Tips, Tricks of the trade, etc.?

[Steve]

3/16" unless specifically requested otherwise.

[Steve]

If you don't do it, sign up for accounts on Fed EX, UPS and USPS, whichever one(s) you use and you can print out labels, pay online, etc. Surely does make shipping easier! I'm sure any shipping firm will offer the same services. Of course you know that most of them will even offer free boxes. I pick up my mail boxes at the post office, but Fed Ex and UPS will deliver them for free.

[Steve]

I'm disking my "flats" (meaning choil area in front of the guard, sides, top and bottom) on knife blades just before grinding after heat treat, of late, with 400x wet/dry and then going over them again with the same disk a second time. It seems to put a very nice sheen on the surface that buffs off very nicely. Be careful, though, if you leave any old rougher scratches, or some of the new 400x scratches from the first "disking" they will show up later. Maybe try buffing the choil area before you finish grind and polish the blade to make sure there are no errant deep scratches left on the surface. Buff, to check it out, then hit it again on the disk, since you don't want to put on the guard with a "buffed" surface on the choil. It'd be too easy to over-buff, if you did that. Leave the worn 400x disk finish on the choil and the face of the guard, as you will do a fair amt. of buffing when you polish the solder fillet and over-buffing will cause problems with the surface finish. I'm not saying this is, "The Answer," just that it seems to be working for me and you might give it a try and decide for yourself.

[jdware]

I am planning to buy a 14" contact wheel for my old model bader to do hollow grinding. I've been mostly flat grinding and using the 8" serrated wheel for profiling and some hollow grinding. I understand that the harder serrated is best for rough grinding and the softer plain face is better for polishing. BUT, right now, only one wheel is in my budget. Which would you suggest, plain or serrated / hard or soft?
thanks
Jeff

[Steve]

I use a medium hard 4" wheel to do fighters and boots. It is serrated with grooves that are 3/16" wide and lands that are 5/16" wide. It is probably about 75-80 durometer and it works very well for me. You might as advice from the wheel manufacturer as to what they recommend, as I cannot give advice for the larger sized wheels. My big wheels are 60 duro. on the smooth and 9-0 duro. on the serrated, which has 1/4" grooves and 3/8" lands, which have worked very well on 8" and 14" wheels for over 30 yrs. Hope this is of some help. You'll need some softness and some hardness to do both roughing and polishing, but I'm just giving an educated guess on the above. I'm sorry I can't say, "Do this." and know that it'll work.

[jdware]

Thanks Steve. So do you use the same medium hard serrated 4" wheel for the whole sequence on the boots and fighters, from rough grind right on through the cork belt?
Jeff

[Steve]

Yep, the whole thing.

[jdware]

I just got in a 400 grit cork belt. It arrived damaged, but I was able to split into a 1 x 72 and try it out - I like it!

Have you ever used the coarser cork belts like 220. Wondering if they would be a nice transition from the 120 blaze to the 400 cork.
Jeff

[Steve]

Glad you like the cork. I haven't used the 220x belts. Can't hurt to try, for sure! I am liking the 1000 x
cork, following the 400x, but am not totally sold on it yet. Need to use it a little more.

[Steve]

I have gone to 400x tractor belt, then 400x cork (Broken in) and then to 1000x cork. Until it stops working, that's what I'll be doing. It takes no longer that the old way, 600x cork, to clean up the 400x cork scratches and buffing is a breeze. Easier on grind lines, also, such as the centerline on a fighter.

[RalphEd]

For those of you who drill holes around the perimeter and saw the blank from a piece of flat stock, try this to eliminate the hack sawing.
Put the punch marks close enough together so that the holes will overlap slightly and hit them lightly with a countersink to make them a little deeper.
Now drill every other hole. When you have done this go back and drill out the remainder of the holes. The bit will not wander if it is unsupported on both sides.

Ralph

[Steve]

Good thinking and a great idea, Ralph. Thank you, Steve

[Steve]

So: How many belts do you buy at a time? I know that I bought a bunch once, when I had the money and by the time I got to the last of them some were coming apart at the splice joint. Maybe after 2-3 yrs, not sure. How long can a belt last before they come a part. They really do kinda hurt when they break and slap you in the face! Any knowledgeable recommendations out there? I know that humidity, or lack of same can be a factor, probably temperature, also.

[Charles Vestal]

About fifteen years ago I was lucky enough to find a used Wilton Square Wheel grinder. The grinder came with a bunch of belts, 60-400 grit. Now this grinder hadn?t been used for over ten years and had been in a damp basement along with the belts.

This was the first real belt grinder I had ever used and I was a little apprehensive about how fast this thing was spinning the belts. After getting up enough courage to step up to the grinder with a new (old) 60 grit belt installed I began grinding the bevels on a knife. Everything seemed to be going well, other than not knowing how to hollow grind, until the belt splice let go. Luckily the Square Wheel was an enclosed machine but it still made a pretty loud pop and smacked my hand with the belt. It took a couple more 60 grit belts letting go before I figured out it was time to order a new batch of belts.

I usually try to keep 10+ belts of each grit in the shop, so I am not ordering many at a time. If I was doing this full time I think I would have to increase the number of belts on hand.

If all the belt we use would last as long as the cork belts we could order belts every couple of years.

I have never heard anyone say how long the belt splice will last in storage, Pop might be able to answer this question.

Take care
Charles

[Steve]

Thanks, Charles. It so happens that part of those that came apart on me were cork belts, probably 4-5 yrs. old. That's one problem with cork belts...they never wear out, so those in storage get pretty old!