Norton 3x21 50grit Sanding Belt Failures

[Jay Pique]

Purchased a 5 pack at HD the other day, and broke 4 of them this evening in about an hour. All breaks were at the seam, and the tape is intact, but has delammed from one side. The belts are not marked for direction, but I made sure I ran different belts in different directions after the second break. I also made sure that there were no foreign objects (nail heads, screws, etc...) protruding from the surface. No luck.

Are these just shitty belts (they *were* the cheapest) or is there something I may be doing wrong? I've looked to see if there is a feed problem with the sander itself (PC325VS) and there doesn't appear to be one.

JP

************************* Buy cheap, and you'll weep.

[George M. Kazaka]

Norton IMHO makes a good belt and in some types better than others, Most belts are Gauranteed not to break at the seam, so i would take them back to HD and say "whats up" If they do not back it up find Nortons web site and pich a bitch.

[Phisherman]

Return them. I noticed that when the sander back plate gets hot the belt is more likely to break. I like to give the belt sander a rest after 10 minutes of sanding to cool down.

[Jay Pique]

Yep - HD will replace/exchange/refund for them. Also, they price-matched against Amazon.com for the sander. HD had it at $169 and they sold it to me for $154 less 10% or $149. Not bad I hope.

JP

[Jay Pique]

Egads - I personally don't mind a break now and then, but I certainly wouldn't want to be paying someone to rest every 10 minutes!

Anyone producing seamless belts out there?

JP

[Greg O]

I beat that price! Bought one last summer at a pawn shop, looked like new, $35! I about choked when I saw the price as most pawn shops list items at full new retail, and negotiate down from there! Greg

[Steve Knight]

norton belt suck wood dust. they don't hold up well and are overpriced. I have compared them to a couple brands I can get my hands on. I am talking the blue zirconia top of the line belts. I get 1/4 to 1/2 more use out of a cheep imported belt that cost less then 1/2 the cost of a norton belt. the belts have sat around too long is why the joint failed.

[Steve Knight]

graphite pad will help this a lot.

[Steve Knight]

I guess. I don't have a problem with seams on my belts. I get my sanding needs form A & H abrasives 18008316066 the prices are great they ship the same day if you order in the morning and they can make about anything. the sleeves for my inflatable drums are dirt cheep and I get them in any grit or type of paper I want. same with pretty much all of my belts.

[George M. Kazaka]

Although I said That Norton was a good a belt I have not bought any for years and i mean years, The most over rated sandpaper on the market is 3M I buy a case of 3x 24 belts which is 50 belts and as long as they are less than a buck a belt I will buy them, they generally have no name on them other than the distributer that I buy them from. I haven't had a seam break in so long I can't remmeber when it was and believe me that belt sanding laminates it tortuous to a belt sander. And yes if they are old stock the paper dry's out and the belts get brittle and the let go at the seam.

[Jay Pique]

Thanks for the info. I'll be trying some different brands for sure. HF has 'em cheap, maybe I'll give them a whirl.

JP

[Jay Pique]

Noted. Gracias.

JP

[Steve Knight]

yep norton and 3m really suck anymore. sometimes it pays to get high quality and sometimes it does not. when working metal I find cheep is good enough. when working wood getting blue zirconia is the only way to go for speed and durability.

[Jay Pique]

Heh - just a quick update. Went back to HD with the broken belts and confidently strolled up to the returns desk. After explaining what happened, the *young man* behind the counter told me that the only way they could have broken was because the "tension on the wheels was too high". "What?" , I asked.... "You know - the tension between the two roller thingies is too high - that's what's breaking them". "Hmmm....that's pretty odd in light of the fact that other belts seem to work fine. Plus, I was in here the other day and the woman said to just bring them up here and you'll exchange them. "

LSS, the kid said that since I had "used" all of them, he wasn't authorized to take them back and I'd have to go talk to someone in tools to "see if there's anything we can do". I gave the kid my best "you're a dumbass and you don't even know it" look and went back to Tools. They were sorta reluctant at first, until they called some mystery person on the phone and then they just let me swap them out (for the same brand/grit). The new ones have worked fine.

I'm not a professional contractor or anything, but if I was and some punk kid started to lecture me on tool usage I might have taken serious offense.

JP

********************* Sure to be doing my lungs serious damage.....

[Phisherman]

Just assert yourself, be polite, never use foul language, and 99% of the time you'll get what you want. One trick that works is to complain using a loud voice Saturday morning when lots of customers are in the store. It's a win-win situation. I've used Norton belts--they work, but they are not top quality.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 15:47:36 GMT, Phisherman brought forth from the murky depths:

Knowing precisely what you want out of the discussion beforehand helps immensely, too. I write down all pertinent info available to me, what I expected, what I got, and why I'm displeased. I take that into the store with me if needed. Lists show the people we are dealing with that we are organized and have been thinking about this problem for quite some time. That's intimidating to many of them, a point in our favor.

If you do that, make sure you say the right things. I've heard total idiots complaining at the top of their lungs because they bought the wrong product and modified it before realizing it. Those of us in line all stood there smiling and shaking our heads at the guy and cheering the clerk who was having to absorb the discharge.

-- Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Turkey and Drive --