Belt sander paper question

[Fred]

For years my problem with my belt sander was the paper coming apart at the glue joint with not much use and not pushing it hard. It does get hot and glue fails. Is this normal?

[Duane Bozarth]

For cheap belts, yes.

For quality belts, not typical ime until the belts are quite old.

However, I had Kingspor tell me that they only warrant the adhesive used for a year. I had one set that had been stored for probably 10 years (they were sorta' lost in a move and forgotten) and they definitely showed the problem. For belts used within a couple years of purchase I've never had a problem.

[WillR]

Old paper?

--=20 Will R. Jewel Boxes and Wood Art

power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those=20 who have not got it.=94 George Bernard Shaw

[Bruce Barnett]

You may also want to look at graphite sanding plate upgrade. My metal underplate wore out, and I bought a graphite one for about $10-$20. It's suppose to help the belts run cooler.

p.s. I've never had that problem, even before I replaced the plate.

[Fred]

Thanks guys. I'll try not to buy a bunch of belts and store it for years like before.

[George]

Not to worry. New belts are butted, not overlapped, and use a different method to keep together. Two is enough for me, given delivery time.

[Duane Bozarth]

How belts are jointed depends wholly on the manufacturer and the belt--not all manufacturers use butt joints...

[Larry Jaques]

When I pulled my trusty (?) old B&D belt sandah out of the closet after maybe a decade of disuse, I put a new belt on it (NOS from my closet) and it ate the thing in seconds flat. I figured it was bad glue. I then put another one on and it ate that in a minute or so, but as I was removing it from the sandah, a disturbing icon caught my eye. Yes, that little arrow meant only one thing: it was a directional belt. I immediately asked myself "Why hadn't I seen that on the first one OR the second belt?" After putting the third one on properly and running it for half an hour, I decided that the glue was probably still OK on the rest of the belts.

FWIW, never push down on a sander. Let the weight of the machine work until it doesn't seem to be removing wood as well as you like, then change the abrasive belt/pad/sheet. Save the used sheets for hand sanding of a different finishing project.

You might also look into using a cabinet scraper or scraper plane to limit your use of the sanders. They leave a nicer surface and they don't put all that -dust- into the air.

[RobB]

I had the same problem--broke 2 belts in quick order after several years of not using the sander. New belts broke also. I checked the sanding plate (or platen) and found it to be slightly rusty. I cleaned that off with sandpaper, finishing with 600 grit wet-or-dry (purchased in the automotive section of Wal-Mart). No problems since then.

Bob Broach