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I Forge Iron

2" x 72" Sanding Belts


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There was a time when Grizzly advertised their belts (in the catalog and online) as being 2"X76", they have since changed that to read 2" X 72", but it makes me wonder if their still not sending belts out that are longer than 72".

I had some folks in the not too distant past contact complaining that the belts they got from Grizzly were too long for their machines. My response is to tell them to purchase their belts either from Tru-Grit in California, or from Pop's Knife Supply in Georgia. The belts from Grizzly are of questionable quality at best, but the two suppliers I mentioned sell only premium quality abrasives.

There was a time many moons ago when I tried to "save" money by purchasing inexpensive (read cheap) belts, but quickly realized that I was wasting money because it takes 3-4 of the cheap belts to do what one premium quality belt will do.

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If your happy with the belts from the source you mentioned (I tried their belts) you'd be giddy about the belts you'd get from Tru-Grit or Pop's.
When I ordered from Barbkat, I got a full selection so that I would be comparing apples to apples, that was the last time I ordered from them. The belts were not near the quality that I was used to. As with other "bargin" belts, it took 3-4 of them to do the job that one Norton/Klingspoor/3M belt would do. In this case your work will reflect the quality of materials you put into it. With the top quality belts your grinds will be smoother, more even, and just overall nicer, while using fewer belts to accomplish your task.

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I cant say enough good things about Pops. I now buy all of my belts for my 2x72 grinder from pops, excelent communication, packing, and speed, and they provide top quality belts.

I only use name brand belts with one exception, my "general hogging belts" i use the pops generic zirconia 50/60 (i forget which) grit belts. I tried the norton blaze belts, and found that while the generic zirconia belts lasted about 50% as long, i got 2.5 belts for the same cost, so it was more economic to go generic for the low grit belts.

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I keep the following grit sizes in the shop....

50 grit (in either a blue zirconia or Norton "Blaze" which is ceramic)

120 grit

220 grit

400 grit

800 grit

1200 grit

I also have various other belts that I consider "special purpose" such as scotchbrite belts in 2 different grades, a couple of cloth polishing belts, and a couple of 600 grit cork belts.

Belts come with various backings, which equate to different levels of stiffness. The basics of belt backings are as follows:

"Y" weight backing: heavy and very stiff, best used for flat or large contact wheel grinding

"X" weight backing: slightly lighter than "Y" weight backings, stiff with limited flexibility

"J" weight backing: thin, flexibly backing, generally available in 220 and finer grits. This backing can "roll" around contours and works well in tight radius applications and general finish work.

There are also variants of these backings, especially on the newer belts like Norax belts.

Belt grits and brands are like vehicles.....everybody has their favorite, and some seem to work better than others for specific applications and individuals.

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Grit in belts needs to work with the buffing compound you will use, some emery compounds are around four hundre grit equivalent,,so if you use belts to 100 then emery you are going backwards. You may want to try a compound at least the equal to the finest belt you will use then go finer buff from there,,

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