The community belts for the KMG have been removed. All of the belts showed signs of damage and are no longer safe to use. Also, people have been abusing the KMG and have not been using it properly. As one of the instructors for the machine I have attempted to address people’s lack of training and have gotten very rude and offensive responses. A fellow member ignored me and the chair for blacksmithing when we tried to address his improper use of the machine over the weekend. With that in mind the decision was made that there will be no more community belts. Those who are properly trained can bring their own belts up and use the machine. Hopefully this will help cut down on the unnecessary wear and tear on the machine
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Can you elaborate on the damaged belts and improper use?
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I’m all for the blacksmithing committee making their own decisions, but I would like to voice my opinion:
Ban the hell out of the troublemaker(s) and let the people who just need an occasional belt to use for 30s have them.
Of course, I don’t have my own belts, and I’m the guy who only uses it once in a blue moon, so I can understand if my opinion is weighted against pretty heavily lol.
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I strongly second this. I am an infrequent user but find the spare community belt to be useful. For those who can’t or won’t follow the rules. Send them packing.
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Maybe you and I can get some sneaky community belts and store them in our personal boxes lol.
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Yes! We can totally do this!
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I have no problem giving you some of the belts I stop using. Which is where most of the community belts came from. The ones that got thrown away got close to being unsafe to use anyways
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People bringing large welded frames to the kmg to grind their welds. I’ve also had someone use one of my polishing belt to grind paint away when I stepped away to get something to drink, ruining a 20 dollar belt. The belts left on the stand had gouges in them and very thin in some areas
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I can also order belts for people when I order mine. I get a bulk discount so if you’re interested, just let me know and we will work something out
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Tim, I would like to order some belts. Where do you get them from? I’ve only used the belt grinder a few times with course community belts to round edges or corners of mild steel. I figured the community belts were used donated belts because they all appeared very worn to me.
Would be interesting to know how many grits it takes to get to polishing stage. I’ve used mostly 36 grit 3m cubitron or Norton blaze flap wheels at home. They cut fast and last longer than the cheaper flap wheels.
If you are going to be at the space let me know and I’ll come in to pick 5-8ish belts and pay you. I’m not in a hurry, just want to put together a grinding belt kit so I have it ready.
Thanks
Randy
PS maybe we need a couple of lockable hanging rods so if someone is working on the belt grinder and in other areas they can keep their belts safe from abuse. It would be extremely annoying to have someone damage my personal belts. One hanger could be for community belts so occasional users would need to know the combination. Right now anyone can walk up and flip the power switch on.
I was pretty annoyed last week to find several die grinder stones in the welding area smeared with aluminum debris.
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I order most of my belts from trugrit. They have a good selection. As far as polish I have belts that go to 3000 grit. You want to be careful with them though. They will heat up the material quickly. I will be ordering belts in the next few days, so if you want to add to the order I can do that.
Lockable rods may work. We have also talked about getting rfid badge access set up for the KMG. But for now makers using their own belts is the best option
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I second this.
Metal shop and machine shop committees have a policy that any member who gives lip in situations like this are out on the spot.
Whilst blacksmithing is its own committee, given they share the space with metal shop I’d encourage incorporating it for both consistency and ensuring that safety and abuse is properly addressed.
We still have a person on an indefinite 86 on this rule in metal because they’ve refused to contact the committee to explain themselves. Most of the people have stopped the lip and just followed the rules. A few got the boot though have come back without any problems since
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I didn’t get his name and it’s hard to remember faces with masks. When I addressed abuse of the kmg in the past people have been understanding, this is the first time someone was rude and abrasive
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Tim,
These are the belts I want to get. If this is too much of a hassle I can order them.
Thanks
Randy
| 2 x 72 - 120 R980P Blaze Plus Ceramic | $7.80 | × 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 x 72 - 24 R980P Blaze Plus Ceramic | $10.15 | × 1 |
| 2 x 72 - 36 980P Blaze Plus Ceramic | $9.60 | × 1 |
| 2 x 72 - 36 R821 Norzon Blue Fire | $5.35 | × 1 |
| 2 x 72 - 60 R980P Blaze Plus Ceramic | $7.80 | × 1 |
Belts for KMG? As someone who has never used anything in a blacksmithing arena, I need to ask…
What is a KMG? What kind of belt are we talking about? Like sanding? or are we talking about a belt one wears?
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DMS tool wiki is a good place to start.
Under Blacksmithing -
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Tools#Blacksmith_Committee
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My first thought was some form of safety belt. Like what is worn by people who work in a warehouse to save your back. That was why I asked.
I don’t think you will need a 24 grit belt. 36 grit is more than aggressive enough
Thanks for the advice, drop 24 then.