# Belt sander for sharpening tools.



## plantman (Jan 18, 2015)

A thread was written asking if anyone used a belt sander to sharpen their tools. My answer was yes, and that I used a shop made sander and a very simple jig for the task. Some people showed some interest in seeing my setup, so here it is. It consists of threaded pipe fittings, bearings, aluminum tubing, plywood, and a 6  X 48 inch belt. A little welding, crowning of the  rollers, and two nuts to adjust the tracking. The plywood under the belt keeps everything level. The coged drive belt on the motor and drive pully keeps the belt from slipping when pressure is appled. The fence is set at 90 degrees to the belt and one or two washers are used to raise it off the sanding belt. This works out quite well when sanding small pieces such as those used in segmenting. The fence holds the piece square and in place and you only have to apply downward pressure where needed. When I sharpen my turning tools, plane blades, or knifes, I make a simple 2 X 4 block to fit over the outboard side of my fence, cut at the angle I want for the item I am sharpening. The tool is held by hand or hands depending on the size. To do the gouge in the photo, you simply bring the tool down the wedge until it makes contact with the belt, and roll from side to side. The gouge took about 30 seconds to make a perfectly smooth, sharp, and even bevel across the face at the angle I wanted. As with any sharpening, you may have to use a slip stone or hone to remove the inside curl. The whole setup is swiveled upward from the back for belt changes. I made this about 25 years ago and still use it every day for some type of sanding and have modified a shop vac attachment to the end for dust collection.  Jim  S


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## Rockytime (Jan 18, 2015)

Very interesting sander. Looks Great. Thanks for sharing the photos.


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