Out of curiosity, has anyone had problems with new but relatively old sanding belts failing at the seam? I hadn't used my 4x24 belt sander in quite some time but I had a stock of belts on hand. I had 4 Klingspor belts come apart at the seam within minutes... the belts were barely warm and the grit was not clogged. The joint strip separated from the belt itself. I have some Sungold belts of the same vintage and they stayed together.
Anyhow, anyone else run in to this problem?
John
There was a thread on this exact thing last Nov. Subject: Klingspor Sanding Belts / $29 for 30 belts (!?) Art
Just went back and found that thread... ignored it at the time as I don't do much sanding of wood and it had probably been 10-11 years since I used the belt sander! I'm a plane/scraper guy with wood and only use the belt sander for things like taking finish/paint off flat surfaces like cabinet doors and sections of floors... Wish I knew about the CA glue trick before now!
John
YES!!!! I bought several 'packs' of belts from them and hardly used my belt sander. When I did they seperated at the seam right away after only several minutes of use. I sent them back and complained. They sent me 1 new one to replace the 6 I sent in and told me it was "out of courtesy" and that the belts were over 8 years old. i didn't realize that they had a shelf life. So now I just buy em retail if I need some. Mail order isn't worth the hassle for something I don't use much.
"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news:da2dnetAK79_Ld3QnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:
------------------------------------------- Belts definitely have a shelf life.
Have experienced the same problem with some old belts given to me.
I only use 3x24, 24 grit belts since I'm using the B/S as an abrasive cutting tool.
Tried a few different brands, but not Klingspor, and finally found Pearl which worked well.
Bought 3 boxes/10/box (30 total) at a time which was a good price break.
About $10/box from memory.
Worked with a local hardware store.
They would use my order to make minimum orders with Pearl, a Canuck outfit with a warehouse here in Los angeles, so everybody was happy.
Lew
I was using the belt sander a lot in a renovation project when I bought the belts so I bought in bulk. I'll buy 'em a few at a time now that I know about the self life problem...
John
Funny, I've got some planes that are a good 60-70+ years old and they still work fine... wonder what the shelf life is on them? ;~)
John
I did and the answer made me blush. I hadn't noticed the arrow indicating proper belt direction. When I put another of the old ones on the -right- way, it is lasting well.
Some belts are bi-directional, others aren't. Remember to check!
-- Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman
------------------------------- Depends on the attached power supply.
Lew
"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message news:da2dnetAK79_Ld3QnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com...
JG:
I received a bounty of helpful answers re repairing broken belts on this newsgroup in the thread inaugurated on 7.16.10 under the heading "Belt Sander Belt Tape".
Thanks again to the very helpful folks in response.
Regards,
Edward Hennessey
New power supplies are a dime a dozen, but the planes sell for lots on eBay to nouveau Yuppies.
Plane lifetimes are measured in centuries...if kept dry.
-- Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman
They were definitely mounted correctly.... I think I've only had one bi-directional belt and it was a freebie that the vendor included with the belt sander when I bought it. I'm conditioned to look for the arrow!
BTW, the Sungolds are holding up just fine despite being a good decade old...
John
I haven't got anything radically new to add to previous discussion. I have the same problem and attribute it to keeping new belts beyond their usefull shelf life. Manufacturers don't seem willing to alert their customers to this problem. I agree with Garage Woodworks. Buy them in small quantities on an as needed basis. Retail cost should be less than throwing away unused but failed belts.
Joe G
Why throw away unused belts when you can easily glue them back together, good as new?
My 6x48" belts are well over 20 years old and they do fail. I "temporarily" glued one together hoping I could get through a small job I was doing without running out to buy belts. That was 6 months to a year ago and the damned belt has many hours on it, and works good as new. It seems it will wear out before it breaks...
Super Glue Gel, sold everywhere.
What? It's much easier to just staple them.
-- Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman
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