woohoo, been needin one of these!

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:40 am

Got this as a gift today from my ol' pa, I had been talking about getting one and he showed up today with one, no more hand sanding scales flat! Save my fingers and cramped hands - a good lookin' machine. I plan to give it a workout tommorow; I have a fixed blade to handle in some ash burl and the scales need flattenin. I may try doing some dovetailed bolsters on a folder now that I actually have a precise machine that I can cut good angles and such with and not one thats falling apart and missing half the parts

justold52 · Post by **justold52** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:05 am

muskrat man; "Got this as a gift today from my ol' pa"

That must be some Super Dad you have there. Tell him thanks from all of use here at AAPK too.

Looks like you will need a BIGGER shop soon. Are you moveing up to the EAST side soon?

You still will have to watch your fingers with it .

If I can be bold to say Get a Light on it too.

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:19 am

Congrats Kaleb!

I sure use mine a lot, (4X36 right?) I get belts locally for <$3.00. Watch the coarser grits................................they will CHEW YOU UP............................................................I know

Tear 'er up buddy!
Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:30 pm

the belts are $6 locally at sears. When I order some I'm going through B. Snyder Abrasives, they have great deals on belts. Here is her email in case you need it. barbkat@zoominternet.net I have an 80 grit on it right now (what came with it). My shop is getting crowded, the garage just isn't big enough. Thats O.K though- this house i'm renting has got some problems and I'll probably be moving soon-tis a shame really, it's a nice place. Next year there is a good possibility I'll be going arizona ways I think I'd like it out there.

Diligence · Post by **Diligence** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:20 pm

Kaleb,

You might try to pick up a strong magnet...attached your blanks to it, then hold the magnet - much easier on the finger tips!

I have a 4x36 too. To allow me to cut clean plunge lines on the blades, I cut away a portion the platen on each side of the "grinding rest" (not sure what to call it)... then I can run the belts right up against that edge, and the edge is at 90 degrees to the platen instead of having to try to work around the small radiused edge...

....clear as mud? If you need a photo, I can probably take one.

Oh - wear a mask for those exotic woods and G10, micarta, etc...the dust is nasty.

And....get a good pair of safety glasses or better yet a shield. I once had the platten tipped vertical. was grinding down to a marked line and leaned too far forward and the top end of the belt bumped up agains the face shield I was wearing. Damaging the shield was much better than rubbing my face against an 80 grit belt going 50 miles per hour!!

j

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:40 pm

got the respirator and glasses they practically live on my face. I keep a large magnent out in the shop just for that purpose. Your platen idea is really good, I never would have thought of that, I always grind in front of them then file them in afterwards, that makes good sense when it comes to factory or factory looking folders, I'll have to do that. The platen is worn on my 2x42 that I use for blade grinding, I may try making it flat on the 4x32 so it works better, the thing is about shot anyway-but I need it to last as long as possible. Thanks for the tips!

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:02 pm

Another thing I have found that helps, especially with wood, is the graphite impregnated belt that I picked up at the local tool shop. It has a woven cloth back, but on the front side it has graphite impregnated material. I glue some of it to the platen and it makes the belt run smoother and cut better, especially on wood. I wish I knew what they called it. There is no label on it, I think they buy it in the bulk.

I don't get the chatter of the belt bouncing between the platen and the wood or metal I am sanding. A 6" X 36" piece costs about $15, but that gets me 2 or 3 coverings of the platen on my 4X36 and 4 or 5 coverings on the platen of my 1X42.

You do have to watch it though as it will wear down if you tend to grind mainly in one spot.

I never buy belts at Sears, as they are at least twice the price of a good local tool store here in town. They carry grits all the way up to 320 and all I can get at Sears are cheaper belts (that cost more) and the finest they have is 120.

Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:24 pm

I'll have to try finding some of that graphine stuff, I wonder if it would work on a contact wheel to avoid bounching the work piece around and creating an uneven surface (ie: on curved backsprings and the like), especially with smoother grit belts like 220 and 400

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:06 pm

Kaleb,
I have thought thought about that too, but haven't tried it yet. If you try it before I do, let me know how it works.

I have belts as fine as 600 that I get from Super Grit, IIRC. I get 800 for my 1x42. Don't have to do a lot of hand sanding after that, though I usually go to 2000 girt by hand, just because I like the way it finishes the wood. I have some micron paper up to 8000 grit, which works to great to polish metal, especially a shield.

Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:04 am

man, I got to try this thing today fitting and flattening some sambar stag and whoa! What a machine! I got the best scale to bolster and scale to liner fit I think i've ever gotten! This thing is like a dream, works wonders I tell ya.