sanding belt question

[anthony wall]

hi to you all from thailand, my question is how or what do you use to clean your sanding belts i am getting quite a collection of clogged up belts that are too good to throw away but i cannot buy the cleaner blocks over here so am looking for suggestions for everyday objects /materials that could be used ,specialised items are just not available here. thanks for any suggestions you may come up with

[Mike Schuch]

wire brush

[Walter Plummer]

Try the bottom of an old athletic shoe. It has worked for me before.

[anthony wall]

i tried the sole of a trainer ,it worked but not great but thanks anyway now i need to find a wire brush it sounds like a sensible way to go .now why didn't i think of that,the old brain cells must be disappearing faster than i thought ,thanks for the suggestion mike

[Harvey Pascoe]

I thought of that but don't you think the wire brush dulls the belt? After using it I did not notice much improvement, some but not much.

My experience is that cheap belts are not worth what I pay for them as they clog up and dull very quickly. I go through a lot of them, its one of my most used machines.

Overloading the workpiece is another issue. Using too much force causes any belt to load up too quickly so I try to let the belt do the work at its own pace rather than pushing hard. I'm talking about a stationary belt sander here.

[David Werkheiser]

I spray "Simple Green" detergent on wide belts and use a power washer, it adds some life to the belts.

[Joe Angrisani]

.....how or what do you use to clean your sanding belts?.....i cannot buy the cleaner blocks over here so am looking for suggestions for everyday objects /materials that could be used....

Synthetic wine corks work, too, if that's something you can find in your area.

[anthony wall]

I spray "Simple Green" detergent on wide belts and use a power washer, it adds some life to the belts.
sounds promising so i just put a half dozen belts in a solution of washing liquid and water to soak overnight , will tell you tomorrow how they clean up

[Brian Hinther]

Klingspor has some good cleaners: http://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/BB421DC8/mac/qryitems.mac/itemDisplay?lenSgDsc=6BLTSTKBELT%20CLEANING%20STIC KS&qryType=GRPSG&group=SANDAC

[anthony wall]

well after soaking the belts all night i checked them this morning and found them almost clean,a quick brush with a nylon scrubbing brush and they are as good as new.this is the cleaning method of choice from now on thanks dave for the idea

[Don Selke]

Anthony: I use that method with my drum sander belts and my 6 X 48 belts as well and it has worked for me for years.

[anthony wall]

hi brian thanks for the link ,if klingspor would actualy send the items to thailand the shipping and import tax would make them very expensive

[anthony wall]

hi joe ,over here wine is available and so i assume a lot comes with with synthetic corks but i dont actualy drink wine or any alcohol for that matter(allergy to alcohol) sad but true ,so wine corks would be more expensive than new belts

[dave toney]

I have cleaned my wide belts that get pitch on them for many years.
Use a full strength cleaner, scrub with a stiff nylon brush and rinse.
409, fantastik, or any multi purpose cleaner will do.

[anthony wall]

thanks harvey ,i didnt get round to trying the wire brush as the soaking works great ,after i had so many clogged belts i bought 5 of a different make same price but the shop was a lot closer to home,each one lasted all of 5 minutes before coming apart at the glued seam so its not always cheap belts that fail

[Harvey Pascoe]

I have cleaned my wide belts that get pitch on them for many years.
Use a full strength cleaner, scrub with a stiff nylon brush and rinse.
409, fantastik, or any multi purpose cleaner will do.

I"m going to try that. The idea of washing them seems absurd, but I've got a lot of old belts saved so what the heck.