/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.1857438]

Best value belt sanders? I'm looking to get into knifemaking, but also need one that could accurately square pieces of stock for basic machining. So I think I need one with a not so chinesium part holder thingy.

Bonus questions:

Are the ones where the belt goes horizontal any good? They seem to have a much larger usable surface, but I never see them being used in metal/machine shops.

Wtf is the purpose of the spinning disk on the side of sanders like the one in the pic if you already have the belt sander? Quick access to a different grit?

[Anonymous No.1857446]

>>1857438
>I'm looking to get into knifemaking

Build a 2x72 variant, period, end of discussion
2 inches is perfect for blank profiling, the length allows for aggressive speeds and material removal without toasting the belt

There are no good value belt sanders, they all are weak and come with flimsy cast aluminum (some with a combination of plastic) tables that are dog shit
They are made for wood because you can get away with low tolerances in woodworking
Basically toys

Metalworking shops have 2x72 type belt grinders with a big contact wheel on them, or that have huge sized belt sanders with very heavy very stiff workpiece tables/holders, so that you can hold a tolerance with
They cost thousands of dollars and are huge

[Anonymous No.1857450]

>>1857446
I don't have any welding equipment and such. Think I could just make it out of some Al extrusion?

Are there any standard designs out there?

[Anonymous No.1857452]

>>1857450
Just search for 2x72 belt grinders, there are many designs and they are all similar and have overlap
You might be able to do something with aluminum, but the standard steel designs are stupid easy to weld on your own
The $300 you would have spent on that sander could buy you a cheap welder setup where you could do it on your own

[Anonymous No.1857495]

>>1857438
If you just want to buy one new, Kalamazoo Industries makes belt sanders in USA still and they're 400-800$ depending on model.

Else >>1857446

[Anonymous No.1857697]

>>1857438
The disk sander is quite a good tool for knife makers, it will get things sometimes a lot flatter than a so-so platen on the belt, I've got a little 150mm 6" one and its a very handy thing. You do have to be mindful of the angle of attack when grinding blade on one or it'll throw it off in some random direction and murder whatever it hits, kind of like buffing wheels in a lot of respects.

A Multitool sander might be an option if you're just getting started, need a reliable tool and there's a few variants like the 4x36, 2x36 and a 2x48
2x48 is a really good size for belt grinders on metal actually, it won't heat up to any appreciable level like a 2x72 does and belts for it are both cheaper and more available from big-box stores when you're living literally miles from fucking anywhere and have to get stuff shipped in. The most useful part though is that it fits on a standard bench grinder and if you get one in the 750-1000w range they'll pull damn near anything. The one like that photo tend to be pretty anemic things and the more load you throw on them, the shorter they live, which is mostly a pain in the dick to replace them again.
Plus once you're finished with using a belt grinder on your bench grinder, you can just put it back to stock and use it as intended- bench grinders tend to be fairly fucking robust things and keep on going for a fair while if they're even just a basic good one (ie- 20+ years!) but most wont have a speed control of course as that's a different breed of AC motor.
(there's also a few other options for these which have work rests and stuff too)

Just an option maybe before you leap into making a 2x72 with no welder, a welder is a handy thing to have anyway even if its a cheapo mig with fluxcore wire

[Anonymous No.1859398]

>>1857495
>>1857450
I would recommend welding the frame using internet plans and buying aluminum wheels over getting a 2 wheel 2x72

[Anonymous No.1859634]

>>1859398
Not op, but any recommendations on particular plans?

[Anonymous No.1859649]

>>1857450
>Al extrusion?
Isn't going to have the necessary rigidity.

[Anonymous No.1860141]

>>1859634
http://sayberosg.com/forum/index.php
http://dcknives.blogspot.com/p/2-x-72-belt-grinder.html

Both of these are good. Square tube if you can weld, OSG if you can't

[Anonymous No.1860160]

>>1860141
Thanks bro. I've been making do with a 6x48 but belt changes is a pain since adjusting belt tracking can't be done on the fly.

[Anonymous No.1860220]

>>1857438
>Wtf is the purpose of the spinning disk on the side of sanders like the one in the pic if you already have the belt sander? Quick access to a different grit?
I will assume you never took shop class in grade school.

[Anonymous No.1860268]

>>1860220
I did take metal shop, and nobody said shit about it. We all just used the belt sander. Also googling the question brings up plenty of others who have no idea and the best answer I have seen to date is "preference".

So either you're full of shit or just beating around the bush when you could have just answered the question in the first place.

[Anonymous No.1860396]

>>1857446
>Build a 2x72
This, I have 65 bucks into this thing. Free motor off an old table saw, door hinge w/ a bolt for tracking. I never used a 2x72 before this but this thing removes more metal faster and more precisely than any other sander of any kind that i've used (except maybe a floor drum sander). I was pleasantly surprised at how forgiving / easy the alignment process for the idler wheels and motor pulley was, so I really don't think you need to worry about being all that precise when you're fitting up the pieces, be it bolted, welded whatever.

[Anonymous No.1860399]

>>1860396
Looks fucking nice, especially since that other anon keeps posting that pink piece of shit

[Anonymous No.1860866]

>>1860396
jesus that's shitty

[Anonymous No.1860874]

>>1857446
>tight tolerances
>belt sander

lol wat

[Anonymous No.1860885]

>>1860396
Thats nice
What motor are you using? Any plans for that?

[Anonymous No.1860960]

>>1860396
What did you use for the pulleys

[Anonymous No.1861147]

>>1860399
Thanks
>>1860866
let's see the one you made
>>1860874
hah! idk I never used one before and thought the pulleys all needed to be lined up pretty accurately to keep the belt from popping off. The tracking adjustment can accommodate a surprising amount of misalignment but I did need to use a straightedge from the motor pulley to line them all up to get the belt to track centered on all 4 pulleys.
>>1860885
Thanks it's an old, old 3450 rpm 1.5 hp Craftsman table saw motor, no variable speed. I have the drawings but it's really not the best design. I'm planning on making some revisions based on how this went together and making a second one for a knifemaker friend I'll post a link for the plans for that if it turns out ok.
>>1860960
Not sure, he bought the pulleys for me since the second one is for him but I think they were around $25 for the set on Aliexpress.

[Anonymous No.1861322]

>>1860874
Yeah?
What exactly do you think a belt sander in a machine shop would be doing?
You want even deburrs that arent wonky and shitty looking because your shit table flexed
You clean up an edge off the bandsaw before throwing it in the vise, you want it to be as square as possible?