A question on belts

[tomsm44]

Ok, I've got the frame for my new no-weld grinder built and all of the wheels are in the shopping cart on Usaknifemaker, waiting for me to hit submit.  This will be my first time using a belt grinder:  used a bench grinder for the few knives I've made up to now with a lot of hand sanding to finish the blade.  What all belts do I need to order to go with it?  What grits do you guys use to grind the blade and then what grit sequence to finish?  I'm normally all for trial and error, and I'm sure I'll do a lot of that, but I would like to have a good idea of where to start so I don't waste a lot of money on belts that I don't need.

Thanks,
Matt

P.S.  I'll try to get some pics of the finished grinder up with my review of how it works once I get it running.

[Lin Rhea]

I use 36 but only for the roughest of the rough. Then 60, 120, 220, 320, then Trizac 100 and 65, then hand sand. I use far more 60 and 120 than anything else.

Here is a thread on TG about hand sanding blades you might look at too.
  web page

[tomsm44]

Thanks Lin.  That gives me an idea of where to start as far as stocking belts goes.  That thread on hand sanding was very helpful.  Looks like I'll be doing some tool building soon.

[Doug Campbell]

Like Linn I use mainly 60 & 120 with a few 220 thrown in. Also have a few different grits of the Gator belts that have prooved to be handy.

[tippit]

I've gotten that I only use 2 belts...roughest 36 I can find to hog off metal and a Triac 100 to get it to hand finishing stage.  Also use a flexible 400 to finish up my plunge line.  

Sounds weird but it is fast and I don't seem to be piddling around with all the in between grits...tippit

[gudspelr]

You might look into Deerfos belts (I get mine from Steve Kelly).  I start with a 50, then to 120 before heat treat. Then have some 220's and 400's. I was told and it seems to hold true that I go through more of the rougher grit belts than the higher ones. Good luck


Jeremy

[tomsm44]

Thanks guys.  It looks like You all use similar methods, with the main differences being with the finer grits.  I read somewhere that on thinner stock, it's a good idea to use 80 grit instead of 60 for the main shaping to prevent removing too much metal too fast.  I'm thinking that since I'm still pretty new to this and I typically don't make very large, thick knives, I'll probably go that route to start with.  I've found that working faster rarely improves quality of work.

Thanks again
Matt