Disk sander

Gliden07

Gliden07

Well-Known Member
Tried my Disk Sander tonight on a forged knife that's made from mild steel (unknown to me at the time). Wow I like it I need some practice with it but did a quick progression on blank just to see how it works. The grind wasn't the best to start but the disk really flattened it out! Have another beater knife I'm going to try it on.

20200120_191020.jpg

Check out the scratch pattern on this blank! All consistant! Pretty happy with experiment. And the best part little to no heat into the blade!
 
A disc is great for flatness. But you will get tons of heat at high grits. Having a VFD is a godsend for heat control. I find a spritz of water works great to keep heat down when using the disc. It can be a messy affair but so what. And a rubber belt cleaner is a must. Paper loads up quick.
 
John Wilson said:
A disc is great for flatness. But you will get tons of heat at high grits. Having a VFD is a godsend for heat control. I find a spritz of water works great to keep heat down when using the disc. It can be a messy affair but so what. And a rubber belt cleaner is a must. Paper loads up quick.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I do have a VFD on it. This was built on a serious budget so any info on how to use it is GREAT! My inspiration was Nick Wheelers video. This was only to 240G. I plan on doing better/closer grinds and going to around 800G. And finish with hand sanding.
 
Mine is a super cheap setup, too. I bought the disc from KMG and put it on my own motor, which is powered by my grinder's VFD. I don't have a work rest for it, it's just a motor with a disc on it.

I begin to see heat at 320 grit if I go much beyond 50% on speed. And I also found that pressure is a no-no. If I let the paper do the work and keep cleaning the paper I get to the same point in the same amount of time. The disc can put deep scratches in the bevel if you apply any pressure at the lip of the disc, and it was hard to learn to make sure I was applying my pressure with the inside hand (the hand pushing the blade into the disc) rather than with the "handle hand". Honestly, I haven't seen much need to go past 600 grit but everyone has different ideas of how they like to work. I used to use WD40 but that was an unholy mess. I found a spritz of water (if anything) works just as well and the paper cleans so much better.
 
I have a little file knife I'm building for a friend. I'm gonna try it on that. Gent I'm building it for gave me a lot of old beat up files from his Dad (that has passed away) so figured it would be a nice remembrance for him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top