Kalamazoo 1SM 1" Belt Sander, 32 lbs, 1725 RPM, 1/3 HP Motor, 1" x 42" Belt, 4" Contact Wheel Product Description:
- Uses 1" x 42" belts.
- Motor: 1/3 HP, 1 PH
- Speed: 1,725 RPM
- Tilt work table.
- 4" contact wheel. Belt supporter.
Product Description
1 year warranty.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
You get what you pay for
By tool builder
After having 2 chinese belt sanders give up the ghost, I finally bought one of these (from another vendor). I wish I had bought this first. The quality of this sander is dramatically better than those other sanders.This sander is as basic as it can get. It is solid and should last for years and years. You have to mount it to something to use it. It comes fully assembled.The Baldor motor is American made, and is fully sealed against the abrasive dust thrown off by the belt. It is fan cooled, and is plenty powerful enough for my needs.You can change a belt in about 15 seconds including getting the belt to track where you want it. My sander has a cover for the top pulley that is not shown in the picture. The cover flips up so you can change the belt.The belt tension is provided by a spring in the column that holds up the top pulley. Tension is not adjustable.I use the belt sander for sharpening. It would be nicer if the belt went the other way so I can sharpen the knives edge up and rest my hands on the tool rest. Having said that, when I sharpen lawnmower blades and other big items it is nice that the sparks go downwards. I'll probably build my own tool rest since holding the angle is critical for maximum sharpness. I haven't used the provided tool rest. It is adjustable with a wrench. I don't imagine that it would be convenient to adjust frequently.You can see video on sharpening at kosterknives.com under 'how to sharpen a convex microbevel'. It isn't as easy as it looks, but after some practice you should end up with really sharp tools. Our pruning shears, scissors, axe, kitchen knives, etc are all much easier to use now. I got my sanding belts (down to 9 micron) from leevalley.com. It looks like trugrit.com might be cheaper though.'The Complete Guide to Sharpening' by Leonard Lee recommends using a belt sander for sharpening chisels and knives and such. The book 'Sharpening' by Nick Engler shows a chisel sharpening jig setup - but you would have to reverse the direction the belt travels.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.Best sharpening tool you will ever buy
By John Bee
I have been using my new Kalamzoo belt grinder for knife and tool sharpening for the last four months. The machine is a quiet, solid machine that does not sound like it will shake itself apart like the " Harbor Freight" belt grinders do. This machine uses a high quality Baldor motor which is all ball bearing and sealed for life. Using fine sanding belts ( up to 1000 grit) and a leather belt for polishing, this machine will put a razor edge on any knife or woodworking tool. With very little practice I was able to sharpen all my knives,the neighbors knives and all my buddies hunting knives and tools to an edge which will literally shave the hair from your arm with no problem. Also if you are interested in knife making,[...] makes a nice add on for this grinder which turns it into a horizontal belt grinder which is able to create the grinding processes used in knife fabrication. If you are looking for a great small belt grinder that will out last you ( and probably your kids) this is the machine for you. I have had a lot of fun with my little grinder and made my friends and neighbors happy with razor sharp knives.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.GREAT BELT SANDER!!
By LA
I love this sander. It is very well designed. Very easy to setup. Changing belts is so simple (I can swap out a belt in about 10 secs). And it operates very quietly.I got this sander because the price of 1x30 belts is nearly the same as 1x42 belts. Granted you can get a 1x30 sander for much less than what this costs, but you will end up spending a fortune on belts. The 1x42 belts have 40% more belt so they will last a good bit longer.The only thing I would change on this sander is the ability to swap out different size contact wheels. The 4" contact wheel does make for nearly perfect belt speed but there are times when a little faster and/or slower would be nice.I use this sander primarily for sharpening. There are plenty of belts out there but Klingspor's Gold are the best. 3M's belts are ok but they are more expensive and don't last as long (even their new Trizact belts). There are also 1x42 leather belts. You can make your pocket knife literally shaving sharp with these. Very easy to do both flat and convex grinds.There are slightly less expensive 1x42 sanders out there but this is definitely a case of getting what you pay for.I wish I had gotten this sander sooner.
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