Repairing sanding belts

[Hoserman]

I have an old Craftsman 4 X 21" belt sander and when I got it, I looked around for bulk quantity belts. I finally found Klingspor abrasives, and they had bulk sales. I bought a large box of assorted belt grits and haven't used it for quite a few years. Recently I had a project that the sander would be the weapon of choice for me. I grabbed a new belt and put it on the sander and after tracking the belt I started sanding and the belt broke at the seam in less than 30 seconds. Put another one on and the same thing. I read that the seam tape will deteriorate after time. I'm going to try and repair them. Have any of you here done this, and how was your success rate.

 

[jimh406]

I haven't repaired one, but I guess I'd try good duct tape. I don't think the seam would be an issue, but it's just a guess.

 

[ken erickson]

I have two 2 x 72 inch belt grinders and have purchased lots of belts. My understanding is that the tape used is both pressure and heat applied. Also a very thin tape that will not affect the sanding quality of a thick butt joint bouncing and loading up .

My guess is that duct tape will not be the answer.

I would bite the bullet and purchase new belts and use the old ones by cutting them in strips etc and using manually or backed up by a sanding block.

 

[chim]

Had Hoserman's problems and used Ken's solution

 

[Old Machinist]

I tried gluing some small belts together with no success.

 

[imnukensc]

I've got about 150, 1X42 belts I bought several years ago down in the non climate controlled shop. Yeah, they last about 30 seconds. Time for new belts.

 

[Flintknapper]

I tried gluing some small belts together with no success.

Same thing here. Had a bunch of bulk purchased belts come apart. Never found an adhesive that would hold up more than a minute at most. Just threw them out and ordered new (in smaller quanities).

 

[Sawdust&Shavings]

I have an old Craftsman 4 X 21" belt sander and when I got it, I looked around for bulk quantity belts. I finally found Klingspor abrasives, and they had bulk sales. I bought a large box of assorted belt grits and haven't used it for quite a few years. Recently I had a project that the sander would be the weapon of choice for me. I grabbed a new belt and put it on the sander and after tracking the belt I started sanding and the belt broke at the seam in less than 30 seconds. Put another one on and the same thing. I read that the seam tape will deteriorate after time. I'm going to try and repair them. Have any of you here done this, and how was your success rate.

Sorry to hear your Kingspor sanding belts are failing, as a woodworker, I’ve been buying all of my sanding needs from Klingspor for decades and belts I bought in bulk 3 deacades ago are still working fine for me (3x21, 1x42, 6x48, etc.).

 

[Lil Foot]

I have heard of people using that carpet seam tape you melt with an iron to repair large sanding belts, but I have no personal experience with this method.
Seems like it would be labor intensive & messy.

 

[Yooper]

This is what I would try: https://www.mcmaster.com/8127A81

Amazing stuff!

 

[Kennyd4110]

Sadly, they may be junk now, or dedicated to be used by hand. Belts have a shelf life, the adhesives let go after a long time in storage.

A YouTuber named ‘this old Tony’ recently did a video trying various methods to fix belts, all failed. I myself have tried too, to no avail.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Been doing wood stuff for years and any old belt fails in no time at all.
I personally have not found any adhesive or tape that will hold up.
They become lathe sanding strips.

 

[Hoserman]

Thanks for all the replies. I will bite the bullet and get some new ones. I'll use these old belts for hand sanding.