Thread: Belt Grinders for sharpening

The Noob grinder and attachments by Ewan Gibson (@ 84engineering, here in Canberra) are seriously worth considering.

getting a few of the belts (https://www.artisansupplies.com.au/products/), a variable speed Noob, plus jigs would make an outstanding setup.

ive been using CBN wheels, an 80 and 180, but wish for a 350 or 600.

I have a home made variable speed Belt setup I use for the kitchen knives and rough shaping, but I use a CBN wheel for wood cutting blades and diamond for TC

Originally Posted by woodPixel

The Noob grinder and attachments by Ewan Gibson (@ 84engineering, here in Canberra) are seriously worth considering.

getting a few of the belts (https://www.artisansupplies.com.au/products/), a variable speed Noob, plus jigs would make an outstanding setup.

ive been using CBN wheels, an 80 and 180, but wish for a 350 or 600.

LOL I also know Ewan and I was actually looking at getting a Variable speed Noob set up. I will be having a look at one at the August Knife show in Sydney.

I have been looking at CBN wheels but not sure what brand or grits I wan I was thinking either a 80 or 240? What brand do you use? I have also been looking at diamond wheels used on Lapidary machines. I currently have a old Abbot and Ashby 150mm with multi tool but looking at up grading to a 200mm Hare and Forbes Grinder as they are 1 hp and run slower than the Abbot and Ashby or possibly a 250mm at 1.3hp

It depends if you are going to mainly shape or sharpen.
You don't need a lot of power to sharpen.
I have a 180 CBN, its sort of between the 80 and a 300 and I use it mainly to touch up metal work lathe tool bits.
My next one will be an 80.

It's always been my understanding, which is suspect at times, that the biggest advantage of a belt-style grind is that it does not put a hollow grind on the blade. You actually get a convex bevel instead of a concave. This is very advantageous with double bevel tools like knives and froes, as well as striking tools like axes and adzes, which are hindered by a concave bevel edge. Those tools don't work as well with a hollow grind because the shape of the bevel "stops" the force of the stroke, and it also does not provide the same support for the cutting edge. For those kind of tools (like the ones you mentioned in your recent post about toolmaking), I think it's the go, but for finer tools like plane blades and chisels I think you would find it less than ideal (but still functional).

So one is not necessarily better than the other on a fundamental level, they just do different jobs.

Again, just my understanding. Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Luke

The ProEdge has plenty of grunt.

So, sharpening what? Just knives?

BobL got it right. Are you shaping or sharpening? I have used stationary belt sanders for shaping repurposed skew chisel blades.
Hand held belt sanders are just dandy for fitting recoil pads on field shotguns.

Froes need just one bevel for directional splitting. Not sharp, remember they split, not cut.
Proper wood carving adzes have single bevels as well just as do carving gouges.

I like the speed with which I can establish the shape with a belt sander.
If I don't screw that up, hand work with fine sandpapers will finish the edge in no time.

The problem in Australia is the limited range of grits and abrasives. ProEdge is the exception to that.

For sharpening what?

Originally Posted by olout

I've been lurking this forum for a while now (since my interest in wood arts developed into passion). This forum is really informative and helpful! One question I haven't been able to find the answer for is where can I get a decent affordable belt grinder. I have found some reviews on Best 6 Belt Grinder Complation Of 2017 - Mechanic Guides. So i would more appreciate some real experience.

I would think the very best place to start would be a Knife making club or guild. Enquire what the locals use (shipping a Noob Grinder from Aus to Sweden sounds expensive!!). These belt sanders are very popular with the knife making crowd as they allow for very quick, accurate and controlled stock removal and shaping.

The variety of belts is amazing.... from chainsaw-like removal to ultra fine polishing.