3M Trizact belts, when are they worn out?

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PIndelicato

PIndelicato

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Sorry for the dumb question, but I find it rather clear both by look and feel when other belts are worn out (AO, ceramic, etc.), but I'm not as certain with these Trizact belts. Are the raised rectangles all abrasive, or does the abrasive sit in a thin layer on top of the rectangles?

They seem to still be working OK after significant use, but I don't have a whole lot of experience with belts and belt grinders, so I could be fooling myself and using them too long.
 
Every five minutes.

LOL.

You'll start to get a feel for when the belts are dull by how the steel looks when you pull it away to dip and wipe off. Dull belts burnish whereas a sharp belt cuts. Edited to add: Beware the dull belts. They sometimes leave scratches in the finish that are deep and hard to get out. I don't understand why this happens, but it does.

I like the trizacs too. Especially for the finishing in the plunge area.
 
I have a worn down wire brush that I place on the moving belt when it doesnt seem to want to cut as well. At 600 grit (I think it is A35) the belt gets gunked up quite easily. I hit it with the wire brush and it is good as new again. I have used the same gator belts for quite a long time (over a year) I just keep refreshing them with the brush.

Keep in mind that I dont use them for hogging off steel, I do all my steel removal with Blaze belts, then clean everything up with the gators.
 
P.J. I've been amazed at how these things last. I've never actually worn one out but I have worn two down good. They still work for many jobs just fine though. I bet that original belt I'm using from the batch I first bought when they were first available is years old now and its not because it sits idle.

I wish my other belts lasted like these do I'll say that. I love using those 50 and 80 grit mustard yellow 3M belts too and get a great deal of life out of those too! Now if I can just find a belt somewhere in the middle grits of about 100 120 that keeps up with these I'll have it all set up. I go through a lot of the belts over 100 grit the most and seem to see these gunk up quite a bit on me. The trizact will too but I have pretty good luck with that rubber belt cleaner thing some of the suppliers sell. I've also found if you run the belt backwards providing its not a directional belt that you can get some more cut out of it that way too.

STR
 
Thanks guys! I'm still low on the learning curve of most of this so I appreciate the feedback.

I guess the rectangles ARE solid abrasive based upon the life you guys are getting and the ability to refresh them. I will try that to see what happens.

I'm using 240x and 400x on my Craftsman 2x42, but I'm about ready to step up to a KMG and I notice Pops sells the 2x72 Trizacts in 80 and 120 grits as well. Has anyone used them in these coarser grits? If so, how do you like them?
 
Troop,
What do you mean by streaks? On the belt or the blade ? Could you explain this in more detail please. Thanks
Great question P J 234 -Josh
 
Josh Dabney said:
Troop,
What do you mean by streaks? On the belt or the blade ? Could you explain this in more detail please. Thanks
Great question P J 234 -Josh
Click to expand...

When the belts are worn, you get "streaking" occurring, at least when I'm grinding out tangs on the flat platen. Basically, what it amounts to is that the tang (in this case) doesn't get an even amount of cutting on the belt. Then, you get overheating of the steel, also.
I hate to throw out any of my belts, because they're expensive. But, I was starting to get this "streaking" thing occurring, changed to a new belt, and, in a matter of seconds on the new belt, the tang was all "nice and shiny" :).
 
I usually figure out there worn out after they break. Up until then they don't cut like there brand new but sure do last a long time.

Can someone remind me what the numbers represent as far as grit goes? 45 and 65 are the two I have the hardest time trying to figure out which one is a finer grit.
 
Raymond Richard said:
I usually figure out there worn out after they break. Up until then they don't cut like there brand new but sure do last a long time.

Can someone remind me what the numbers represent as far as grit goes? 45 and 65 are the two I have the hardest time trying to figure out which one is a finer grit.
Click to expand...

The numbers on the Gators' run backwards. A30 is 600 grit, and A45 is 400 grit, if memory serves me correctly.
 
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Ray - as the numbers go down the grit gets finer. The 65 like a 240 and the 45 is more like 320.
 
The gator belts I'm using now I have had for 3 years. If I had to order them every year the grit sizes would be easier to remember. Thanks for the update.........
 
These are the ones I have in 2x42, I assume it's the same for 2x72 (info from TruGrit):

BELTS:02x042

02x042:242-240-A65CF 2x42-240 A65CF Gator Structured Abrasive $3.85

02x042:242-400-A45CF 2x42-400 A45CF Gator Structured Abrasive $3.95
 
Pops has slightly different info:



3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A300 (80 grit))
$5.00 $5.00

3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A160 (120 grit))
$5.00 $5.00

3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A100 (180 grit))
$5.00 $5.00

3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A65 (280 grit))
$5.00 $5.00

3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A45 (360 grit))

3M 2x72 Trizact CF (A30 (600 grit))
$5.00 $5.00
 
Just to be clear, these are for finishing metal not hogging out or doing the initial profiling grind. The 100x and 65x will certainly cut but not all that agressively. The 100x is approx 220 grit, the 65x is approx 400 grit, the 45x is approx 650 grit, the 16x is approx 800 and the 5x is approx 1300 grit.
Tracy Mickley

This is for the norax belts, but I have found these numbers work well for all the structured abrasives.
The new gator belts are a wonder, I have done over 300 blades on a single belt
Del
 
I have found that using a belt cleaner on a belt will extend a belts cutting ability. They are really designed for use when sanding wood, but they also work with metal also. This is what I am talking about.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5518&filter=belt cleaner

My advice is to run it against the belt, often. What it does is it will pick up the particles that tend to plug up the belt. Sometimes the belt is not worn out its just clogged with particles.

I also I agree a belt is never worn out till you can't get it to cut with out forcing it. What stared out as 65 grit will eventually wear down to a 220 grit. Now if it begins to edge ragged or torn its shot, but even though it can't be used as a rough cut, that doesn't mean that it won't polish!
 
I have also found that it is not best to use any metal to resurface these belts. I use a worn out section from a ceramic 60 grit belt. It takes the glaze off in one swipe.
Del
 
Dang. You guys are getting a lot more use out of belts than I am. I guess I need to try that wire brush trick. I use one of those eraser sticks. But I'm not getting years out of any belt.
 
One thing I've done on a "worn" finer grit trizact belt is load it with white rouge. I have cork belts in 400 and 800 for this, but it helps clean up with a little more aggressive cut before moving to the cork belts or hand sanding. I can't remember where I got the tip from, but it was certainly one of the fine people here on the forum.
 
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