What brand 3x21 sanding belt that doesn't break prematurely?

[mike sato]

I've never had a belt come apart either. I've been using the Mirka belts sold by Amazon, on the Ridgid OSS. Lately, I've been doing bandsaw boxes, so they do get a workout.

I checked Mirka belts on amazon and wow! Customer reviews are: 5 stars=91%, 4 stars=3%, 3 stars=3%, 2 stars=3%, 1 star=0%. Outstanding! Many reviews mention that these belts last without breaking.

It was funny that one 5 star review said: "I had previously bought diablo brand 80 grit and It didn't take much for them to rip at the seam. ...snip..." This mirrors my experience. The belts I have now are Diablo brand and they are breaking.

I'm going to order some 80 and 120 grit, 3x21 inch Mirka belts and see how long they last. Looks pretty good and I'm encouraged.

Thanks for sharing,
Mike

[mike sato]

I have belts from Industrial Abrasives in Reading PA. on the small Porter Cable belt sander and 6 X 48 machine. I haven't had one break yet and some are several years old. They are stored in a basement shop so temp. and humidity are pretty stable.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Industrial Abrasives belts not breaking. I'm going to try the Mirka brand first but will keep your post in mind in case it's needed in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

[mike sato]

I've had belts that I'm pretty sure I bought at ACE Hardware several years ago come apart. And not from use. The glue on the strip of tape that holds the joint together seemed to just dry up and the belts came apart when I took them out of the packaging. I had 2 packages of different grits and each had 2 belts. All 4 belts came apart without even being used. I remember reading something about this issue a couple of years ago when this happened to me but don't recall the details.

Ouch! Well maybe coming apart without being used is better than having to take the time to mount and track the belts only to have them break in a couple of minutes.

Thanks,
Mike

[Curt Harms]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Industrial Abrasives belts not breaking. I'm going to try the Mirka brand first but will keep your post in mind in case it's needed in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

Mirka is good stuff too. I have some Mirka ROS discs and 1" metal sharpening belts. No problems.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Thanks to post that. I had the same experience recently when I tried to use B&D belts I had stocked 15 years ago. They simply broke at glue joint after a few seconds of use. After the fifth break I trashed the complete lot of belts... I replaced them by (new) Norton belts. They are great... so far.

Once again, thank you to share your experience as well all the other posters.

[Marc Jeske]

Some years ago, I bought about 20 3x21 belts at Sears, Craftsman labeled.

Used about 10 of them NO problems, worked great.

The other 10 ended up stored in a Texas hot humid garage for 5 years.

When I finally came across them I began to use them.

Every one of the 10 failed at the glue joint within like 10 seconds.

I now store my back stock in the AC'd house.

Just my experience. Marc

[Bruce Wrenn]

Contact Coleman over at Klingspor, and he will give you the "low down" on sanding belts.

[Ray Newman]

I run a 25+ year old "Tried and True" Delta 31.730 12" disc/6x48" belt sander combination machine. Real Beast that does not bog down, but if the belt becomes too hot, too overloaded, I apply too much pressure, it will "let go." Found that a light touch and keeping the belt clean really helps.

[Rick Potter]

I have also had old B&D belts let go without using them. They were at least 10 years old, from I believe, Wal Mart. I am sure they just dried out at the tape.

[Curt Harms]

I run a 25+ year old "Tried and True" Delta 31.730 12" disc/6x48" belt sander combination machine. Real Beast that does not bog down, but if the belt becomes too hot, too overloaded, I apply too much pressure, it will "let go." Found that a light touch and keeping the belt clean really helps.

Keeping the belt clean helps for a few reasons, not least of which is they cut better longer.

[Dave Lehnert]

The Shopsmith branded belts sold at Lowe's are a very good quality. But I cant speak from experience on how they hold up with age.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shopsmith-3...dpaper/4747365