Best <£100 tool for removing blade stock

[johnt1102]

Fine so far but with a motor like that you have to let the belts do the lions share of the work, on bigger units where you could give it some hammer I recon it would fail. I grind free hand too so unlike the jig method I guess you have a better sense of pressure?

ALWAYS with any machine let the belt do the work-if you manage to slow the belt you are using too much pressure.The faster the belt runs the more cutting points per minute.

[Newbutkeen]

Thanks for the help guys, i'm now the proud owner of a Clarke CS4-6D Belt And Disc Sander and machine mart have some more of my hard earned! I'm going to try Cromwells(?) for some aluminium and raw materials. I'll check the other threads to find out what kind of steel i need - O1 or D2?

Johnnt, can i get the 2" belts from you? What do i need to get going to make a few knives from the old files and some new steel if i can find it. The belts are 4" x 36" i think but you said 2" would be better?

[tenderfoot]

I would use O1 over D2, but if you can get it 5160 will do you better service than O1, but that is my opinion.

[Webber]

Thanks for the help guys, i'm now the proud owner of a Clarke CS4-6D Belt And Disc Sander and machine mart have some more of my hard earned! I'm going to try Cromwells(?) for some aluminium and raw materials. I'll check the other threads to find out what kind of steel i need - O1 or D2?

Johnnt, can i get the 2" belts from you? What do i need to get going to make a few knives from the old files and some new steel if i can find it. The belts are 4" x 36" i think but you said 2" would be better?

Get yourself some 01, it's a good place to start. Your belts will be 4" like you say, but if you fit a 2" platen (the plate that the belt runs along), as in tatsumi's pic then you can run 2" belts for greater benefit.
Drop johnt a pm, he'll have what you need.

[tatsumi]

Good news on the purchase John will sort you out well with the belts, keep your 4" belt for shaping handles as its still effective for that. Two other things to look at would be a goggle and mask setup, very important! And a small engineers square for making sure the rest and side wheel rest is true to the belt. Machine Mart sell these.

To set the machine up its best to run the belt for ten mins before use, few reasons behind that bit two main ones are a quick run in for the machine and so you learn how it tracks and the next is to creat a belt mark from the friction of a running belt. The blue paint wares nice for this task.

From that belt mark, mark two thin vertical lines with a marker, this will give you a visual reference to where you place the belt when you next change it. Second to that you can now mark in one inch from either side, draw two new vertical lines. You now have markers for 4" and 2" that run true to the top wheel. Afix the 2" wide pleten plate within the two inch lines( and half inch below the rest, important), and the 4" wide plate within the 4" mark should you set it up like mine( make sure these plates butt up seamless as poss). Leave it 24 hrs before use for the epoxy to cure and run in for an other ten mins for the 4" and s s a 60 grit 2" belt.

All that might sound a lot to do but its a worth while job

Other than that watch your fingers and have fun
Pics here are mandatory

[johnt1102]

Thanks for the help guys, i'm now the proud owner of a Clarke CS4-6D Belt And Disc Sander and machine mart have some more of my hard earned! I'm going to try Cromwells(?) for some aluminium and raw materials. I'll check the other threads to find out what kind of steel i need - O1 or D2?

Johnnt, can i get the 2" belts from you? What do i need to get going to make a few knives from the old files and some new steel if i can find it. The belts are 4" x 36" i think but you said 2" would be better?

Yes I stock 50x915 belts in a wide range,Ceramic,Aluminium Oxide,Zirconia & Trizact polishing.Please PM me for pricing as this is not a selling thread,cheers,john.

[Newbutkeen]

Thanks John, pm sent.

Last question - how thick should the platten plate be - is 3mm too much/too little?

[Webber]

Thanks John, pm sent.

Last question - how thick should the platten plate be - is 3mm too much/too little?

I think 3mm will be too little. I used 1/4" gauge plate for mine and it was enough that i could get a nice plunge line without fingers fouling too much on the rear plate (the old 4" platen). Much more than that though and you risk putting too much tension on the belt which can cause it to bow out in the middle and not run flat on the platen.

[Newbutkeen]

Belts came yesterday, thanks John. Brilliant, much better. May have to make a jig now or i'll only be making stillettos

[Webber]

Good luck mate, hope to see some knife pics when you've finished one!

[Greenbeast]

Belts came yesterday, thanks John. Brilliant, much better. May have to make a jig now or i'll only be making stillettos

Glad you're getting going.

Give freehand a go, at least try it.

[e-j-allen]

have you got any pic of your grinder set up?

[Greenbeast]

who are you referring to?

[Yosarian]

I bought one of these sanders and did what was advised in this thread. Mine lasted an hour before it blew the master breaker to my house and now it makes a humming sound and the motor does not run. I wasn't applying a lot of pressure on the blades or anything. I have had a look at the various comopents and cannot see any obvious problems, the motor did get very hot though, surely I haven't burned it out that quickly. Will call Clarkes on monday and see what I have to do to get it replaced but still bummed, was looking forward to getting stuck in today on 4 blades I am working on.

[tatsumi]

Take it to the store, they will have it in for testing if its over heating. How are you running power to it?