Thread: Which Belt Sander to buy?

Hi Gentlemen. I was looking to purchase a belt sander to expedite some of the hand sanding I've been doing. It' just real tough on the hands, and it is really hard labor.

So:

1) What do you guys think of belt sanders?
2) Which brand of belt sander do you suggest using...price is a consideration.
I would also like something that is manageable size wise (Doesn't take up an
entire desk)
3) Any suggestions or comments?

Thanks,

Allen

are you looking to do scales or to polish blades? belt sander for scales are ok, but i think you would be better of with going with a foredom or dremel rotary tool to polish and remove scale. if you want to look at a super belt grinder...look-up.. beaumont metal works....kmg grinder ...probably little more than you would want to go with...i have this grinder and can attest that it will do what ever your mind can think of.....................bugsy

Sorry...I was looking to polish blades with it

buy a dremel to do this. versitile, will do all your sanding grits as you change the paper. great for buffing also.

dremel 400xpr is a great one. you can get the flexshaft attachement for it which is very lightweight and makes it easy to hold and use, versus holding the big dremel.

its the way to go. dremel will do everything u need

~J

The problem with a belt sander and grinding (sanding) the blade is the speed that most cheap (less than several hundred) belt sanders run at. Most of the time I think it is around 3400 rpm which with a belt sander is too fast I believe. For this kind of work on this tool I think you want like 1750 rpm max. I'm not exactly sure on all that though!

Hey guys...i have a dremel...i don't really care to use it for sanding. The little discs are annoying to work with...hmmm..what to do?

A belt grinder/sander will help you clean up blades to some extent, but it's a bit limited. To get one that will be useful, you'd need to drop a couple grand, or else build your own like I did.

The little belt sanders like the 1x30" and 1x42" models work really well for scales. They run much too fast for sanding metal. You'll quickly overheat the blade and ruin the heat-treatment.

Grinders don't work all that well for full-hollow razors, anyway. There's just not much metal there to work with. The main thing a grinder is good for is regrinding meaty blades like quarter-hollows.

Josh

I'm interested in this question from a blade grinding perspective.
I think JoshEarl has a thread to his set up and there is a book called the $50 knifebook that I haven't read.

Any more useful starting information would be appreciated.

I think a variable speed buffer grinder is the way to with polishing blades but a leather apron and good face/neck protection aren't optional.

-Bob

There is a thread about a homemade grinder that would let you work on full-hollows; I forget who started it, but it wasn't me.

Josh

Do you mean drums? That coul dbe you difficulty right there.