Drum Sander Belts.... Supplier?

Ok, I just learned the value of just ditching a sanding belt on the drumsander that keeps on burning. I'm going to need a supply of belts, where do you guys get yours?
I would guess buying in bulk and cutting them yourself is the way to go, shipping always kills me, so buy a roll of the stuff and cut them would be the way to go, no?
What grit do you use the most?


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I had moved toward only using a coarser grit since I kept ruining anything above 150, most of the time it was 120 that was on the drum. Seemed to me like buying bulk was a lot cheaper, but still it saved some money so I did that. The belts I liked best came from Woodowrker's Supply and Klingspor...though admittingly I didn't use so many that I have broad experience. But those 2 were far superior to the OEM (Delta, in my case).

I have used these and found them to work well:
http://www.industrialabrasives.com/

I have also purchased sanding supplies from this one but not drum sander belts:
http://www.supergrit.com/products/products_rolldrumsleeve-drumssleeves.asp

I use the Klingspor Aluminum Zirconia rolls on my Jet 16/32. They're way more expensive than the AlOx ones, but they last much longer, and seem to do a better job. I use the 120 grit pretty much exclusively, and then finish with hand sanding or an ROS.

fred hargis said:

I had moved toward only using a coarser grit since I kept ruining anything above 150, most of the time it was 120 that was on the drum. Seemed to me like buying bulk was a lot cheaper, but still it saved some money so I did that. The belts I liked best came from Woodowrker's Supply and Klingspor...though admittingly I didn't use so many that I have broad experience. But those 2 were far superior to the OEM (Delta, in my case).

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Thanks for the info Fred.

Robert Horky said:

I have used these and found them to work well:
http://www.industrialabrasives.com/

I have also purchased sanding supplies from this one but not drum sander belts:
http://www.supergrit.com/products/products_rolldrumsleeve-drumssleeves.asp

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Thanks Robert, it seems the Supergrit guys don't ship to Japan, I'll check out the other place.

Jim DeLaney said:

I use the Klingspor Aluminum Zirconia rolls on my Jet 16/32. They're way more expensive than the AlOx ones, but they last much longer, and seem to do a better job. I use the 120 grit pretty much exclusively, and then finish with hand sanding or an ROS.

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Thanks Jim, I have purchased sanding stuff from Klingspor before, and I liked them very much, two votes for Klingspor it is!

Cheers!

There was an old thread on SMC that talked about using the heavy duty Abranet rolls for this purpose. I haven't tried it yet, but when I run out of my current stock I'll give it a try. I like this stuff.
https://mirka-online.com/hd5bg00160...-3-4-in-x-33-ft-mesh-grip-roll-60g-qty-1.html

Ted Calver said:

There was an old thread on SMC that talked about using the heavy duty Abranet rolls for this purpose. I haven't tried it yet, but when I run out of my current stock I'll give it a try. I like this stuff.
https://mirka-online.com/hd5bg00160...-3-4-in-x-33-ft-mesh-grip-roll-60g-qty-1.html

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Sawmill what....?

Never heard of the place

Thanks, that looks interesting, I wonder if the holes in the mesh would fill up with stuff?
Can you flip it over when one side is worn out?

Cheers!

Stuart Ablett said:

Thanks, that looks interesting, I wonder if the holes in the mesh would fill up with stuff?

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Haven't tried it on the drum sander but for the ROS and hand sanding on the lathe the answer is no. Or at least "much less than regular sandpaper".

Stuart Ablett said:

T
Can you flip it over when one side is worn out?

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I believe that the strips are fuzzy on one side, cutty on the other.

Ryan Mooney said:

Haven't tried it on the drum sander but for the ROS and hand sanding on the lathe the answer is no. Or at least "much less than regular sandpaper".



I believe that the strips are fuzzy on one side, cutty on the other.

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OK, thanks!

Another vote for Klingspor. A vote against abranet - the huge advantage of abranet is that the dust can be sucked through the entire surface (especially if you use a special pad on your ROS that has many holes), but there is no suction at all on the drum sander.

On my Performax/Jet drum sander, it suggested using the diagonal measure to determine the angle cut on the bulk roll. I always struggled. When I got the 38 inch Woodmaster drum sander, I tried using the diagonal measure, and was amazed at how easy it was to cut the diagonal at each end. It took a long time for the limp to heal where I had kicked myself for being dumb, not believing the instructions.

I most often used 120 grit. 150 grit burned too often; it was easier to use a ROS. 220 grit seemed to load and burn before it got to the wood - useless. Coarser was only used to clean wood too ugly to use on the jointer/planer.