Supplier for Wide Belt Sanding Belts???

[Keith Weber]

I finally found a wide belt sander that was within my financial and power consumption capabilities at an auction a few days ago. I also managed to "win" the auction (read - I was willing to pay more than any of the other bidders). So, while I wait for my wide belt to be shipped, I thought I'd look for sanding belts. Wow! I might have gotten a good discount on the sander, but, at full price, those sanding belts are expensive!!

Anyone care to share a decent supplier that has good belts at a reasonable price?

BTW, the sander is a Safety Speed Cut 3760 with a 15hp, 3-phase motor. It uses 37"x60" belts. I'd also love to hear from anyone that's used a Safety Speed Cut. They're made in the USA, but the new prices aren't really out of this world like some of them. My choices were limited, as I didn't want something with 7.5 or 10hp (which I would think would be underpowered), but 20hp would have been bigger than my shop electrics could have handled.

Thanks!

Keith

[dave toney]

I have purchased from Klingspor and been pleased with their products
http://www.klingspor.com/products/KlgprBlts.htm
This company seems to have good prices.
http://www.buysandpaper.com/servlet/the-Wide-Sanding-Belt/Categories
Enjoy your sander!
Dave toney

[Rick Lizek]

Safety Speedcut acquired the sander from Halsty. Best place for abrasives is www.industrialabrasives.com Lowest quantity and price for custom belts.

[Brian Ross]

Keith... I have a couple of 3M belts for my wide belt that are purple in color and the joint is a Butt Joint as opposed to some that have a lap joint where they are joined. This overlap will creat a bump as the belts sand. I have not used the wide belt long enough to tell you how they wear. I have the same type of belt on my edge sander and use it a fair amt and has been on a year and is still in good shape. The purple belt is more than the others but is supposed to last 2 times longer. I believe 3M make a cheaper belt also.

Brian

[Rick Fisher]

I like the Safety Speed cut wide belt sanders.. they seem strong and simple.. Congrats on the machine ..

I have been using SIA belts but am switching .. the biggest hassle is quantities.. Most suppliers want you to buy a minimum of 5 of each grit.. The SIA belts burn too easily.. At first I thought it was me.. a buddy with the same size sander split a box with me and immediately went back to the Fuji Star belt.. simply due to burning..

If your careful, the belts last a long time. So while they are expensive, they tend to seem cheap when you consider the time savings ..

[Scott T Smith]

Keith, I asked this same question on Woodweb when I acquired my EMC WBS a few years back. The bulk of the professionals recommended Klingspor's products, so I purchased some. I've been using them for several years w/o any problems, sometimes running the same belt for 6+ hours at a stretch for multiple days in a row.

If you purchase 10 belts or more (mixed grits is ok), you'll get an additional discount from them. The belts are made to order, so you don't have to worry about premature glue degradation.

Their engineers recommended their CS308 product for my needs (sanding hardwood - primarily quartersawn oak). The only time that I've burned one was when mikstakenly I tried to take way to deep of a cut with a finer grit (and then I was able to clean the buring off). By "too deep of a cut", I'm talking in the range of a 1/8" pass on a 120 grit belt; something that would probably burn anything. I can make the same 1/8" pass with 60 grit w/o burning.

I highly recommend that you acquire some type of belt cleaner - it will pay for itself. I use this one from Grizzly: http://www.grizzly.com/products/Pro-Stik-15-x-20-Cleaning-Pad/H2845

Uneeda Enterprizes is a good source for replacement graphite for the platen, should you need some.

[Keith Weber]

Thanks, everyone.

I'll check out some of those suppliers. I noticed that the Klingspor belts were listed as 36x60 (as opposed to 37x60, which the SafetySpeedCut website lists as the proper belt size for the machine. Is it possible to use a slightly narrower belt, or is this a no-no?

Brian brought up a point about joints. I saw one website listing about 8 or so different joints. Obviously, a straight-overlapped belt is going to leave a bump, but there's many other types that are bump-free, but they have a shaved lap with no abrasive at the joint. How do these compare to a butt joint, and what type do most people use?

Scott also mentioned glue joints, which I've read is an issue. As a hobbyist that won't be using the sander enough to keep wearing belts out rapidly, I am concerned about having 10 expensive belts of varying grits on hand and then finding out one day that they've all gone bad. Is this a common problem, and if so, how long do you get out of a seldom-used belt?

Keith

[J.R. Rutter]

Are people here using cloth or paper belts?

I've been using SIA paper for several years with good results. For a typical wide belt, you probably only need 3 grits: coarse, medium, and fine. On my 2-head, I run 120/180 95% of the time and switch to 60 for planing and to refresh the feed belt. Above 180 is more of a polishing action, which can sometimes cause issues with staining. 180 cuts well, and is easy to ROS out as needed. Joints are scarfed overlap. I have used the shaved abrasive joint paper (a strip of bare backing over the lap joint) on my edge sander abrasive and didn't like it.

My local Sia rep does not have very good service, so I may shop around on my next order.

As for running narrower belts, it is not a problem except that it will wear shallow grooves at the edge of the belt over time on the rubber drum and the graphite platen.

[Scott T Smith]

Thanks, everyone.

I'll check out some of those suppliers. I noticed that the Klingspor belts were listed as 36x60 (as opposed to 37x60, which the SafetySpeedCut website lists as the proper belt size for the machine. Is it possible to use a slightly narrower belt, or is this a no-no?

Brian brought up a point about joints. I saw one website listing about 8 or so different joints. Obviously, a straight-overlapped belt is going to leave a bump, but there's many other types that are bump-free, but they have a shaved lap with no abrasive at the joint. How do these compare to a butt joint, and what type do most people use?

Scott also mentioned glue joints, which I've read is an issue. As a hobbyist that won't be using the sander enough to keep wearing belts out rapidly, I am concerned about having 10 expensive belts of varying grits on hand and then finding out one day that they've all gone bad. Is this a common problem, and if so, how long do you get out of a seldom-used belt?

Keith

Keith, Klingspor's commercial division will custom fabricate any width/length that you need. All of my belts are cloth backed.