Sharpening with a belt sander

I’m not sure, but I know one of the key issues with sharpening is that you need relatively slow speeds so that you don’t build up enough heat to ruin the temper of the steel. I’m afraid the belt sander might be too fast, but I will be anxious to hear what the sharpening experts here have to say.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Hi a belt sander is just fine so long as you pay attention to what Charlie said and keep the tool moving and relax with not too much pressure to avoid heat build up but this is so with any sharpening tool.I see more and more people recommending belt snaders why I think robert sorby sell suchh a device if I’m not mistaken. good luck you’ll get a great finish with this keep it moving the tool that is fix the belt sander or disk sander it matters not.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Stones, wet stones will give you a better edge. Sanding is a much more expensive way to go. Good luck!

Why do you consider sanding more expensive?

No way I’m puttin’ ANY of my edge tools on a belt sander? I even use the grinder for my lawn mower blade.
Bill

A couple of good waterstones will last you forever, put a far better edge on your tools and there is no risk of messing up your steel’s temper. Replacing sand paper can quickly outrun the cost of a couple of stones. I only use sand paper and a lapping block to flatten my waterstones every few months.

-- Ooo, er.

Belt sanders actually sharpen well. One of the tool vendors sells an abrasive belt system that is used in the Sorby factory to prepare tools.

Aside from the long-term abrasive cost issues already mentioned, I’d be leery of sparks ending up in areas with built-up sawdust if the machine were used for sanding wood and sharpening tools.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Why do you consider sanding more expensive?

Because you have to buy a consumables over the coarse of a lifetime. They wear out after a few uses and you need to swap them.

If you glue them down to the glass you can’t let them sit too long or its a huge pain to remove it. So if you want to avoid that you end up throwing it a way early.

You also have the pain of tracking the inventory of the grits under use and can run out of them causing a delay.

A basic set of oil stones with a nice Hard Arkansas as the finishing stone puts on a great edge and is a one time cost. I got mine for about 100 bucks