Belt Direction

It isn't important. It used to be with seam joints overlapping but now most are butt seams and the direction doesn't matter.
 
This is a question that I had several years ago. After contacting a friend at one of the major belt producers, he told me that butt-spliced belts are labeled with the directional arrows ONLY for liability purposes. He went on to explain that if a belt were to break and injure someone, the belt company could claim that the consumer was running the belt in the wrong direction, and since the belt would be broken, there is no way to prove otherwise. If you notice, the newer structured abrasive belts such as Norax, do not have these arrows imprinted on them.....However, if someone chooses to use "cheap" belts that are lap-spliced (where the ends are overlapped to form the joint), then your just asking for an injury if you do not run them as indicated.
 
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Startling......umm, I don't remember screaming that word when it's happened to me! Actually I don't think what I was yelling would be appropriate to type in a family friendly forum such as ours.

SDS
 
I apparently had a bad run of belts one time, and had four in a row break within a 10 minutes period, all running according to the arrows, if it mattered. Suffice it to say, I almost gave up for the day after having my heart stop 4 times and after taking a few slaps across the face and chest from exploding belts (luckily I had safety glasses on and they were all 400 grit belts...though fresh 400 grit belts cut pretty aggresively). Once I made it through the group of ten, I haven't had a problem since. It surprised me, too, because these were Klingspors. I've since switched to Blaze and Gators for other reasons, and I haven't had any issues.

--nathan
 
I wish I could recall who was describing on one of the forums some time ago how a belt broke on him for the first time. He said it was a fresh low grit belt and he had a dozen years of martial arts training and multiple black belts. He said the belt slapped him 3 or 4 times pretty good and all those black belts didn't help him a bit. He froze. I still laugh when I think about that. The KungFu of broken belts is strong!
 
Speaking of belt sanders...

As a brand new hobbyist knifemaking wannabe, I obviously don't have professional grade equipment. I had been working with an angle grinder, hand files and sharpening stones until I went to Harbor Freight and bought a cheap, upright, 3 wheel 1" x 30" sander.

I bought some extra belts, but I think I went with "you get what you pay for" cheap. When I press the workpiece against the belt support/backrest/whatchamacallit, there's an annoying thunk every time the seam runs by. As a result, I've resorted to pressing the workpiece against the part of the sanding belt that's *not* supported from behind.

Is this purely a function of cheap belts? If so, what are y'all's suggestions for good brands for "non thunky" replacement belts?
 
In some cases, the only belts you can get for the odd sized machines are the cheap belts...and they are usually lap-joint splices. You might want to check around and see if anybody carries better quality belts. If Tracy doesn't have them, give Tru-Grit a try. I know Tru-Grit carries 1"X42", but not sure if they have the shorter ones. Thats one of the problems with many import machines...they use odd sized belts/wheels, etc. that are not commonly available from anyone other than the company the machine comes from.
 
The only time I've ever popped any belts is doing the flats on my platen. It was always with new Klingspor belts too. I think too much pressure at the leading edge was the cause. It definitely will scare you.
-John
 
Mook, congratulations. You've experienced the dreaded "belt bump". This will be felt with most all belts, but I've found that better quality belts are MUCH better about smooth seams and less bump. The only way to completely eliminate it would be to use a rotary platen....ah....someday I shall have one!

John, I was doing flats as well. I wasn't doing anything different than usual that I could finger, but for some reason, they all came apart that one day.

--nathan
 
Mook said:
Speaking of belt sanders...

As a brand new hobbyist knifemaking wannabe, I obviously don't have professional grade equipment. I had been working with an angle grinder, hand files and sharpening stones until I went to Harbor Freight and bought a cheap, upright, 3 wheel 1" x 30" sander.

I bought some extra belts, but I think I went with "you get what you pay for" cheap. When I press the workpiece against the belt support/backrest/whatchamacallit, there's an annoying thunk every time the seam runs by. As a result, I've resorted to pressing the workpiece against the part of the sanding belt that's *not* supported from behind.

Is this purely a function of cheap belts? If so, what are y'all's suggestions for good brands for "non thunky" replacement belts?
Click to expand...

I have a 1x30 grinder, and it made me 8 knives. Still runs now, I just haven't used it much anymore. It cost too much for the belts compared to 2x72 belts. The 1x30s were 50 sq. in. / $1 and the 2x72s are about 40 sq. in. / $1 for the midranged ones. So you can look at the price and say that the 1x30s are cheaper, but they are AO, and the 2x72s that I use are zircs, which are way better quality and hold up waaaay better.

And with using 2x72s, there's no thunk, and I'm not limited to 80 and 120 grits without paying almost 2x72 prices.



As soon as I got the 2x72 working, (and learned how to use it) my quality improved probably about 500%, since I only have to hand sand starting at about 400 grit, instead of 80.
 
Gday fella's,
Ive found you can reduce belt thump quite substantially by removing most of the abrasive where the jointing tape is using a diamond file while the joint is on the radius of one of you platen contact wheels. Makes a huge difference.

Cheers Bruce
 
Mook I started with the very same H/F 1x30 grinder. After some practice I was able to make decent knives as long as I made small blades. I still use it to put convex edges on finished blades. I buy klingspor belts from www.popsknifesupplies.com. I haven't bought any in a while but I think they are $1.15 each.
 
darrin sanders said:
Mook I started with the very same H/F 1x30 grinder. After some practice I was able to make decent knives as long as I made small blades. I still use it to put convex edges on finished blades. I buy klingspor belts from www.popsknifesupplies.com. I haven't bought any in a while but I think they are $1.15 each.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. They have 1 x 30 belts from 60 to 600 grit at $1.15, just like you remembered.
 
So if they'll run both ways without problems, are there any advantages to turning one over? Will it cut better running "backwards" after you've worn it some "forwards?"
 
jkf96a said:
So if they'll run both ways without problems, are there any advantages to turning one over? Will it cut better running "backwards" after you've worn it some "forwards?"
Click to expand...

It won't cut any better but some times they will wobble less. Also, if you are doing a plunge cut, you can flip it around and use the same edge for your plunge cut if one side is acting different than the other.
 
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