Grinding Belts... which ones to buy??

V

valcas1

Guest
Okay,

I have posted a progress thread on my firts knives I am making with my son. so I am completely new to this game. when I bought my Wilton 2x72 grinder it cam from a Kodak Corp tool room. With the grinder I got several boxes of Norton AO belt in 60x and 120x. This is what I have been using for this project.

I feel it is time to buy some new belts because I want my son to be proud of the knive we turn out.

What is everyone using for belts? It is actually a bit daunting when you no nothing. unsure

I figure I need to tkae it from where I am at 120 grit. to the finished stage. It is ok to speak to me like a school child on this subject, i will not be offended. Assume I know nothing.

What are the different flex in belts? Which ones will wrap around the platen and which will not?. I am hoping that if I select the right belts it will make cleaning up the plunge cuts easier. huh1

What grit do you take your blade to on the grinder post heat treat? Before the fun of hand sanding starts?

I think that covers the questions for now.

Just so everyone knows. I am using 1095 for these two blades and have a chopper of sorts in the works made of 5160.

WOW!! That was a lot of typing.

Thank you all again for dealing with these simple questions. Your help makes the learning curve much smaller.

Paul
 
Ok this is the progression I go trough with grinder belts.

36g or 60g norton hogger to knock off scale and rough grind (forged blades) or stock I would guess
then to the 120g J-flex (klingspor) for refining the shape and getting rid of the deep scratches left by the coarse belts.
Then I use a 220g (J-flex klingspor) to get rid of those marks left by the 120g and the 60g.
After that its off to the HT oven. and I come back and hit it with a 400g J-flex then off to hand sand.
 
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I use 3M ceramic belts 36 grit, then 60, then 120 to get things flat and for my grinds before heat treat. Then I use a combination of Norax and Trizac CF belts from 100 microns, 65, 45, 30 and then 16 microns.
-John
 
So the J- Flex will wrap around the platen a bit or is it a stiff belt?

Paul
 
Look into the 3m trizact cf belts. They are only good for metals, but the are great. They run cooler and longer than any belt I have used in 23 years.
 
i just went down Tracy's list of belts and started buying different ones to try. after breaking a few and wearing out the belts practicing .i have a better feel for what belts i like and how they work. i am liking the blue Norton belts and the yellow klingspore ones.
 
80 grit 3M ceramic, whatever color is cheapest, I don't see a lot of difference in life between the different yellow and orange ones personally. Trizact CFs, Trizact 307EA, Grey and Green Scotch-Brite and 3M AO belts in 400. Cork for some finishing. These are the belts that I use regularly. I like to hit my rough grind with an A160 CF followed by 400 grit until all of the scratches are gone, then up to the 307 in A30 before the cork, scotch-brite or whatever else I plan to do.

I haven't picked any up yet, but I do want to get more grits of both the CF and 307 trizacts, they are very nice belts and last forever. The nice thing about the CF belts is that they are all the same thickness, which also happens to be thicker than the 80 grit ceramics, so if fills out my hollows. Will probably switch over to strictly CF belts for hollow grinds, except for the AO 400s which are nicely aggressive and cheap.

120 grit ceramics are also nice to keep around for when you want an aggressive 120.
 
I grind with a 60X Blaze, soften the edges with 220X Polish-O-Ray buffing compound from Brownell's (on a sewn buff) and then heat-treat.

Post heat treat:

60X Blaze and take the edge down to about 0.030"

80X disc just to make it flat

120X Norton hogger belt and take edge down to about 0.020"

120X ceramic disc just to make sure it's flat

220X Norton hogger or 3M belt and take edge down to 0.010"-0.015"

220x ceramic disc

Norax belt (equivalent to 400X)

Disc sander with 320X... this is where the Rhynowet paper REALLY shines.

I'm fortunate enough to have a rotary platen, so I just throw it in the mix to help with the convexity of a grind.

I can start hand sanding with 320X. I can go up higher on the disc and start with finer paper, but I prefer 320 just to make sure everything is all smooth and clean.

This is just what works for me. :)
 
Wanted to add:

I sure wish I could see somebody flat grind with the Klingspor Jflex belts. I've used the Hermes Jflex for handles for years and would be lost without them. However, I bought some of the Klingspor J flex to try for flat grinding, and they didn't work well for me on my KMG's or Burr King. One even exploded on my head. huh1

Obviously I was doing something wrong because a lot of folks love them.

I also forgot to say that I use the Trizact "gator" belts on my rotary platen. :)

And like Cap said, I use cork sometimes... not always.
 
You have to slow down a bit for the j-flex to "get right" on a flat grind. I use mine about mid speed and it works out good. no 2 inch problems or marks
 
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