# Foley Belsaw 311 belt sander/grinder



## bassboy1

Figured what better place to ask about this than a bunch of knifemakers....

Anyway, I've ended up with a Foley Belsaw model 311.  1x42 belt, 8" disc sander.  Powered by a GE 1/2 horse, 3450 rpm motor.

It's fresh out of long term storage, so it is fairly dirty, and the machined table is rusty, as you'd expect.  Seems complete, other than the table for the belt.  Runs smoothly, doubt the bearings even need to be replaced.  Were I to keep it, making a new belt table wouldn't be an issue.

I'm most certainly not a knifemaker, but curious what is the general opinion of these units?  If it was brought back into clean, running shape, what sort of dollar value has it got?

I'm not yet sure if I'm going to hang onto it or sell it.  If I hung onto it, it would be for deburring or light shaping of more intricate parts that interfere with the shape of the 6x48 sander in my aluminum fabrication shop. 

Thanks!


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## John I. Shore

Not much value for a knife shop I don't think, that belt speed is what makes it less desirable….too fast, too much heat build, too quickly.  I have 6 disc grinders set up and the fastest one I run is 1800 rpm.

The 1x42 is too short for any serious stock removal, the belts would be eaten up way too quick to be cost effective. I have a couple 1x42's in the shop but they are variable speed and are seldom used.

Looks like a machine for wood workers. 

Have no idea of value of machine. Hope this helps, of course it's only one person's opinion.

John I.


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## sharpeblades

Ime with john no value in my shop.


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## bassboy1

Thanks!  That tells me what I need to know.  

I sometimes dabble in used machinery, but I don't usually deal in anything smaller than a Powermatic 14" bandsaw, or a Delta 6x48 belt sander, so this little thing is out of my league.  But, I recognized the name (it was in a trailer load of imported crap), and the price was right, so I picked it up.  I just wasn't sure if I should push it towards the knifemaking crowd, or the woodworker.  


I figured for that money, if I couldn't resell it, it would certainly have a place in my fab shop.  I run a business that generally does low quantity, high quality aluminum fabrication, and from time to time, need to do a little sanding or deburring on intricate parts that won't clear the housing on my 6x48 Delta.  I've currently got it listed on Craigslist, but am leaning towards just putting it to use in my shop.

Thanks for the help!


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## John I. Shore

I think it would work just fine for you in that capacity for belts I would check with Pop at Popsknifesupply.com or any of the other knife maker supply houses.  

You get one of them powermatic bandsaws let me know…..need one for the shop.

Good luck with it.

John I.


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## bassboy1

John I. Shore said:


> I think it would work just fine for you in that capacity for belts I would check with Pop at Popsknifesupply.com or any of the other knife maker supply houses.
> 
> You get one of them powermatic bandsaws let me know…..need one for the shop.
> 
> Good luck with it.
> 
> John I.


I've got two right now, sitting on a pallet in the corner of the shop.  Both of them need a little restoration work, but are complete.  I had planned on keeping both of them, as I have the space, and could conceivably find a use for them, but I've got enough other bandsaws that the second would be redundant.  Just last week I was thinking about letting go of the second one.  

With the way things are going, it may be later this summer or into the fall before I put the things together, but I'll make a note that you might be interested, and if I decide to sell the second one, I'll let you know.  

I grew up with a couple 14" Deltas, and while they are great saws, once I started playing around with some Powermatics, I decided I liked them better.  The main casting on those things is colossal - they are just a super rigid saw.  Fairly heavy for a 14" saw, but stout.  

Dawson


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## Anvil Head

>>If I hung onto it, it would be for deburring or light shaping of more intricate parts that interfere with the shape of the 6x48 sander in my aluminum fabrication shop. 

Would work well for this, but wouldn't look for it to be very satisfactory for knifemaking, as John stated. Lot of them get used but very frustrating to get good results on blades. Lot of makers have some variation of this size belt sander in their shops for little projects but most seem to have pretty good coating of undisturbed dust on them. I have seen several set up to be used for final sharpening including a leather stropping belt, but imagine we are talking slower speed units. Klingspor will custom fit you with the smaller better quality belts.


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