4 X 36 Belt Grinders Useful?

[redsquid2]

First, let me be clear that knifemaking is just a hobby for me, not a profession. I do it in the evenings and on weekends, and produce maybe one knife per month.

I recently decided to order a 2 X 42 belt sander from Sears. The problem is, I accidentally ordered the wrong item. It came today, and I looked at the box and realized it is the 4 X 36 instead of the 2 X 42. Returning it is a hassle, because it is heavy, and Sears is about an hour from here. Is the 4 X 36 useful for making bevels, tang tapers, and distal tapers? Maybe I will just keep the 4 X 36. What do you all think?

Here are pictures:

Thanks.

 

[SBuzek]

IMO I'd return it and get the 2X42.I started with one of those from HF and trashed it within a month.
Stan

 

[P. McKinley]

While I can't comment on its use for bevels and the like, I do use one on pretty much every knife I make. It flattens and gets rid of scale on the forged blanks, it squares-up wood blocks both pre and post handle glue-up, it roughs in some handle contours, and it rough shapes my leather and wood sheaths. I also use it to roughly square up blocks of interesting firewood destined to be handle material...which I do quite often. So, for me, that is a very useful tool.... but, maybe not just what you need it for.

Peter

 

[John Katt]

I started with one of those from HF and trashed it within a month.
Stan

Harbor Freight tools are a joke, I bought the 4x36 took it out of the box assembled it plugged it in, laughed a little bit, put it back in the box and returned it

you would think the craftsman would better quality then the HF crap...you would think

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

I'd recommend converting it to 2x72, except you mentioned that it's a Sears brand. They way over-rate their power output. My neighbor has one and it's about half the power of my 4x36. Here's the thread if you are interested in converting.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-grinder-conversion?highlight=4x36+conversion

 

[Jason_G]

I started with one of those from HF and trashed it within a month.

Harbor Freight tools are a joke, I bought the 4x36 took it out of the box assembled it plugged it in, laughed a little bit, put it back in the box and returned it

you would think the craftsman would better quality then the HF crap...you would think

I'm using that HF 4"x36"/6" sander right now. It's my only one, actually. I'm a beginner who's on a very tight budget, hence the HF tools. I wish I could afford better, but for now, I have to make do with what I can get. The HF one is a bit underpowered, and there's no variable speed. Certainly not the best tools by any stretch of the imagination, but for someone on a tight budget, you have to use what you can afford.

As for the Craftsman one, I can't speak to the quality, or anything particular to that specific sander, but I can give you these observations about working with a 4"x36"/6" in general:

The good:
The large disc sander on the side, when used in conjunction with a work table will smooth out curved contours as long as it can reach them. It will certainly true up straight edges such as spines, etc., in pretty quick order. I just use a carpenter's square to make sure the work table surface is 90 degrees to the disc. The large belt surface is helpful for flattening the sides of stock or handle scales.

The bad:
The larger disc and belt can't reach into certain curves that you may have in your blank. You'll also have no way to effectively hollow-grind. Many knifemaking supply stores only stock 2"x72" and similar belts. It's slim pickin's for 4" x 36" belts. you have to do some hunting.


I'd say if you have it, it will probably get used quite a bit, but a smaller width sander is on my list of things to get soon, along with a drill press, FWIW.

YMMV.


Jason

 

[12345678910]

I bought one and threw it away once I had a better one; It made me so mad.

I could stall the motor with fingertip pressure on soft wood

If it was free and you could put a real, larger motor on maybe.

but I wouldn't give up a 2x42, or drill press for one.

 

[james terrio]

The 2x42 is a far, far better machine for grinding bevels and so forth. It needs a hard, smooth platen face but then it's ready to rock. You can get pro-quality ceramic belts in higher grits for it as well; I'm not sure if that's the case with 4x36 or not. The 2x42 can also be converted to run 2x72 belts (even more variety) with a few bucks' worth of mild steel and a few bolts.

However if you can swing owning the both, the 4x36 can be useful for flattening blocks and stuff as Butch mentioned. Someone recently had a thread about using one as a "poor man's surface grinder" for flattening steel stock.

 

[synthesist]

Return it and you'll be VERY glad you did.

Suck it up and be a happier man........................

 

[redsquid2]

Thanks for all the replies.

I returned the sander today, and they did not have the 2 X 42 in stock. So I guess I will just order another 2 X 42 off the Internet.

The rest of the story: I ordered a 2 X 42 a few weeks ago, but when I pulled it out of the box, it had a huge crack in the belt housing. So I returned that one, then mistakenly ordered the 4X36. And my interactions with the "customer service" at Sears has not always been pleasant.