Sanding belt Mania

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Grouser1741

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Apr 17, 2018
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Aluminum oxide, ceramic, aluminum zirconium,,, I'm a new knife maker with a new grinder on the way and I want to buy some belts. If I understand it right AO is not for steel. I want a ceramic or zirconium alumina belt correct? I got 36 up to 220 grit zirconium alumina, 1 ceramic belt about 220 Grit. I know there's a million different answers for a million different applications but I just need to get started with this thing thanks for your help
 
Ao is fine for roughing and profiling blades as well as handles. Ceramic is what you want for grinding bevels in my opinion. When your starting out its tough to get a nice finish with a higher grit belt. I would get some Ao belts up to 400 for handles and shaping because they are cheap. Maybe get 80, 120, 240, 400. I would also get some ceramics. Lots of 36 grit a couple 60s and 120s. As you get better get higher grit ceramics as well. When the ceramics wear out put them to work on handles and profiling duty. For now i would say dont worry about expensive finishing belts. Just my opinion hope it helps.
 
I use Pops's for belts. If I was going to make my first order again i'd get a bunch of VSM ceramic 50 grit. You can get all of your shaping done with those. I would get a few 80 and fewer 120s as well. So like 10 50s, 3 80s and 2 120s. I would get a few roughing belts around 40 grit for wood, Pop sells a blue economy AO/Zirconium belt. And then I would get a variety of cheap AO belts for handle shaping and sharpening. A a300 Trizac can go a long way towards getting scratches out. That will get you started. If you are going to try to belt finish I would get more trizacs and a brown scotchbrite.

Those VSM are very good for the price but you may want to start try premium belts. I would recommend buying 2 and in the same grit as the VSM so you can compare. Then slowly branch out. I like blaze as a premium belt but I go back and forth about using cheaper belts and changing sooner. Using your belts right gets more out of them as well as giving much better results. Ceramic belts last much longer than you would expect. But they don't cut as well and. Build up more heat. How I am doing it lately is to use any hammered belt for profiles. Next is a dulled belt with lots of life. I use these on unhardend bevels and for hogging bevels. Once I get close to final bevel thickness I switch to a sharp belt to bring it in. You can feel the belts to see if they feel sharp. Once they dont feel sharp I downgrade the use. By doing this I get a lot more out of my belts while still getting tip performance. That's not the only way to do things its just how I do mine. You will find your own way.
 
The problem with belt recommendations is in part how variable our own grinding styles are. That's compounded by beginners inability to actually discern belt performance from deficient grinding ability, the variables in grinders, speeds, backers, type of steel being ground, condition the steel is in, etc, etc. You also need to learn that how "long" a belt lasts measured by time is meaningless, and that what you're really trying to determine is how to remove the highest volume of steel per $ to an acceptable finish for the stage you're grinding. One can generally say ceramic belts grind the most steel for the least cost, even though they're the most, or nearly the most, expensive belts on the market.

So while suggestions are great, and offer you a starting point, to really find the best belts for you, you need to be prepared to buy a lot of different belts and spend some time evaluating how they perform. This is really tough to do until you learn how to grind reasonably well.

For me personally, 40 and 80 grit ceramics do all of my rough work. For 120 through 600 grit I prefer cheap AO belts to any of the other finishing belt options out there. I can get to 600 grit faster for less money throwing away $10 of belts than with other options that last longer.
 
I knew it was a big question, and probably every newbie asks it. But I really appreciate you guys taking time and explaining your choices to me. I've got a variety of belts coming and I agree, using them will be my best teacher. But it's nice to know how other guys think thanks
 
kuraki said:
The problem with belt recommendations is in part how variable our own grinding styles are. That's compounded by beginners inability to actually discern belt performance from deficient grinding ability, the variables in grinders, speeds, backers, type of steel being ground, condition the steel is in, etc, etc. You also need to learn that how "long" a belt lasts measured by time is meaningless, and that what you're really trying to determine is how to remove the highest volume of steel per $ to an acceptable finish for the stage you're grinding. One can generally say ceramic belts grind the most steel for the least cost, even though they're the most, or nearly the most, expensive belts on the market.

So while suggestions are great, and offer you a starting point, to really find the best belts for you, you need to be prepared to buy a lot of different belts and spend some time evaluating how they perform. This is really tough to do until you learn how to grind reasonably well.

