Belt sander grit for fast shaping?

[Peter G Denmark]

Hello.

I've used cheap aluminium-oxide sanding belts bought locally on my 533x75mm Bosch belt sander. The lowest grit they had was 60, which i have used exclusively.

Now i'm looking to stock up on some zirconia belts, but since shipping is pretty steap, i want to buy in bulk (like 50 belts). So i was wondering which grits to get.

I do a lot of squaring, and shaping of 8+ mm stock, and i am looking to remove as much metal as possible fast. Not polishing to a mirror shine, or sharpening tools (very often)

The place i'm getting them from carry everything from 16 to 150 grit. But which to get? I'm affraid the 16 grit belt will dull to fast, or am i wrong? I don't mind getting a small assortment of belts, but which belts would i get the most ude from (and therefore the belt i should by most of).

Thanks

 

[lincs1963]

Have you tried abrasivesformetals.co.uk ? They will make belts of any size and don't look to be bad prices.

 

[marcros]

For my proedge, I have used 60 grit ceramic rather than zirconium. I used b and d abrasives.

 

[Peter G Denmark]

Thank you for the info. I spurced at place that sold the belts for around £1 a piece, and i sttled on 40 and 60 grit belts, and then a couple of 16 and 24 grit for quick finish removal.

 

[Hitch]

We use 24g zirconia in our linishers at work.
Great for material removal, but a bit coarse for deburring nicely.