This should be a real time saver when dressing guide feet. Seems to be a great value at $29.99! [www.harborfreight.com]

I bet that the belt would move around, making it harder to use. I bought the following grinder for this purpose about 3 years ago and it has worked great. The dremmel portion broke fairly easily but if I remember correctly I was using it for someting it wasn't intended for.

[www.harborfreight.com]

Also found this one without the dremmel for 10 bucks cheaper

[www.harborfreight.com]

Scott

Ed

I outwrap for a living and grind guides for one of the companies I work with. I use a belt sander similar to the one you're looking at. Mine cost twice that much and I wish I'd seen this one. The belt doesn't move around and it works great for doing a lot of guides at a time. Some people use a grinding wheel and it works well for them. Use whatever works best for you. I used to use my dremel but now that I have to grind guides for twenty to thirty rods at a time the belt sander works better for me.

Thomas F. Thornhill

Thomas, Here is a link for 1"x30" belts. [www.onlineindustrialsupply.com]
What grit do you recommend? Thanks, Ed

Those little harbor freight belt sanders are GREAT!!! The one I have at my shop has served me well for about 4 years...and the much more pricey Delta I have in my home shop is nearly identical, and has squealing wheel bearings already after only 2 years of much lighter duty. I do, however, recomend the similar unit H.F. has with the disc sander option on the side, even if you dont use the disc. Although the units are nearly identical other than the disc sander, the disc unit has a little more power for shaping grips, grinding blank butts...etc. They both have the same motor but the disc acts as a flywheel, helping to reduce stalling when under load...makes a HUGE difference! The non-disc unit works great for dressing guide feet, but stalls very easily if you try to sand anything else...will actually stop on contact with hypalon! LOL. The trick for belt drift with these sanders is good quality belts. Avoid the HF ones, and use a Norton bi-directional(available at any home improvement store). The best belts Ive ever used are the 3M Trizact structured abraisive belts. These belts are the absolute best for dressing guide feet. They remove material quickly, leaving a burr free polished finish without heating and discoloring the guide, and they last much longer.

Not affiliated with any of the above.... I just use the stuff. -Scott

Scott, Thanks for all the awsome advice! Does the 3M Trizact come in different grits? If so, which grit and where can these be purchased. Ed



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2005 10:55AM by Ed Grella.

Some Info on the Trizact belts: [multimedia.mmm.com]-

The grit grading system is opposite of the typical abrasive numbers... the LOWER the number, the FINER the grit. They also have different thicknesses for the cloth backing for flexibility and conformity purposes. I like the 307EA 1 x 30...the thinest one...they run the smoothest and quietest and track the best, and the flexibility is nice for geting a nice smooth radius on the top of the guide foot without the choppy facets produced by a hard grinding wheel, and much better control and safety than a dremel tool. The A100 grit is perfect for dressing guides.
These belts unfortunatley arent available on a retail level anywhere that I know of. Any 3M industrial distributer should be able to get them. Im looking for a supply of them myself right now. LOL. I used to get em from a company called E.V. Roberts & Asociates. Dunno if theyre even around anymore. I had a supply left over from my old buisness and im down to the last couple. Maybe one of the rod components distributers will step up to the plate(hint, hint LOL) and meet the minimum order requirement from 3M and hook us all up!

Just wanted to say thanks Ed! I stopped by my local Harbor Freight store with my printed wed ad, and of course they honored the price. My Dremel tool worked fine for years, but grinding guide feet has always been one of my least favorite rod-building tasks- particularly since I started making more roller guide tuna rods. This will make it a lot easier I'm sure. It's a slick little sander- hard to believe they can sell this for $30 and turn a profit.

Mike, I hope it works out, I have learned so much from this site, it's nice to help out. I hate the guide dressing also. I have been using a small bench grinder but I think the belt sander will be alot quicker. Scott, thanks again for all the great info. I will check out the 3M distributers and see if I can locate them. I may have to do a special order, so I may need a few partners. Ed