In pursuit of the perfect(ly rectalinear) pattern bar, I've purchased a vertical wet belt sander. I thought that if I could make the bar as square as possible (after firing), the slices that I would then cut from it would better fit together to mimize intersticial gaps and possible pattern distortion from subsequent firing cycles. I purchased several silicon carbide belts, the coursest of which is 80 grit. I was disappointed to find how little material it removed (completed bars are 3/4 X 3/4 X 10").
My grinding bits (and any others I've seen) aren't adequately 'high' (3/4")for a uniform pass. Am I faced with purchasing a much more (25X) expensive diamond mesh belt and, if I do, can I expect any better results?
Wet Belt Sanding
Moderators: Brad Walker, Tony Smith
-
- Posts: 773
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:36 am
- Location: Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
I use 50 grit silicon carbide belts. Brock I believe uses 40 grit. They will hog off material much faster than 80. Large areas are tough to do. Also the initial cutting speed of a belt will wear (slow) to that of the next standard grit quite rapidly. If you have been grinding a while with an 80, the effective working grit will be about a 120. If you want absolutely flat surfaces a belt sander is going to be tough to do it on. A flat disc lapping machine such as an SW machine would possibly do it flatter quicker and better. Kevin in Tofino