belt grinder/sander for metal

Hell yes. Particularly the bench mounted ones. Every metalworker needs a 1x42 and a 6x48 bench mounted belt sander. Hell, Id be lost without mine, and I have two of the 1x42s side by side, one with a

30grt and the other with an 80 grt.

Even sharpen my drill bits on them. Great for roughing HSS tool bits also

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

where do you folks find/buy your belts? the local hdepot only has grit suitable for wood. does anyone make belts from spools? --Loren

What's the point of the 1" wide belt? I've got a 4" wide sander that I use all the time. I know I'm missing something...

Peter

(snip)

I like

for my belt grinder, though I have a

2x72 one. Todd (going to save up for a Bader B-III)

Since I discovered belt grinders my bench wheel grinders go unused most of the time. Belt grinders are just so much more versitile and remove stock a lot faster than a wheel will and leaves a much nicer finish. Belts are usually a breeze to change unlike removing guards etc and needing wrenches etc with a bench grinder. Delta $99 1 x 42 w/8 or 9 inch disk is perfectl;y adequate for a lot of metal working jobs. I have two 1 x 42, 1, 1 x 30 and a 1 1/2 x 60 /72 belt grinder and if I had more room I probably would have more, although I am scrounging up materials for a 1/2 x 12 belt grinder.

I get my belts from Barb Kat Abrasives. The junk that Home depot and LOwes sells just is not of good quality and does not last. A decent belt will last for quite a while.

Barb Kat sells abrasive materials of all kinds but does not sell import junk form China or India etc. She has stuff from Canada, Sweden, Germany and Israel etc but its all top notch materials. Her prices are great as well. Other than her, I do on occassion buy at MSC and usually get 3M or Norton. The same holds true with belts as it does wheels. You really do not save any money buying cheap in abrasives, and its a case of you get what you pay for.

Barb Kat is located at:

my website: expressed are those of my wifes, I had no input whatsoever. Remove "nospam" from email addy.

The best place Ive ever found belts, is Ebay. There is a gal called..BarbKat IRRC who sells belts at prices even better than I can get scrounging. Good stuff and an excellent seller.

She often has assortments, which makes mondo sense for us HSM guys.

Here is one of here current auctions

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

The 1" belt can be used without a backing plate for rounding edges, following curves, blending.

Here is the most common style. The upper overarm is spring loaded, to keep the belt tight, In this picture is a back wheel that no one uses. (behind the belt)...simpy push it back out of the way)

The sander has a platen at the table level for doing small flat stuff, but simply raise your work above the platten and the belt will now flex, curve and bend into places you otherwise couldnt reach, as the head keeps tension on the belt. Great for edge rounding, etc etc etc

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

That back wheel serves a particular purpose, and should not be used in normal grinding. The wheel holds the belt loop close together so you can grind the inside of a hole.

Paul K. Dickman

Thanks. Is there a reason one couldn't do this with a 4" belt. Why so narrow?

Peter

You can deal with her (Barb Snyder "barbkat AT zoominternet DOT net) directly if you don't want to wait for an auction. She can even do special items sometimes.

-- Just a satisfied customer,

Jim

And IME, Barb's blue belts are just as good as the NorZon's.

Jim

Its gonna be really really hard to get a 4" wide belt inside of a lot of corners and right angles without cutting a slot with the edge of the belt, plus the 4"ers really dont flex very well and you will wind up busting one, or tearing a chunk out of it.

Chuckle..a lot of commercial belt sanders, the air powered portable ones use a 1/2" or 3/8" band to get in close. Some even narrower

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

I have one that I made 25 years ago 2x60 6000 sfm, out of an old flange mount pump motor and a piece od 12 channel. I use it every day. Made my living with it for a short while making knives. I sold it once & bought an expensive bader which I didn't like nearly as well. So I talked the guy into selling it back to me & got rid of the Bader. I use it several times a day on average. Greg Sefton

These guys are very good too. good prices, service & selection.

no affiliation, Greg Sefton

OK I am going to buy one...I like the 1 inch belt, but I have not found a machine with a 1 inch belt that tilts. Only find tables that tilt. I do find four and six inch belts that tilt, but I like the idea of the smaller belt letting me get smaller items into it. Perhaps there is no advantage to the tilting belt verses the tilting table. Any comments in that regard. I am looking at the Delta one inch belt and six inch round combination unit. But wide open to suggestions, just don't want to spend and arm and a leg....

Thanks

Agreed. I've got an ancient cast iron Delta 6x48 and a Makita 1x? portable. For fast deburring the Makita gets used a lot. It's fast and easy like a right angle die grinder with a sanding disc but better. Noisy, but a great portable.

Richard Coke

That makes sense.

Take a look at the enco belt sanders. No real difference in quality from the Delta and a lot less in cost. The kalamazoo belt sanders are always on special somewhere too. The last Delta I bought had plastic wheels that cracked and was every bit as cheesy as the no name Chinese stuff.

FWIW I am trying some of the blue zirc doped aluminum oxide belts enco sells in 80 grit and recieving the same performance as I got from the Klingspor belts for less than half the price.

I have the kalamazoo 1 inch and I use it a lot. It has simple steel wheel with rubber tire on the motor and a steel wheel with flanges on the top. Super easy to change belts. Lift the top wheel guard, compress the spring and remove the belt.

chuck