Sanding Belts Source

Re: Sanding Belts Source *LINK*

John McGaw

I've always preferred Klingspor abrasives when they were available. They can be ordered online through their retail website. In a pinch, I've used whatever I could lay my hands on.


One Possible Belt Supplier

True Grit, Tampa FL NM

Buy in small quantities.....

kneale brownson

...new, unused belts that are years old will not hold together. Their adhesives fail.

Re: Buy in small quantities.....

Barry Irby

I second the buy in small quantities suggestion. A local place makes sanding belts and I stopped in an bought a lifetime supply for my 4 x 24 portable belt sander. After about a year they would just explode and shred themselves. I complained to them and they said "Oh yeah, they only last about a year." They seemed baffled by the idea I thought they should have marked them with a shelf life.

I buy them now from Industrial Abrasives.

Re: Sanding Belts Source

Pete in Holland MI

I generally get what I need from Menards.

You could look up an industrial supply house in your area. 6x48 is pretty common in industrial fields.

Re: Sanding Belts Source

Ray Mtn. Home Ar.

In a pinch I have fixed broken belts with some bias tape (from my wives sewing stuff) and super glue. It worked on my 1X42 belts. There is an explanation on youtube. Just google it.

Repair . . .

Yonak

Thanks for your repair suggestion, Ray. Unfortunately, these belts are so old they have sort of curled a bit at the joint so they go thump - thump and cause the work piece to jump. I guess I'll just buy some new ones in smaller quantities.

Re: Buy in small quantities.....

Yonak

Thanks for the suggestion, Kneale. Yeah, I bought these belts in quantity before I was aware of the shelf life issue. They're pretty old.

Industrial Abrasives

Yonak

Thanks for the suggestion of Industrial Abrasives, Barry. They have a line of belts called : "EVERLAST". Do you think that's true ?

Re : True Grit

Yonak

John, they have an aluminum oxide belt and a ceramic belt. Do you have a preference ?

P.S. Note to self : Next time you put "True-Grit" into the search engine, be sure to add "sanding belts".

Re: Klingspor

Yonak

John, it seems their belts are a good bit more expensive than the others. Do you think they are much superior ?

Re: Re : True Grit

John McGaw

I honestly can't say which sort they are. If pressed I'd guess brown aluminum oxide. I do have some blue zirconia belts but they are all 1" wide and are used for tool sharpening.

Re: Industrial Abrasives

Barry Irby

I buy half a dozen at a time, they seem to wear well and last a long time. Probably last me more than a year and have never had one fail by falling apart. I get the most use of ones that are about 80 grit. I do shaping and light stoke removal. Flushing up dovetails and other joints. Finer ones don't help much.

You should use sandpaper like you stole it. I don't. I leave it on the machine much too long.

Re: Industrial Abrasives - storage

Henry (Raleigh NC)

I believe I purchased a box of belts from them in a variety of grits - on a recommendation on WC. That was 7-10 years ago; who knows? These are not labeled Everlast.

I have stored these belts in the original box (that is somewhat curled up) in my basement (cool temps, humidity controlled) since then and I have, as recently as 3 weeks ago, installed another 'fresh' belt (6x48 belts). None of these have failed in my time using them, even after most of a decade of storage. Previous belts stored in teh the mostly uncontrolled environment of the shop have definitely been prone to 'premature failure' (i.e. instant failure upon installation?).

I am convinced that better storage would alleviate many issues we have - I know it has for me. Of course maybe Industrial Abrasives has the magic elixir, but since I haven't bought belts in more than 7 years, I haven't been able to compare to other suppliers (Klingspor's is local).

Henry

Thanks for the advice about storage, Henry.

Re: Klingspor

JL

I like Klingspor. But I really have used their belts for only one belt sander.

They have a shop in Hickory, NC. On the way back and forth to VA, I've stopped there. I've gotten their scrap deals (odds and ends of sandpaper belts from industrial machines) bags and been quite pleased with them.

Re: Klingspor

John McGaw

I cannot claim to have used enough sanding belts in my lifetime to make a claim that A is better than B is better than C is... I know that all of the Klingspor abrasives I've used have worked well. I spend so little money in that way that a bit of difference really makes on difference.