Re-gluing sanding belts

Tony Baideme

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Honolulu, Hawaii
Hi gang,

Not really sure if this is the place to post this question, so if the mods want to move it, please do.

I have four types of belt sanders, one 6"x48" Craftsman, one 1"x42" Delta, one 3/4"x21" air sander, & one 3"x24" Rockwell belt sander, for each of which I have purchased belts. Now it seems when I go to use these various sanders, the belts keep breaking apart at the glued joint. The belts are still like new, just the joints are separating. :dunno:

I have tried CA glue, but that is too stiff and the joint breaks again.

Belts are expensive, and I need to use what I have, if I can. Any advice will be appreciated.

Help! :huh:

Aloha, Tony
 
Maybe some kind of contact cement?

Who did you buy the belts from? Maybe you should contact the makers and ask them what to do, there could have been a batch of bad belts?

Or at least they should be able to suggest a glue.
 
I know that this may seem a silly question to ask but with some of the belts I have used in the past they have arrows as belts are directional and if they go the wrong way they tend to come apart at the glue joint. Are they on the right way?
 
i`ve never had any luck trying to re-glue belts....seems as though age/humidity affects the glue so i don`t try to stock to many.
old busted belts are good for the lathe:eek:
 
All good input so far. You might... try keeping one belt in the refrigerator from brand-new until you use it, just to see if it's the humidity that's getting to the joint. If the manufacturer has a big name, you might contact them & see if they either have more suggestions or will outright replace your belts as defective. Do check the arrows on the back - the arrows need to point in the direction of belt travel.

The only other thing I can offer is looking at the platen behind each of the belts - if the belt is catching on a sharp platen edge, it may peel the belt apart from the inside out.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a belt unglue itself... I've worn quite a lot of belts completely out, till they're smooth (I pinch pennies till you can see light through 'em), but never had one come apart that way. Rip lengthwise, yes - but not come apart.
 
Tony,
I had a similar issue recently with Klingspor belts. I contacted the company and they confirmed that the belts have a shelf life of about 2 years. Needless to say, my belts were older than that.

I haven't tried it, but maybe some sort of strapping tape (with the strands in it) might work. Most of my belts were originally put together with tape.

FWIW, Wes
 
Thanks Stu, Drew, Tod, Tim & Wes.

I will try finding the manufacturers and ask. Good suggestion, Stu. :D

Yup Drew, Lap joint belts have arrows, so the joint does not catch on the platen. I make sure I have them correctly installed. :thumb:

Tod & Wes, I had heard that the shelf life of belts is not at all too long. :huh: If I save my broken belts for my lathe work, I will have to live to be 100 (only 31 and 1/2 more years) and I still might have a few left. :rofl: Wes, I am thinking that the tape used to join these belts looks a lot like fiberglas strapping tape. I wonder if that adhesive would be strong enough? Got to try that one. :dunno:

Tim, I never thought of refrigerating a new one to compare. Good tip to try. Yes, I have made sure all surfaces the belts contact are smooth and free of burrs and such. No catches, until the belt starts coming apart. (I actually did hear one start :eek: and turned the sander off quickly, to find that it was indeed only the glue letting go. No tearing, no destruction of the joint tape) :doh:

I got another sguuestion from another forum to try mylar tape. Maybe? I am also wondering if the joints might be held together by a heat activated adhesive. :dunno:

Lots more to look into.

Thanks and Aloha, Tony
 
Thanks Bryan,

I've been thinking that the "tape" used on the joints of the belts I have (which looks like a material that could be nylon) were possibly attached with a heat activated adhesive. :dunno:

I'll have to check somewhere for the knee patch material and try it. You didn't say how well it worked for you though????::huh:

Aloha, Tony
 
Thanks Bryan,

I've been thinking that the "tape" used on the joints of the belts I have (which looks like a material that could be nylon) were possibly attached with a heat activated adhesive. :dunno:

I'll have to check somewhere for the knee patch material and try it. You didn't say how well it worked for you though????::huh:

Aloha, Tony
Never came apart.I used the whole patch, trimming off the over hang. Sewing store/ fabric store should have them, even walmart should sell iron on patches.I got mine at the local corner store. I should add that that was 20 years ago, maybe they don't have such things now.
 
I should add that that was 20 years ago, maybe they don't have such things now.

Oh you betcha - they have them still. With a 7 year old boy, I can vouch for the patches they sell at Walmart. He manages to blow holes in every brand of jeans out there (even Toughskins).:(

The key is to preheat the surface, then iron them on. I have not had one patch let loose yet. Interesting solution; I wouldn't have thought of them for belts.:thumb:

Wes
 
Buy better belts. I use solely 3M abrasives. I buy them because they're made in Minnesota, or at least by a company owned in Minnesota. Moral of the story I've never had one come apart.
 
Hi Karl,

I too believe in 3M products, but I think they would have the same problem, with age. How long do you keep your belts? I don't have any (at this time) but have used them before. They never got old enough to do what is happening to the belts I have now (which are Norton & other brands that I don't recall right now) These are not cheap brand belts, but they are not fresh. The abrasive is good and lasted a long time on the belts I got to use before these started coming apart. The actual belt itself is not in question, just the splice adhesive. I am trying to find a good glue to work on this application. It only has to be quite flexible, and have very strong shear strength. (Not too much to ask for?:dunno:)

Thanks all, for the suggestions. I'll be trying most of the good ones.

Aloha, Tony
 
Tony,
I had a similar issue recently with Klingspor belts. I contacted the company and they confirmed that the belts have a shelf life of about 2 years. Needless to say, my belts were older than that.

I haven't tried it, but maybe some sort of strapping tape (with the strands in it) might work. Most of my belts were originally put together with tape.

FWIW, Wes


Two years? Interesting. I never had a separation problem like that until recently with my 1"X42" belt sander/grinder. Yep, the belts are over two years old. They normally last a long time in use so I never consumed my supply on hand. What should we do? Buy only one at a time from Lowe's or HD instead of a quantity at lower price from Klingspore?
 
I've tried, and never had good luck putting them back together. I now will only buy a sanding belt if I plan to use it soon. Belts over a couple of years old will almost certainly fail when you try to use it. I have a few pieces of 3/4" plywood about the width of the belts that I insert in out-of-date belts and use them as de-fuzzing/de-burring sanding sticks. This is the only way that I've been successful in making use of them without their seam failing.

Charley
 
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