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]

Originally Posted by Ries

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.

Originally Posted by Ries

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.

Originally Posted by Ries

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