On 12/17/2018 4:57 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
As my study of blacksmith practices goes on , I find I'm probably
going to be doing some metal removal with my belt sander . It's a pretty
nice P-C variable speed unit , 3x21 with a dust bag - which I will
remove while grinding anything ferrous . I burned more than one bag up
while working in the cabinet shops , just takes one unexpected nail .
I'm now wondering if the more expensive zirconia belts are that much
better than the standard Al oxide belts I use for wood , or if what I
have is going to work . ISTR that the ones for wood neither work nor
last well when used on steel , but it's been a while and they may have
improved since I last used them for that . I'm looking for
recommendations ...


I have some Zirconia belts for my 1x30. For most things I leave them in
the drawer, but when I need to really remove some material, particularly
on a little harder steel, they are what I reach for first.