1 x 30" belt life

H

htony1

Member
I am very new to knife making and hate to air my ignorance with simple questions, but I can't find an answer through the search function. Last week I received a few Norton blaze 1" x 30" belts and got to use them a little over the weekend. I noticed that after grinding for about an hour, they were wearing down pretty fast. Subject was an annealed file, soft enough easily drill so I assume its plenty soft. Also, quality German belts seem to wear down fast as well and all belts were routinely cleaned using a belt cleaning block.

is this normal?

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Tony,
In my experience, even 2 x 72" Blaze belts rarely last one hour of full speed grinding on annealed steel.
Its very "Normal and the smaller the belt the faster it will be dead..
 
On the Blaze belts, I'm gonna guess you're glazing them and not getting enough pressure to get any fracturing of the grit besides the speed to surface area ratio. 1x30 is about as lightweight as you can get for a bench machine and they're not really built to stand up to hogging a blade. Most if not all belts have a sweet spot in regards to speed and pressure, you're machine most likely isn't delivering the goods on performance. The German belts work the same way but you'll get less usage with the higher grits. You may save yourself some time by hogging (draw filing) with a file and just using the 1x30 for cleaning up and handle work.

Rudy
 
Good input from both above. Also consider how little sandpaper there is in one of those belts - 30 sq. inches. That's less than a third of a single sheet of sandpaper.

Rob!
 
Thanks for the replies. I will try and allow it to dig into the belt more. I know the machine is way less than optimal but it's all I'm gonna have for a long time so I gotta make the best of it.


I didn't even think about the total square inch area I the belt. A 2 x 72 would be awesome!
 
htony1 said:
Thanks for the replies. I will try and allow it to dig into the belt more. I know the machine is way less than optimal but it's all I'm gonna have for a long time so I gotta make the best of it.


I didn't even think about the total square inch area I the belt. A 2 x 72 would be awesome!
Click to expand...

Tony,
The best value per inch is with the 2 x 72" belts. Check out www.cootebeltgrinder.com Sell some knives and save up for one of these 2 x 72" machines. They are the best value in a 2 x 72 big boy grinder I know of and perfect for the hobbyist and small production maker. I still have mine after 14 plus years and after I purchased a Hardcore products grinder.
 
Make One.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+made+sander/grinder&sm=12

Keep looking until you find one you think you can make within your means. My first grinder was an 8" bench grinder, scrounged contact wheel and a backstand idler made from a skateboard wheel. Tracking was controled by how hard I pushed on either side of the belt. I even considered making a contact wheel out of plywood...which has been done. You gotta want it.

Rudy
 
Rudy Joly said:
Make One.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+made+sander/grinder&sm=12

Keep looking until you find one you think you can make within your means. My first grinder was an 8" bench grinder, scrounged contact wheel and a backstand idler made from a skateboard wheel. Tracking was controled by how hard I pushed on either side of the belt. I even considered making a contact wheel out of plywood...which has been done. You gotta want it.

Rudy
Click to expand...

I have thought about this a few times as well, and may try my hand at this in the future. Its going to have to be hand files and mini-grinders for now.
 
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