to glaze over extremely quickly and then they are useless. I do all of my bevel grinding post heat treat, and am fairly heavy handed when grinding, but still very poor cutting and LOTS of heat. Im running my 1.5 hp VFD driven Torus CNC grinder at max speed with these as that is what the combat abrasive belts I usually use like to run at. Any suggestions on how to get these belts to cut better? Thank ya'll.
Mason
 
I have never been a cermaic vsm fan as with lower pressure and slow speeds the abrasive does not break correctly. I finally tried the 880s and they work much better for me.
 
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MasonOstrom said:
I can only find those in y weight, I’d rather stick with x weight if I can. I might try the 870x. Any suggestion to get these 760 to cut? Slower speed, more pressure?
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I always start with slow speed and increase gradually when the belts become dull.

I use a hex dresser/wheel dresser to freshen the belts.

You’re using the wrong belt. The finer the grit the shorter the life. The finer the grit the slower the speed.

Try a 3m 984 50 grit just for comparison, worlds apart. Use the 80 grit to refine 36-50 grit grinding.

80 grit vsm 760s are not a good grinding belt for primary grinding.

Hoss
 
To reinforce the good advice Hoss recommends.

I used to use 80-grit as a go-to belt for shaping bevels. Sometimes it was slow or glazed. I used 36-grit and 50-grit only for profiling.
I had a 36-grit belt on the grinder and decided to do the bevels on a big blade with it to save time. It cut really fast and easy. A quick clean up with an 80 and then 120-grit and it was ready for HT. That changed my grinding time a lot.
 
In the past I was doing primary bevels with 36 grit then refining with 60 and 120 and so on. At the advice of a more experienced maker than myself I tried starting with 80 grit (combat abrasives ceramic) and the progressing. I was happy with the rate of material removal and happier with the final finish after all belt progressions. Much few pesky deep scratches hiding. I won’t be getting these specific vsm belts again, but I’m willing to try some of their other stuff.
 
Like you, I was unimpressed with the 760s. VSM suggested I try the 885s, and while they worked better for me, I have since just gone back to Blaze.
 
Remember that different belt types are engineering for specific use cases. The 760 is a lower speed/lower pressure belt. If you grind with high pressure, then get a grade designed for it, like the 880/885. That's why it's so hard to give advice on belts and why some people will swear that belts like the 984 cubitron 2 aren't worth the money because they don't last as long as their bargain belts. They're designed for very high SFPM and very high pressure grinding, so if like to grind with lower speeds and pressure, they don't work as they're designed to and vice versa. Find a belt that is designed for how you grind and you'll find that they tend to work as advertised. This can usually be found on the manufacturer's website or in their specification literature.
 
I have a few questions on the subject. I use VSM 870X. They work fine at lower speeds and high pressure. This thread got me thinking. When taking into account carbide monsters would Cubitron 2 or 3, with a double and triple price tag, have any benefit? I use 4" drive wheel but have a 8" when higher speeds are wanted. Lower speeds turned prime due to Titanium and the grind offs are bigger so it doesn't stink a lot as there is way less dust (steel and Ti). Already switching to ceramic Trizact as the normal ones are just scratchers. Thinking about diamonds, too. Opinions?
 
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