Lee Valley Sander/Grinder

[Joe Leahy]

I have reviewed the past threads on this tool that I could find. I am thinking of picking one up to handle sharpening tasks and wondered if anyone could comment on a couple of things.
1) Do you recommend using a 1725 rpm motor and should it be reversible? Any recommendations on where to source one from? I am in the Toronto, Ontario area. I know Lee Valley sells one but don't think its reversible.
2) If the motor is not reversible, do you have a preference/recommendations as to whether the belt should turn towards you (ok for chisels, knives etc but not as good for stropping) or away from you?
Thanks in advance for any comments and if this has already been discussed, my apologies, just point me to the thread.
Joe

[tim mathis]

hi,
i use a furnace motor that came from a furnace that i replaced and it is 1725 rpm, mine is reversable.
you could look in your local phone book for a motor repair place.
one local place here is M&R motors and they sell new and rebuilt motors .
the ones they rebuild are fine and at great prices.
most people will say to have it turn cw - where the belt goes away from the cutting tip.
i tried it both ways and find ccw to do a better job.
i have mine ccw so the belt comes into the cutting tip ( just like a grinding wheel ) and i have never had any problems with catches or belt breakage. i have been using mine for over 5 years and still have most of the original sharpening belts ( the grit just gets finer ) and the original honing belt.after using my tools are very sharp and polished.
i use mine mostly for turning tools and i also use a leather belt for honing.
switching from one grit to another takes about 3 seconds. it removes very little metal and is easy to do. some do not like the tool rest but mine is fine and holds angles and does not slip.
the belts are cheap and last a long time.
in the pictures i have made jigs to sharpen 2 gouges 1- 7/8 inch and 1- 1/2 inch and scrapers with no adjustments between them while turning.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/3sharpenerpix004.jpg
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/3sharpenerpix002.jpg
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/3sharpenerpix001.jpg

[Joe Leahy]

Thanks Tim, nice setup. Do you use a leather honing belt? Any problems with honing with the belt turning towards you or do you reverse the belt direction for honing?

[Keith Outten]

Tim,

You sander is a real nice machine. They are getting very hard to find these days as many of our local stores stopped carrying small belt sanders. If you can provide any information about your sander it would be appreciated.

.

[tim mathis]

hi
i hone with the leather belt in the same direction ( towards me )with no problems and a high polished tool. i use the same leather belt that i purchased about 5 years ago. i have always used the tormak cream in a tube for the belt dressing.it does not take much , i think i am almost through my 2nd tube.
keith,
the rig is from is from leevalley with out a motor.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have that sander and I have a reversible motor on it.

If I had only a single direction, I would pick belt travelling upward from the table.

It's great for sharpening tools, I have 3 different grits of belts and the honing belt....Regards, Rod.

[Joe Leahy]

Hi Keith

Here is the link to the Lee Valley unit I am planning on purchasing.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=44884&cat=1,43072

[Robert LaPlaca]

I have reviewed the past threads on this tool that I could find. I am thinking of picking one up to handle sharpening tasks and wondered if anyone could comment on a couple of things.
1) Do you recommend using a 1725 rpm motor and should it be reversible? Any recommendations on where to source one from? I am in the Toronto, Ontario area. I know Lee Valley sells one but don't think its reversible.
2) If the motor is not reversible, do you have a preference/recommendations as to whether the belt should turn towards you (ok for chisels, knives etc but not as good for stropping) or away from you?
Thanks in advance for any comments and if this has already been discussed, my apologies, just point me to the thread.
Joe

Joe I used a Grizzly G2901 1/2 hp 1725 rpm motor, which is dual voltage and reversible. If I remember correctly, buying from Grizzly is a problem for our Canadian friends..

I ran the motor counter-clockwise as recommended in manual, only modification I had to make was the Grizzly motor had a larger shaft requiring the lower pulley to be drilled out to accommodate the motor

[Ron Kellison]

I have had this unit for several years and can't imagine being without it! I have a 1/4HP furnace blower motor mounted on it, numerous belts (including a leather one for stropping with green compound) and I've never felt the need to have a reverse switch.

The most frequent use in my shop is for quickly sharpening knives. I can do a half dozen in less than 5 minutes. I use the 15-micron belts sold by LV which leave just enough tooth for a perfect kitchen edge. I know Leonard Lee advocates using the back, unsupported part of the belt for knives but I've found I get good results holding the knife just above the vertical steel backing plate at the front of the unit, knife edge down so there is no chance of cutting the belt.

