Thread: Belt sander --> belts for metal?

Der!

You searched for 610 100 metal - Abrasives Industrial Distributors


NOW, the important question --> am I being stupid in doing this?

Am I over thinking it and is there a cheap easy solution I'm ignorant of?

WP

This seems to be an all purpose belt range from forum sponsor The Sandpaper Man

100 x 610 mm Portable Sanding Belt | The Sandpaper Man

I have no direct knowledge of the product.

Regards
Paul

WP

You could also look at entry level linishers, which may save you setting up a stand and they can usually be set at different angles too. Something like this, which was just the first I saw:

Belt Disc Sander Bench Grinder With Dust Extraction Port Bench Sanding 150 mm | eBay

This type also has the advantage of a 915 length belt that gives more belt choice options such as these from another forum sponsor Smith and Arrow:

915mm x 100mm Linishing Sanding Abrasive Belts | Smith & ARROW (smithandarrow.com.au)

or

915mm x 100mm Laser Cut Sanding Linishing Belts | Smith & ARROW (smithandarrow.com.au)

This is the machine I have:

SABER 375W Belt and Disc Sander | Total Tools

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Stupid question #1 for all those who know....

Can one get decent 610x100mm belts for belt sanders so I can use one as a rough-and-ready metal shaping and sanding station?

I ask as I'm in awe of knife-makers who have "Noob" grinders. Can't have one of those here though (in a unit right now, work on balcony) so I need to repurpose an el-cheapo belt sander for the job...

Something like this $169 beastie: https://sydneytools.com.au/product/m...es-belt-sander

I'll make up a stand to hold it upside down and be able to rotate it to a few desirable angles.... but it will be mostly for sanding and shaping small metal doodads.... it will also be for a few other jobs such as knife scales.

Does anyone else do this kind of thing?

That sander is 940W, 380 m/min sander which is a bit on the slow side for metal work. Metal is more efficiently removed starting at about 900 m/min

I had a 1200W (500m/min) version that I set up for use on a stand for few years, but its more expensive than the 940W version
RAStop.jpg
I just used the ordinary brown Al Oxide belts.

These sanders are a bit slow for metal shaping so unless you are prepared to take your time you will chew thru belts faster, but if you are only doing small jobs then it probably is not that significant

Now I have 1HP 1220 x 50 mm and 3HP 2000 x 150 mm variable speed sanders that can do up 1300 m/min. I usually use the blue Zirconia belts on these machines. These Zirconia belts are also available in the 915 x 100 mm size.

WP

Something else that occurs to me is that those belt sanders are incredibly noisy (both the Maktec and the AEG I have are very noisy and irritating) The combination disc sander and linishers are whisper quiet in comparison. This could be an issue if noise is a problem with neighbours, for example. I have not delved in to the belt speeds so you may wish to investigate that along the lines BobL has outlined. Just be aware that my machine is very down on power compared to his, but may be sufficient for limited needs.

Regards
Paul

[QUOTE=Bushmiller;2261992]WP

Something else that occurs to me is that those belt sanders are incredibly noisy (both the Maktec and the AEG I have are very noisy and irritating) The combination disc sander and linishers are whisper quiet in comparison. This could be an issue if noise is a problem with neighbours, for example. [QUOTE]
Yes - really good point and I had to wear ear muffs and could not really use the inverted belt sander at night but no significant noise probs with the linisher type machines.

I have not delved in to the belt speeds so you may wish to investigate that along the lines BobL has outlined. Just be aware that my machine is very down on power compared to his, but may be sufficient for limited needs.l

Power use requirements are usually related to size of workpiece and speed of material removal you are prepared to tolerate. My 50mm/1HP and 150mm/3HP units are matched at full widths but if I really want to remove some stock on small pieces the 3HP unit wins by a country mile. I have a much wider range of belt grits and polishing belts for the smaller unit as these belts are much cheaper than, and in many case simply not available for, the bigger unit.

I have a Jet JET-JSG96OS in storage.

I felt it was noisier than the belt sander, but I only had the Festool 75mm one, which had variable speed and was reasonably quiet. (I made a HUGE mistake selling that sander!!!).

I'll pull that Jet out of the storage shed (Storage King) and fire it up.... see what its like.

I was wondering about my options as I was watching Ramon Artful on Instagram and he uses a belt sander for lots of different work..... BobL, he uses jigs just like what you have... upside down and sideways in order to shape various jobs.

Given my lack of space and need to be Ever Resourceful, the belt sander seemed like a good idea, BUT I am most cognizant of the noise. The very last thing I want to do is pi** off my neighbours!

I also use an elderly Makita belt sander with brown aluminium oxide belts to occasionally:

• clean metal, and
• establish primary bevel on cutting tools.

Limitted amount of use, but quite adequate for my needs.

But, as Bob and Paul say, it is extremely noisy - loud and irritating. This might be an issue for some precious souls who live in flats in Canberra.

I will just add a safety reminder that using sanders on both wood and metal is a bad fire risk so keep the metal one for metal only. Its also best if the belt is not enclosed so no place for the red hot bits of metal to collect. Seeing smoke issue from a sanding machine gets the heart rate up.
Regards
John

My sander was connected by ~2m of translucent 4” flexy along a shelf under a bench top to a 1HP Dusty so I could see how far down the flex the metal sparks would. Testing at night showed the sparks typically travelled< 500 mm. However, while the air flow was able to keep up with the sanded wood dust it was not able to drag the metal dust beyond the same 500mm so the metal dust slowly filled up the flex and had to be cleared every few months. If any of this worries you a metal dust catch connected to a DC can can be employed. I have one on my smaller linisher and it works really well.

Again using the translucent flex and checking at night there were no sparks getting past the metal dust catcher.
A more likely problem is a small hot metal piece gets sucked into the ducting but the catcher catches these as well.

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