Harbor Frieght

[born2cut]

I ordered a 1x30 sander from harbor frieght, and was wondering if anyone else had an opinion about the sander. I`ll probably use it for sharpening, but would someday like to try my hand at making knives. I dont know if this sander would hold up to alot of stock removal, but the price was right. Any opions.
b2c

[knifemaker3]

I wouldn't want to try doing very much stock removal with a sander of that size. Yes, it can be done. But your belts won't last long. I would recommend a minimum of a 2x42 and preferably a 2x72 to make knives with.

But, just to test the waters you can get by with the 1x30 as long as you are aware of it's limitations.

Just my opinion. I'm sure someone else will chime in later.

[carvin don]

I bought this 1" x 30" sander from them a few years back and have not had a problem. Mind you, I only use it for sharpening purposes, and use an 80 grit on it as a first step in sharpening a new knife. I know nothin' about makin' knives, so I can't help 'ya there, sorry.

[Gunsmoke47]

I cannot comment on a Harbor Freight Sander. I have,however, given Harbor Freight 3 chances on other tools and I have been burned 3 times. I don't do business with them anymore. There is usually a reason why the price is right. This , of coarse, is only my opinion. Smoke

[glennbad]

I have that sander. It's okay for someone with a limited budget, but I don't think it would stand up to any sustained grinding.

I use mine more for light touch up stuff. Not too bad for the money, though...

Just my .02.

Glenn

[pmike5869]

I bought one also and IMO it depends on what level you're going at this craft. If you want to go full bore it won't be the ideal tool. If you do 1-2 knives a month like I do then it will probably be ok. I have had good experiences with Harbour Freight tools as long as I have used them with in their limits. I would never use this 1x30 to hog out lots of metal for a large bowie. As far as using it to do fine work on scale material it should/has worked fine for me. I have all sorts of belts for it up to 400 grit.
One thing I'm having trouble with is finding a taper reamer that will fit in the pivot holes for folders, roughly .099-.130 dia. any one have a source? H.F. has them in diamond finish but not in stock and don't think the diamond finish is what I want.
mike

[knives4sale]

I use a 1" X 30" Delta for most of my pocket knife sharpening - It gets the first grind OK if you have a steady hand. I have a Kalamazo 2" X 48" for the heavy work. I have a couple of the small 3" buffers from Harbor Freight for light benchtop work with Scotchbrite wheels and they seem to work OK. I had a Harbor Freight drill press that was junk, so I'm not their biggest fan. Pocket knife work doesn't take a lot of power or heavy grinding, so you'll probably be OK until you can move up. I bought a "no name brand" 1" X 42" Belt sander on Ebay from Rutgers Tool yesterday, so I'll see how that works out as a backup machine. Good Luck!

[born2cut]

Thanks for the input guys..Just got it yesterday, it actually works alright! It will definately remove stock, made one junk knife even worse! Will take some practice but for $40 + belts, not bad. I will be attempting to make my first knife using this sander soon. I think it will hold up.

[orvet]

The biggest problem I have heard with this buffer is that there is a tendency for the belts not to track properly & that the tracking adjustment doesn't work well on them.
If you don't have a problem with that, you should be OK.

I do a lot with my Delta 1X42, but it has a cast iron frame that keeps everything held in place.
The down side to the 1X30 is smaller belts, which of course are used up faster, and the fact that you are limited in the type of belts you can find to fit the 1X30.
You can probably find the best selection of belts for it as http://www.trugrit.com/belts1.htm
You might find some at Super Grit's web site as well.

It is a good start, but like someone said, you have to use it within it's limitations. But that is true of any piece of equipment.

Dale

[Hukk]

You have to be real careful buying from Harbor Freight. My steel cutting bandsaw using bimetal blades (Starrett, Lenox, and a couple other name brands - none from Harbor Freight ) has been a real work horse and tracks real well. I also have a 16 speed drill press that has been great - I always follow the recommended speeds. I've had it 3-4 years and have used it extensively. I went thorough 1/2 inch steel a couple days ago for some tooling - though I used about 4 bits to get to 1/2 inch hole in 1/2 inch steel. Easier on the bits that way. I only drilled 4 holes, but the drill press worked as good as ever.

A 1 x 30 may be a bit small for grinding blades. But for sharpening or cleaning up - it should work just fine. A 1 x 30 may have a more limited belt selection though.

[born2cut]

Thanks Dale, I have also fond some belts at http://www.leevalley.com
The tracking is a bit tricky but still works ok.

[redferd]

I have a Delta 1"x30" belt sander with a disk on it. I have 240 grit belt on it now. Works good. It looks similar to the ones that HF sells. I use and old, antique ,motorized grinding wheel to rough out before using the Delta. I have a HF dust collector for a tablesaw that works good. I got a HF log splitter a couple of years ago. It leaked hydrolic fluid after one use so I shipped it back for a full refund.