How to make a DIY 1x30 Angle Guide for your Toolcker Sander easy hack 10-15 min

[@DaleElder11]

Of the hundreds of videos on knife sharpening I've seen: IMHO this Best. Thank you!!!!

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Thank you

[@UABFWSS]

Just got one of these today, has a non-magnetic platen also. Have a few ideas to progress and got the guide mostly modified etc. On the next days off, should be up n running.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

One of the videos and in my store on my website I have a link to a place that sells 1” sq magnets the work from the back side

[@antoniomunozg6735]

Desde España un buen trabajo, gracias por ilustra su trabajo

[@mitch3384]

God.. I've been trying to figure a way to do this for ages, gone down all sorts of wrong paths! Thanks mate :) For those that aren't confident with, or don't have an angle grinder, you could easily use the grinder and a 40g belt on the workrest (angled) to remove material away from the wall where the spring is mounted, right at the 90 deg. bend, then use pliers to pull it back and forward until it snaps. Another idea, rather than cutting into the guide plate to get better access for bolsters, you can make a 1/2" wedge that sticks or glues on, perhaps from a hard PTFE material or aluminium. Two birds, one stone.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

well I hope this helped

[@dougbutterfield1739]

Thanks much for this video, the rare earth magnets are a game changer, I've been looking at your belt sander on Amazon but I wanted to use the guide with one. I wasn't sure on to set up the angle guide, your solution is simple but brilliant at the same time. I just put an order in for the sander and magnets... Thanks a bunch for sharing.

[@lyonsharpeningservice2896]

I've had my eye on these Toolcker sanders for a while. Thanks to your videos I've ordered two of them for my shop. Can't wait until they arrive.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

So Far I very happy with mine it fits I. Nice with my other 1x30s

[@lyonsharpeningservice2896]

@@ALXSHARPEN I've been struggling with getting my buckle to adhere to the platen. Guess mine was made from aluminum. Kinda crappy of the manufacturer to advertise "The body and wheels are all made of high-quality steel" when it isn't. Luckily my machinist friend has some scrap pieces large enough to make me two new ones out of an actual quality steel. The rest of the machine seems pretty robust and I'm happy with the performance so far.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

@@lyonsharpeningservice2896 always good to have a machinist friend.

[@M70ACARRY]

@@lyonsharpeningservice2896 glue a magnet to the platen

[@gm7tx]

What a great video! I'll be making one for my machine. Thanks for posting it.

[@randywallis-vd2ez]

You might try cutting one of the magnets in two pieces the width of the platen and put a piece at the top and one at the bottom. Randy

[@alf699]

What a great idea. I just ordered a full set of 1x30 belts that include the angle and a leather belt. My belt sander is also on the way. Looks like I am going to be quite busy :-)

[@jerrywiese9722]

Nice modification.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Thanks Jerry

[@Insomniac01100]

Thanks to You, I have to purchase one (or two) of these belt grinders. 🙂 What about drilling and tapping for 2 set screws on each side to mount the angle guide?

[@dtsouza2519]

Another great video. I have a RIKON 1x30 with the exact same angle guide you modified. Had the same problem, not being able to get the heel of the knife as close on the right side as the left. I'll be modifying mine tomorrow . One question...I know you also have a couple of TORMEK T8's, I also have one of those too. How do you determine or decide if your going to use to the Toolcker 1x30 or the TORMEK to sharpen a knife?

[@timfran11]

Awesome, thank you for posting

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Thanks Tim

[@gregmccormack5709]

Very cool mod for this style of sharpener thanks for sharing😄👍🏻

[@olaf_industries]

nice idea! thx for sharing!

[@BladeLabMiami]

Brilliant!

[@houseoffire72]

Excellent video, much appreciated..! I need an angle guide for mine. I have two of these sanders now. One came with a bad controller, so they sent me another sander with controller. Now, If I can fix the bad controller I will two running machines.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

that could be a nice score

[@houseoffire72]

@@ALXSHARPEN Heck yeah😁

[@stefbloom8649]

Great idea to use the buckle guide. It works great. Unfortunately I cannot find good 1x30 belts in Europe. Yours seem to run so smoothly. I feel a hump every time the joint of the belt passes by… 😕 I can hear it too. Do you feel the joint at all?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Get them from Cliff Curry if he will ship to Europe you will have great belts

[@stefbloom8649]

@@ALXSHARPEN thank you so much for your answer and the tip. Maybe I have to order some belts from him. Only a pity he charges 40$ to send them here 🙁

[@kennyhallam]

By any chance are you going to be making them and selling them🤞If so I would love the cost for 3 of them

[@almanages]

I ordered a Toolcker and will definitely consider installing this creative angle guide hack on it. I have have a question though, from what I can see, the back of the belt seems to be in constant contact or riding on top of the angle guide. Doesn't this create a lot of heat or damage to the belt in some ways?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Nope, not a problem you will get heat from the bearing until they break in and it takes a good bit for them to break in I don't run mine more than 1700 RPM almost all the time I think it took a good 8 weeks to full break in and not run hot but don't be surprised in the beginning if it get hot

