Home Made angle plate for disk sander

**Tonyg** · Jul 4, 2019, 11:01 AM

Hi Tony,
I think that belt sanders for knife makers are more popular for a few reasons (I would not classify myself as a knife make, but do make my own):
1) Easier to keep long surfaces flat and evenly reduced.
2) Better heat dissipation from the long belt (the more popular sanders seem to 2" x 72"although mine is metric at 50mm by 1830mm)
3 Multiple sized wheels to get easy radii for hollow grinding, concaves etc
4) Quick and easy to change grits between course removal and fine finish
5) Metal tends to clear from the belt easily as opposed to build up that you get on a grinding wheel
6) Easy to grind even convexes using the slack part of the belt
7) Ease of access on both sides of the belt without obstruction from the motor for instance
8) Grinding wheels wear down and change diameter whereas the wheel on the sander remains constant
9) Belts are cheap compared to grinding stone, easier to change and have more grit choices

I am sure that a good knife maker could come up with a few (maybe a lot) more

I tend to use mine for sharpening all sorts of other tool, even my drill bits with an attachment that fits to the platten section.

**tonyfoale** · Jul 4, 2019, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by olderdan

Something that may be of use to this thread and many will know already is get yourself a rubber belt cleaning block, most abrasive belts or discs will clog long before wearing out and these will clean them up like new without blunting them saving a lot of money.

Alan,
I have never tried that but I find that a strong vacuum cleans them up like new but that may be a function of what materials I sand/grind. On any form of grinding operation I never work on materials that might clog the wheels/belts. I find other methods to remove material from gummy stuff, have done that since boyhood.

**tonyfoale** · Jul 4, 2019, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Tooler2

You cannot appreciate a disc until you have worked with a big heavy machine, the disc alone is about 100 lbs each side. You can push much harder on a disk because a belt would stall due to the drive. Belts certainly have the advantage of changing grits in a few seconds, that is why I have multiple disc sanders. Most shops only change the bigger discs once or twice a year, they last many hours with skilled use.

Of course we all have different needs and methods of working. I am sure that mine are kindergarden stuff compared to yours if you are using 100 lb discs. I never use any form of grinding/sanding to remove large amounts of material and I never push on my small linisher hard enough to stall it. I find other methods and tools when I have lots of material to remove - saws, mill or lathe are common for metal - saws and planes for wood.

**tonyfoale** · Jul 4, 2019, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by Tonyg

Hi Tony,
I think that belt sanders for knife makers are more popular for a few reasons (I would not classify myself as a knife make, but do make my own):
1) .........

9) Belts are cheap compared to grinding stone,....

My perception has always been that belts are more expensive.

Originally Posted by Tonyg

I tend to use mine for sharpening all sorts of other tool, even my drill bits with an attachment that fits to the platten section.

Since I made a T&C grinder I use that for all tool sharpening but before that I use normal bench grinders. I will give the linisher a try for that out of interest.

**will52100** · Jul 4, 2019, 01:17 PM

The one thing that I use a disk over a belt for is getting things flat. A belt will bunch up at the beginning of the cut, while a disk will get it about as flat as is possible. I use pyroceramic platens and they will still not get materials as flat as a disk. When I say a belt will bunch up and create a less than flat surface, I'm talking less than a thousandth, something that is hard to see with the naked eye. For most operations a belt will be more than accurate enough.

I would not want to be without a disk when doing folders and guard work for fixed blades. The trick is to hold the material to the disk while it's stopped and then turn the machine on and off while maintaining contact, a foot switch helps there. That said, I use the belt grinders far more often, so for me, a disk sander is more of a specialty tool just used for certain operations.

**Tooler2** · Jul 4, 2019, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

Of course we all have different needs and methods of working. I am sure that mine are kindergarden stuff compared to yours if you are using 100 lb discs. I never use any form of grinding/sanding to remove large amounts of material and I never push on my small linisher hard enough to stall it. I find other methods and tools when I have lots of material to remove - saws, mill or lathe are common for metal - saws and planes for wood.

you use sanding/grinding for dirty material that cannot be machined with tooling. I also have a Volpato horizontal belt sander that has a ''jointer'' on the back side. This allows one to joint particle board that one would never use a regular jointer on.