Thread: Belt sander question

Jason pointed out this 3150FPM belt-sander that he saw at Home Depot. Would 3150FPM be too fast for blade cleanup/rough work on the scales? Here's the link, but I don't guarantee that it will work. Let me know if it doesn't.

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...k=P_PartNumber

Bill, you're more than welcome to chime in

your link only links to the store site, no product. I looked through but didn't find one like you described. I would say that sounds a bit fast for light work, but maybe not. Perhaps if you lick the belt and gauge the damage, you can go from there.

Best of luck with that,

Haw Haw Haw

I don't think laughing would be your first reaction, but you never know.

I am removing all material that Lerch may find offensive or construe as a personal attack... bye bye, now...

I didn't exactly cover myself with glory when I worked with a 3450rpm grinder (used a junk blade). That's why I'd be worried to use a 3150fpm sander. It looks like you have to pay the big bucks for the good stuff.
Now I'm thinking of going REALLY low tech and pedal operated lol.

In the search box I typed in "belt sander". All of those could be used for rough scale work. None would be good for blade work For blade work use the flap wheels from widgetsupply.com


Just my two cents,

Randy, they're ineffective for the kind of issues that I'd like to be able to deal with. However, I've seen vids of Bill performing some magic on the belt sander, but I'm sure it's slower than 3000+fpm.

Ilija,

For blade work you would need a belt sander with speed control. I have a 4" belt sander without speed control and even with a 220 grit belt the grinding is too fast.

First it heats up the blade so there is almost a 100% chance of ruining the edge and it removes metal too fast. Without a lot of experience the blade would be ruined in seconds. Not a good way to build confidence in restoring blades.

Flap wheels are probably the safest choice. Hand sanding is another if you don't mind the elbow grease.

Vlad, I'm well aware of issues with a belt sander that's too fast and 3150fpm is at least 2x as fast as I'd like it to be. On the other hand, flap wheels are too slow for heavy resurfacing. There is one particular job that I wouldn't even CONSIDER doing by hand. Therefore I need something in between but it looks like it's way beyond my budget.