[@r.e.sharpening991]

Is the toolcker worth the money? It looks amazing and very versatile.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

IMO Yes

[@adrock18t]

How does the addition of the angle guides added depth to the platen affecting belt wear? I am on the verge of purchasing 3 of these machines for my business and like your idea of quick attach angle guides. It just seems to me that it would wear the back of the belts. How has your experience been with belt wear?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

no issue with belt wear. I change my belts once a month but I also use good belts from Cliff Curry

[@Japaneseknifestudio]

Hi You have an awesome belt grinder. Can I ask your opinion if this little belt grinder would be able to thin knife blade? can I ask where did you buy urs? I like your buffer too what brand is yours? Kind regards Balazs from Australia

[@briand6386]

Im new to the 1x30 and had a hard time keeping my knife flat on the guide and not over running the belt. I guess it takes some time to get the feel of it but I had a better time starting without it. And you cannot thick belts like a scotch brite.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Are you sharpening edge trailing or edge leading I find edge leading better as the belt pushes it into you IMO that's easier to control. Edge trailing I always feel like it's pulling the knife away.

[@briand6386]

@@ALXSHARPEN Trailing.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Try changing to edge leading I think you find it much easier to control and stay in the guide. I only use edge trailing for certain things mostly boning knives

[@briand6386]

@@ALXSHARPEN I would have to change my set up but will consider that.

[@daniel.rosina]

@ALXSHARPEN hi Paul, pls, where I can get such green tape, you use to cover that guides? thanks

[@davidross8668]

Great video but I was wondering why you chose that particular machine? I clicked the l8nk and it only has one review, is it a new machine?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

It's not new but here in the US I only saw them for sale for the last two years on eBay recently I found them on Amazon so I decided to give it a try So far I have been very happy with it. It appears to be very well made. It's a very solid build and I mostly wanted to try it because many of the people who contact me about wanting to start a sharpening service don't want to have to build a custom 1x30 so I wanted to find a machine that would work right out of the box and this is so far the best I have found in terms of the many things it does really well. I think my solution for making an angle guide for this unit is also easy enough for most handy people to do the modification or have someone do it for them.

[@mbo7613]

Can the platen brackets be modified with slotted holes to allow it to be set back so that the guide isn't wearing the backs of the belts? Is the platen thick enough to be drilled and tapped into the side to mount the angle directly?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

I don't find it necessary the belts are not wearing out from running on the platen at all mine wear from sharpening

[@bobarganbright180]

Will a 43" sander work? What size are the magnets? Thanks

[@dj_robygee]

Hi, still dont understand 1 thing, whats the proper angle to sharp a knive cause on other video you showed us soemthing around 16-17 degrees, im not talking about other people advice, splitting 45degrees in half and this way result 21-22 degrees, still working on this problem, can you ,please cause I do like a lot your advices how to proceed properly from your experience all this time ?! and 1x30 degrees is available also for different knifes or axes?

[@ALXSHARPEN]

There is no "proprer" angel there is just angles that work well for certain knives and other factors are at play. Like steel hardness and the knives purpose. So in general 19-20 degrees I think is good angle for EDC's ..... 17 degrees I like for western kitchen knives (Henckles Whustof) 14-16 degrees I like for Japanese knives. So there is no exact answer to that. If a knife goes dull to fast it may have to low of an angle - If it's not sharp enough it may have to high of an angle. You can adjust those things to improve a knives performance and find whats perfect for a knife or how it's being used.

[@karenshakh9619]

👌🤝

[@ALXSHARPEN]

thanks

[@r.e.sharpening991]

Is this worth it?

[@kevinmoyer2171]

I certainly think it is. Especially for a business sharpening a lot of different angles. One can pre-set the angle guides and switch them out in a snap!

[@r.e.sharpening991]

@@kevinmoyer2171 awesome. Thank you!

[@AE-zj6oc]

I copied your idea and the friction of the belt created a lot of heat. Also I ordered the a rare earth and it would hardly hold on the platen.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

These units run pretty hot its probably not related to the angle guide. I also added in the description about the platens on some peoples units for some reason were not magnetic so to test it first have your tried two magnets? My Toolcker is definitely a steel platen and very magnetic

[@ALXSHARPEN]

Also if sharpening I wouldn’t run it faster than 20,000 no need to go to it’s extremely high end speed all that will do is wear out your bearings from the heat.

[@AE-zj6oc]

The only metal is the tension arm and the legs of platen. With the angle guide it raises the belt from the two idler wheels and it rubs on both ends creating friction. I run this machine at 1400.

[@ALXSHARPEN]

@@AE-zj6oc well it should be pretty easy to replace your platen that I am guessing must be aluminum if it’s not magnetic with one that’s steel 🧲

[@ALXSHARPEN]

did you get the 1 inch ones for behind the platen not the ones I used

[@poindexter1387]

More is better.....