This is not a fancy, impeccably made unit but it does what it's supposed to do without fuss or bother. Get it along with a few belts and don't look back. I would also suggest you go by one of your local heating/cooling contractors and see if they will give you one of the squirrel cage/motor units they've pulled out during a furnace replacement. Most of these motors are rated for 50,000+ hours and rarely have even 20,000 hours on them. I get them for free, clean up the blowers, oil/clean the motor and put them in homebrew shop air cleaners. I've built several and never had to pay a dime for any of the moving parts! It's a good way to get a serviceable 1725 rpm motor for nothing more than a bit of sweat equity.

Regards,


Ron

[Danny Burns]

Princess Auto sell a reversing switch and a drum switch that will allow a motor that is reversible to run in whatever direction you want.

http://downloads.princessauto.com/?Lid=E

Go to the ....
"Catalogue Section : Farm Centre
Pages 49 to 105 "

See page 59 of the PDF file for the switches.

When sharpening edge tools, you can run the belt away from the edge, and then if you are sanding a piece of wood, you can run it so the belt forces the wood down into the table.

You might be interested in a trizact belt if you are sharpening fine small tool edges.

http://www.chippingaway.com/WoodCarving/SharpeningTools/UltimatePowerSharpener.htm

Just ignore the part that says:

"Next, the pulley ratio combined with load of our leather belt reduces the rpm's to an estimated 1300rpm's which reduces the chances of overheating or burning the tools edge."

There is no pulley system on this machine. They are confusing the fact that the top smaller wheel will make more revolutions that the bigger lower wheel, but the belt speed will not be affected by the wheel sizes.

1725 RPM is plenty fast enough.

[Joe Leahy]

Thanks for all the comments. I picked up the sander/grinder today along with the 1/4 hp Marathon motor Lee Valley sells to go with the taig lathe, a few extra belts including the leather belt. The motor can be wired to be reversible. The knowledgeable person I was dealing at Lee Valley had done it before for the motors they use in house and was nice enough to work through how to rewire it to be reversible. I plan on picking up a double pole/double throw switch, probably from Princess Auto, and rewiring the motor. I can use it CCW for grinding and working with small wooden objects etc and CW for honing.

[Roger Savatteri]

Tim, Joe & company,

thank you for the photos and feedback on the Lee Valley rig.

I've been thinking about that unit and your positive feedback has moved it from the back burner to ordering it.

all the best,
Roger

[Andy Haney]

hi
i hone with the leather belt in the same direction ( towards me )with no problems and a high polished tool. i use the same leather belt that i purchased about 5 years ago. i have always used the tormak cream in a tube for the belt dressing.it does not take much , i think i am almost through my 2nd tube.
keith,
the rig is from is from leevalley with out a motor.

I checked the link to the LV machine, and didn't see the leather belt on the accessory list. What was the source for the leather?

Thanks,
Andy

[Jerry Murray]

I've used this system for a few years now and it truly has changed my thoughts on sharpening.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34951

The belts I get from Lee Valley

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48040&cat=1,43072

The leather belt needs some compound and i have some of the LV green, which a little rough, but I then will go to a Ryobi rouge. Just keep in mind that the compound on the leather will fling off as you hone so it can get a tad messy. I dress the leather belt with a slight rub down of dish soap before applying the compound. After I'm finished I'll clean off the belt.

You'll definitely like the belt sanding sharpener, which ever system you choose.

[tim mathis]

Andy Haney,
LeeValley is one place that sells the leather belt.
go to the woodworking section than to the sharpening section and they are at the bottom of the page with the sanding and sharpening belts.
i purchase most of my sanding & sharpening belts from klingspore.
tim mathis

[Andy Haney]

Thanks Tim. Didn't see that in the link to the tool (further up the thread) and , DUH, didn't look any further on the LV site. Think I gotta have one of these.

AH

[Dave Cav]

I also use the Lee Valley belt grinder setup, actually two of them, one at home and one at school. I use a hard felt wheel and green compound for the final honing and am very happy with the results. I use an old appliance motor on the one at school, and an ancient Sears double shaft motor at home. I have the belt moving up, and the felt wheel turning away from me, so I hone on the upper half of the wheel. I have a guard built around the wheel so no one will try to use the bottom of the wheel and catch a tool.

[Phil Dalton]

Not to insult anyone but Harbor Freight has a similar machine for $69.99 with motor. It has a three wheel config. They also sell 30" belts. I have never had either experience with either sanders (nor own stock in either company).

Phil

[Gina French]

Does anyone have any hints as to how to keep the table from slipping once angle is set?

[Rod Sheridan]

Does anyone have any hints as to how to keep the table from slipping once angle is set?

No, mine doesn't have that issue.

Try setting the wingnut tight ( perhaps gentle application of pliers). I don't loosen the wingnut, I simply keep it snug and tilt the table without loosening it...........Rod.