Bosch 1278VS mini belt sander belt problems

[Ed]

I purchased a Bosch 1278VS sander and am having problems with the Bosch Sanding belts. The belts overheat, the glue on the belt weakens and they break. This happens after just a few min of use and renders the belt useless even though they are nowhere near being used up. The cost quickly adds up.

It seems that just the friction of the belt on the sander is enough to heat it up to the breaking point. I'm not sure if this is a defect in the sander or the belts but the tool is almost useless to me like this.

Are there any belts out there that will work on this piece of... equipment?

[Preston Andreas]

I am wondering if there are so few sanders sold that the sanding belts rest on the shelves too long and the glue is no longer viable. Any sanding belts that are too old will come apart at the glue line with just a little use. Maybe there is someway to check the date of production on the sanding belts. Perhaps contact Bosch to find out if there is a code on the box.

My brother has this sander and has not commented on such a problem. He is the only person I know that has this sander. That is why I wondered if the belts sit too long.

Preston

[Bridger]

3m makes good belts. the purple ones are pricy, but very good quality.

klingspoor makes a good belt for a bit less money.

[Ed]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately it looks like Bosch is the only supplier for belts this size. I saw on Amazon.com two reviews of the belts that mentioned the exact same problem. I wrote Bosch and have yet to get a reply. I'll let you know if they have a solution but if they don't I'd probably advise against purchasing this product...

[mderoncey]

There are many abraisive manufacturers that will make custom belts t any specs. You can have high quality belts made to order for usuall less than retail belts. The only draw back is you may have to order b the dozen. just do a search on abraisve manufacturers.

Ed Wrote:

[Mugen]

replying to Ed, Mugen wrote: Ed I have the same problem it didnt matter new old those suckers ripped every time. The work around that helps is dont clamp down all the way with the lever. Youll find the belts last 20x longer