Belt sander

[flatliner]

Looking at belt sanders of various price and configuration to sharpen tungsten. Any advice or caveats, without going ape sh** on the $$$ would be appreciated.

[sn0border88]

I think a bench grinder would be alot easier and cheaper. I have used a belt sander to sharpen and it makes a nicer looking point, but its harder to get the grinding marks to run lengthwise.

[flatliner]

Good POINT! No pun intended...Thanks! In that case would you care to recommend your favorite b-grinder?

[sn0border88]

anything will work. I dont even know the make of our grinders.

Its the wheels that will make the difference, get a corse one and a finer one. You can use the coarse one to knock off alot contamination and the finer one to finish it.

[aczeller]

i use a delta for most everything i do. it comes with a coarse and fine, along with a polishing wheel, bu the fine works wonders. it comes with a stand (needs to be bolted down to the concrete or made bigger) and a wheel dresser. we got it for fairly cheap... i can't remember the price or model, but i know we got it a home depot. i beleive it's 1/2 HP and i've never had anything that's bogged it down. BALDOR makes some $%^ nice grinders, but once again, like everything else in this industry, you get what you pay for. i woudl reccomed jsut going to lowes or home depot and getting a 1/2 HP or greater. it shoudl say on the box what all it somes with. i agree that you need a fine and course wheel.

later,
Andy

[Brett]

Not sure if you would buy a belt sander specifically for sharpening as a small bench grinder will do and be cheaper.
BUT if you do buy a belt sander for other uses you will use it all the time as it saves grooved stones , is quicker and cleaner. (then again if you've been using a bench grinder for 20 years as some here have I cant imagine you changing)

"I think a bench grinder would be alot easier and cheaper. I have used a belt sander to sharpen and it makes a nicer looking point, but its harder to get the grinding marks to run lengthwise."

Hold it the same way as you would with a bench grinder.

[Ries]

I actually prefer a disc sander to either a belt sander or a grinder.
The problem with grinders is the wheels get completely chewed up, instantly, and then they are no good for anything else.

I use my belt disc combo, and I chuck my tungstens in my cordless drill, then you can easily hold them in the right orientation to get perfect linear grind marks.

The most important thing for either a belt or disc sander is not the brand of the sander- its the type of sandpaper.
Blue, zirconia alumina is the only way to go.
I get all mine from Klingspor- I use 50 grit on both belt and disc, for everything- tungstens, but also fitting any piece of metal, deburing, and so on.

[aczeller]

I use my belt disc combo, and I chuck my tungstens in my cordless drill, then you can easily hold them in the right orientation to get perfect linear grind marks.

I never thought of that technique. i really like it. so simple, yet very effective. i could think of a number of things to use that idea on.

The most important thing for either a belt or disc sander is not the brand of the sander- its the type of sandpaper.

I second that motion. it's not the name tag of the grinder/sander, it's the actual abrasive surface that does the work.

Blue, zirconia alumina is the only way to go.

Why is that? better finish? quicker material loss? longer disk life? just wondering. i have no idea when it comes to abrasive materials. the only grinder wheels that i've ever used are the ones that came with the grinder, or the cheapest belts/disks that were the grit i needed. I never have looked into the materials very much. last time i bought an expensive abrasive, it lasted for a shorter period than the cheaper disks i already had laying around.

thanks!
Andy

[Ries]

I have been buying nothing but Klingspor abrasives since the late 80's, and they last a long long time. And 90% of what we do is stainless steel, which just destroys cheap sandpaper, in minutes.

I live east of Bumf*ck, which means the nearest place is at least 20 minutes each way to buy anything, so I just mailorder. And I am a business, so I have a business account with Klingspor- so I call em up, and two or three days later, the UPS man brings the stuff to me- its simple, cheaper than at the welding supply, and the stuff is very high quality.

For my belt sander, my disc sander, all my portable belt sanders, I always use what they call CS-411. Its Blue, its mean, and it lasts forever. Nowadays, a few other companies, like Norton, have blue stuff, but when I started buying it in the eighties, Klingspor was pretty much it.
Made in Germany and South Carolina.

I use a lot of their 4 1/2" flap discs for my 4 1/2" grinders, too- I buy em in boxes of 10, and they are cheaper (around 5 bucks each) and outlast any other brand I have tried (Sait, Norton, Pferd, and so on)

There really is a difference in different types of abrasive- go to their site, and they spell it all out-
http://www.klingspor.com/

[aczeller]

cool. thanks for the tip!

later,
Andy