What type of abrasive belt by grit?

[Dodd]

Hello there.

I once saw a list of what KIND of abrasive belts worked best at a given grit for steel.
Anyone got any ideas?

I just got a KMG, and don't know anything.
I've looked up a lot of information online, but it's no substitute for experience.

I see all manner of 'interesting' belts, like trizact or Cubitron.
I'm not sure what's good for what, and thought I'd buy what other people found works best under what conditions.

Anyone got some ideas?

Oh, I have a 14" wheel, small wheel arm, platen arm, rotary platen arm.
That might make a difference, eh?

[balibalistic]

I'm very new to this myself. but i like the 3m 977 cubitron belts in 50 grit for main removal.i then switch to a 400 grit yellow j-flexx belt,these are soft back belts and clean up your plunge cuts nicely.you can get all the in between grits,but you really dont need them.after tryting this method i like it!

[logem]

What type of steel do you plan on grinding?

Mike L.

[Dodd]

Ooh! That's a good question, and I knew it was coming.
Having never done this, I plan to run through as many steels as I can to feel out the differences in grinding, but would really like to get going with CPM-3V eventually.

Also, 52100, 5160 and 01 were recommended as starters.
I'm looking at the new norton Blaze and 3m Gators up to whatever grits they go and then aluminum oxide to 800, then a cork or cloth belt with compound to polish them (if I do that)

Most of my current ideas involve zero-bevel convex grinds, if that's useful.

[george tichbour]

I am a firm believer in Aluminum Oxide belts myself for a balance of cost and effective stock removal.

If you have some time to visit Mississauga give me a call and I will set up a shop tour for you. 905 670 0200

Take care
George

[Dodd]

GEORGE!

Hi there. Listen, I sent a young lady to your place a few weeks back with a 1968 wedding cake knife with a decayed natural-material handle. I hope that worked out well.

When I have the chance, I fully intend to visit you.
I've missed out the past 2 or 3 times there was a 'group visit' as I was in BC then.

Early in the new year I'll take you up on that!

[george tichbour]

The lady came over and I was able to replace the handle with a very nice ironwood handle in time for Christmas. Thanks for the referral.

What I was thinking is getting together over the next couple of weeks, before we go back to work officially.

[Drac]

I'm getting a theory that part of what belt works best is your technique of grinding. I've heard good & bad reviews of the standard belts and it seems that there are people who love & hate the same belt. I love Gador belts. For me they are a good compromise between metal removal & ease of removing the belt marks, though I hog with other belts, and they last through several knives. I've heard a lot of others say they don't like them and that they glaze over easily making them worthless.

Jim

[balibalistic]

Originally Posted by Drac

I'm getting a theory that part of what belt works best is your technique of grinding. I've heard good & bad reviews of the standard belts and it seems that there are people who love & hate the same belt. I love Gador belts. For me they are a good compromise between metal removal & ease of removing the belt marks, though I hog with other belts, and they last through several knives. I've heard a lot of others say they don't like them and that they glaze over easily making them worthless.

Jim

They last through several knives??i'll have to try these out! for hogging i use either 977 cubitrons or norton hoggers.i use a belt per bladesometimes i even do most of the grind,then switch to another fresh 50 grit for my final pass.

[george tichbour]

I typically grind bevels on 20 or so 4-5" blades per belt then use the belt for profiling or handle samding.

The trick? experience, in the last 20 years I estimate that I have spent 20-30,000 hours in front of a grinder or buffer and have learned to maximize performance of the equipment I use.

[balibalistic]

Originally Posted by george tichbour

I typically grind bevels on 20 or so 4-5" blades per belt then use the belt for profiling or handle samding.

The trick? experience, in the last 20 years I estimate that I have spent 20-30,000 hours in front of a grinder or buffer and have learned to maximize performance of the equipment I use.

Whoa!! i need to get me a fat dose of that there experience . i'm grinding my blades after heatreat,so its obviously a bit harder on abrasives.

[AcridSaint]

George, aren't you also using 132" belts? Don't get the boys excited about making their 72" AO belts last through twenty knives :P

[george tichbour]

Actually I am using 97" belts as a standard now.

My big belt sander used 9 X 97 belts and the edges are seldom used up so I rip off the two 3" wide strips at the edges and reuse them on profiling and handles.

The primary reason I get so many knives per belt is the fact that I match my grit hardness with the amount of pressure I apply during grinding. A belt with extremly hard grit will glaze over quickly during bevel grinding because the pressure per square inch on the grit is insufficient to break the tips of the grain and resharpen it while grinding.

Aluminum oxide is best suited for my style and least expensive as well. After all I believe in treating my belts as if they were free.

[Ed Caffrey]

I'll throw in my thoughts....

I tend to use more heavy grit belts than anything, therefore, I use only the best belts I can in that range. My favorite are the Norton Blaze in 50 grit, followed by the Klingspoor CS 411 Blue Zirconia, also in 50 grit. When grinding blades I go from the 50 grit, straight to a Norax X30 grit (400). I picked up that trick a few years ago, and at first thought it was crazy....but it does two things for you.... first you don't miss scratches as you would if you went from say 50 to 120 to 220, etc. Secondly it saves about 30-45 mins of grinding per blade.

About the only reason I keep 120 and 220 belts in the shop are for guard/handle work.

I grind all the steels that were mentioned, and the Blaze belts go about 4 to 1 over regular Aluminum oxide belts.

Heres a list of a normal belt order for me:

12- Norton Blaze in 50 grit
5- Norton 823, Blue Zirconia 120 grit
12- Klingspoor LS-309 220 grit
12- Norax X30 (400 grit)
12- Norax X22 (800 grit)

If you order from Tru-Grit, there is a price break at 10 belts, which is why I order a dozen at a time. The way it works out I wind up getting 12 belts for the cost of 9.

[Mike Turner]

I use the Norton Blaze belt in 50 grit this is my favorite belt, and I like the Trizact CF Gator Structured abrasive belts (the ones I use are A65,A45, and A30)

Thanks Ed I did not know about the 10 belt discount, I should look at there website more.