For me personally, 40 and 80 grit ceramics do all of my rough work. For 120 through 600 grit I prefer cheap AO belts to any of the other finishing belt options out there. I can get to 600 grit faster for less money throwing away $10 of belts than with other options that last longer.
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I started trying trying the cheap AO belts after one of your post and I do like them. I have to run them wet though. I just use a spray bottle with soapy water. My newest thing is those 3M micro film belts. It's like the AI but so much better. They last longer cut faster and with harder steel and no belt bump. Nice surface finish too.
 
For a new maker I recommend getting just a few belt grits and styles.

Get a dozen in 80, six in 120, and a dozen in 400 grit. This alone would be suitable as a starter batch.
- http://popsupply.bizhosting.com/hermes_rb_406_2x72_belts_j_flex.html.

This green Hermes ceramic fine grit belt is superb! It is wonderful on hardened steel. Get a dozen in 120 and six in 220 grit - http://popsupply.bizhosting.com/_b_hermes_cr_456_j_flex_b_.html


If you are going to do larger or thicker blades, this is a really good coarse belt to add to the order. I recommend six in 60 grit to start - http://popsupply.bizhosting.com/az_x_2x72_aluminum_oxide_zirconia_belts.html


Depending on your budget and the number of knives you plan on making, that order can be cut in a third or half. These belts are very low price, ranging from $2.25 to $3.45. Pops's (James/Jim Poplin) discounts bulk orders. The whole list above will run around $140 with shipping.
 
How are the majority of belts when sanding aluminum? I know from past experience that aluminum clogs the belts and I thought they had to be a special purpose for aluminum. What are you guys use for brass and aluminum?
 
That's a good question, I wondered about it myself. I always thought it something to do with grinding around a small diameter wheel and grinding speeds.
 
I use the x weight backed belts for heavy grinding in 36-60 &120 and the J-Flex in 120-400- 600 Hermès for sharpening work and handle Scuplting & finishing Also I give another vote for the Ceramic x weight VSM belts. They are a great value and if I only get 1-2 knives out of a belt that fine. Because I only use about 60% of the grit on each belt and they start to build up to much heat. So then they go into the profiling pile.. Stay Safe & Have Fun!
 
You don't need every grit but knowing which grits you'll use only comes with experience.

For instance, I almost never use 80 or 220 belts but I still have a bunch of them because when I was first buying belts, I just bought everything
 
daniel, yes the j flex are the thin ones and the x weight is stiff. the j flex will curve around the edge of the belt or platen to make rounded plunges lines when run off the edge about 1/8".
 
Grouser1741 said:
How are the majority of belts when sanding aluminum? I know from past experience that aluminum clogs the belts and I thought they had to be a special purpose for aluminum. What are you guys use for brass and aluminum?
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Aluminum basically melts and sticks to stuff. You just have to stop that. In the industry we usually use wax but water can work if you are worried about wax affecting a weld. It can be cleaned off with acetone anyway so it's not a huge issue . For saw blades the dry coat type spray that woodworkers use to keep a blade from gumming up work great. Just reapply a couple of times a day.
 
skillgannon said:
Aluminum basically melts and sticks to stuff. You just have to stop that. In the industry we usually use wax but water can work if you are worried about wax affecting a weld. It can be cleaned off with acetone anyway so it's not a huge issue . For saw blades the dry coat type spray that woodworkers use to keep a blade from gumming up work great. Just reapply a couple of times a day.
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Thanks for the help man.
 
a couple of BLaze 50 grit and 100 grit around $7 ea

Some hermes 50, 100,220 around $2+ ea

one Trizact Gater a65 a45 around $7ea

one Cork 400 around $8 and green compound

Will get you through several knives before you need to order some more belts.
 
Grouser1741 said:
How are the majority of belts when sanding aluminum? I know from past experience that aluminum clogs the belts and I thought they had to be a special purpose for aluminum. What are you guys use for brass and aluminum?
Click to expand...
A very important thing for you to do if you use a collector system is to dump it out when you go from grinding one material to another .. I started a fire in a shop vac collector cause I ground and shaped a bunch of wooden handles then went to grinding some Carbon Steel blades.——————————————- When I saw smoke pouring out of the collector it Made for some intense moment running for the fire extinguisher :eek::eek:;)—————————————————Also Grinding Aluminum & Steel it’s possible to create Thermite and burn your shop, Home, etc to the ground!:eek: I always make sure to dump out the collector after each material.......Stay Safe & have Fun!
 
As a retired fireman I can sympathize with the dust collection problem. Thanks for the heads up and thanks for the list of belt grits. That's what I'm looking for
 
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