Water Cooled Belt Sharpening

In this video, I review a month(s) long project exploring using a water mist cooling system for sharpening knives on a 1x30 belt grinder.
The mist system I purchased and have enjoyed:
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The community where we learn a ton about sharpening and how to make it make money for us to spend on fun toys or save responsibly:
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Where I buy my belts:
shop.currycust...
My Sharpening Business:
americanedgesh...

[@buffalojones341]

I have seen shear sharpening machines with misters that use an ultrasonic device to create a superfine mist. But, I have been having good results using stick lubricants on my cubitron and trizact belts. I use Slick Stick from Woodturners wonders. It’s fairly inexpensive and lasts. Looks like a round stick of deodorant. I am able to run my sewing machine motor 1x30 at 1700 rpm and bear down and have almost no heat.

[@capnmatt41]

Coincidentally, I just got some slick stick. Good call, thanks!

[@kenkiesow7928]

I keep forgetting I want to try this..

[@kenkiesow7928]

This was my experience attempting to do something similar with the trizact belts at finer grits. Much more heat is generated at the same FPM speeds the finer you go. The trizact belt didn't last very long in that scenario. Water seemed to turn the belt surface of those into almost a slurry of a sort. Whether there's a binder, backing, or both different in water-rated belts I don't know, but I know what we're using is generally intended to be run dry. My experience is that the cubitrons remove material fast enough to mitigate heating issues, but that the trizacts require much lower speeds to avoid overheating.

[@capnmatt41]

That sounds very reasonable, Ken. Thank you!

[@dougepalmerchopchop]

Thanks Matt. I have seen people use misting on their 2x72 and I was wondering about exactly what you did here. So thank you for the videos.

[@capnmatt41]

You're welcome, Doug! Thanks for watching!

[@DougAgee]

Thanks for this, Matt. I appreciate you sharing the process and your thoughts.

[@capnmatt41]

Thank you, Doug! Appreciate that

[@gregmccormack5709]

Interesting experiment, thanks for the input. I've often wondered if the juice would be worth the squeeze in a belt system.

[@capnmatt41]

Spoken brilliantly, thanks Greg.

[@michaelvanbuskirk8845]

Very cool Matt. I wondered about something similar as well. How about just quenching the blade in water after each pass like knifemakers do then wipe it off with a towel? I agree with you that not enough heat builds up if you don't have it on the belt very long and you are pressing lightly.

[@leadingedgeknifeandtoolsha4128]

i like the idea and trying new things is awesome. I would want to try it on finer grits. I never even worry about overheat on 120 or under but 400 plus will over heat really quick. i found that working on the slack seems to help keep the blade cool, also building a variable speed 1x30 helps a lot

[@capnmatt41]

Right on!

[@jdctact]

the other way to control the temperature is to controls the speed of the belt, I retrofitted my 1x30 to use a variable speed drill instead of the motor it came with. I use a external variable transformer to controls the speed while I lock the drill on top speed. this allows me to use a slower speed on things like chip / tip repair and higher speeds for straight forward sharpening. all without getting water all over my mobile set up. fun fact, this is also why I do not use my tormek style system. mobile sharpening service and water not a good mix.

[@capnmatt41]

Word. I have a variable speed system on my sharpening business roadmap. Thanks!

[@WittysSharpEdge]

Thanks Matt

[@capnmatt41]

You're welcome!

[@jrk1666]

I have heard some say you can clear the clogging by pressing a lot harder on the belt

[@andreasjonsson8075]

Ideal would be a mist of water

[@davestelling]

Off topic, perhaps - but I've been curious if you've ever considered a TSPROF over your faithful Edge Pro? Thanks for these tutorials, Matt. Always interesting & entertaining...

[@capnmatt41]

The price point on the TSProf exceeds the value of any perceived solution to a problem I have so I have not considered it. There are still some other tools that I'd like to invest in that have priority. Some guys in the Guild use it and love it, I have no doubt its a great tool. Thanks Dave!

[@kellywillauer1059]

Spray the water on. Like your thought

[@timfran11]

Very impressive

[@capnmatt41]

Thanks Tim!

[@j.d.1488]

Matt, Another cooling ? Have the Rikon VS 1 x 30 Any suggestions on how to keep motor cool when using low RPM. Notice motor gets hot to touch.

[@capnmatt41]

The only thing I'm coming up with is having good air flow over the motor. A heat sync could be cool but I don't have a solution for that on top of mind. Let me know what you come up with.

[@robertmunguia250]

Would it be better to add a VFD? Is that motor capable of speed control?

[@capnmatt41]

My understanding is that you could not get variable speed with a VFD on this motor.

[@robertmunguia250]

@@capnmatt41 ok I ordered the grizzly 1 by 30 see if it works better than HF.

[@kendu52]

Does this eliminate the air quality problem?

[@capnmatt41]

Eliminate is a strong word. I'm not sure.

[@kellywillauer1059]

Maybe drip the knife in water

[@capnmatt41]

That is the way I've been doing it for years and I'll revert to that. Thanks for mentioning it, wish I had thought to include it in the video.

[@michaelmorris1802]

what about air alone... would that cool the blade at all?

[@capnmatt41]

Interesting question, haven't considered it, don't know. Thanks for asking!

[@michaelmorris1802]

@@capnmatt41 The density of water is WAY higher, so you will need "more" air, but in theory you should be able to cool the metal with air. The juice may not be worth the squeez though in the end, as you are gonna put a lot of dust in the air.

[@johnfleisch-fresser6500]

The process of evaporation uses up heat. That is the cooling effect we perceive when air blows across our perspiring skin. If evaporation does not occur, the flow of air will have almost no cooling effect to the metal blade (I've given up trying to convince someone that the ceiling fan would have no cooling effect whatsoever on an empty house).

[@michaelmorris1802]

@@johnfleisch-fresser6500 I am aware of the physics behind evaporative cooling. Compressed air, which he is using, generally raises the moisture content and will still spray fine droplets of water on the metal. Where I live in Florida, before leaving the shop I often use compressed air to clean off my boots before going into the house. There is generally enough moisture in that air to darken my boots and sometimes enough to actually make them noticeably wet... and I run a "cheap" dryer on my compressor... you can generally drain up to a cup of water out of the dryer daily, if I'm using air tools much. I would agree that most people do not understand the ceiling fan, my daughter might be first in that line.

[@kenkiesow7928]

At the belt surface, there is already substantial airflow because of the motion of the belt. Any sort of "concentrated" airflow, at least around a typical 1x30 configuration, would send particulate matter throughout the room unless a very custom airflow management configuration was contructed.

[@kellywillauer1059]

What is your purpose of the water?