who makes belt sander belts that don't break?

[Travis Conner]

I bought a pack of 4x24" belt sander belts a few years back and they all broke within 5 minutes of using them right at the seam where it's connected. Anyone know a good brand of belt sander belts? Today I used the sander for about 30 seconds and it popped which reminded me of this.

[Warren Lake]

its been on here someone posted Klingspor last a year, I checked 3M for the 3 x 21 and they said three years might have been five ill go with 3. Then I have stroke sander belts 20 years old 3M and they are fine and were stored in an attic and so tortured. No issues.

Not sure if anyone has carefully lined things up and reglued with some type of suitable glue otherwise just keep them for rougher hand stuff. There will be guys on here that know lots about glues and maybe there is a suitable one, I guess heat is a concern.

[Mel Fulks]

Be sure to look at the direction arrow. I like the Klingspor stuff, but it's best to buy any brand in 6 to 12 month quantities.
Not "life time supply"

[Peter Kelly]

If you want to splurge and aren't sure just how frequently you'll use them, 3M Regalite belts are about the best. I've got a stockpile of them that are certainly older than 5 years, no breakage problems. Otherwise the red Freud Diablo belts from Homey D are really good and not terribly expensive. I'd avoid Harbor Fright and the no-name import ones, cheap abrasives don't last real long.

[Travis Conner]

They broke when they were brand new from the store. It's just been a few years since i've used the belt sander.

[Mikail Khan]

A family member used to work for 3M selling industrial abrasives. Sander Belts have a shelf life. Buy what you plan to use immediately. I have not had issues with belts for stationary sanders. Only belts for portable sanders. No longer have a portable belt sander so cant say if shelf life issue still applies.

MK

[Alex Zeller]

Klingspor has a sale (ormaybe the regular price) for belt sander belts. Something like three 6 packs for $20. The problem is that it would be a lifetime supply for me. They even state at the bottom of the page they are only warranted for 2 years. Unless I knew other people who wanted belts it would make no sense to order them and run into this problem. My point is that they state that 2 years is the life expectancy of their joints. This is one of the reasons why I like drum sanders. I can buy a long roll of a grit I don't use that often and let it sit on a shelf.

[Randall J Cox]

After about 40 years of wood working, I've come to realization of shelf life on this issue. Most my older unused belts broke the same day I put them on, all in the seam. Now I only buy what I think I'll use within 12 months. And then buy only some place where they haven't been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years. Go someplace where they have decent stock turnover. Randy

[Ron Selzer]

I run the new belts, when I first get them, just long enough to get the belt hot. Then change out to the next one. This seems to get the belt past the one year mark. 6 months from now will be the two year mark. Interested to see how many break then. Very rarely use the portable belt sander now that I have a wide belt sander. Have blown new wide belts that I held back as spares. Now all belts get run till hot when I first get them
Ron

[Zachary Hoyt]

Several years ago, somewhere between 5 and 10, our local dollar store chain got in a big batch of Norton sanding belts in many grits and sizes. I bought a few dozen 50 grit 4x36 belts, and they are still going strong. I replace the belt 2 or 3 times a year, as I only use it for occasional heavy grinding of tool edges and to carve out the inside of violin fingerboards and chinrests. At the time I bought all those belts I was using that sander to flatten rings of blocks for banjo rims, basically making largish segmented turnings, but in early 2018 I bought a drum sander and then my belt consumption went way down. I've never had one of those belts break, they must have been made well. I also don't know how long they'd been sitting before the dollar store got them, they buy a lot of surplus and salvage type stuff and I know when I used to be able to get Polar fleece from them it was dated 2007, the year that company went broke, so it had been somewhere for close to 10 years.

[Scott T Smith]

I've used Klingspor cloth wide belts that I bought 9 years ago, and they were still going strong a few months back when I sold the sander that they were used in.

This year I upgraded to a 52" three head sander, and I certainly hope to get the same level of service from the newer Klingspor belts.

[Jeff Ramsey]

This is an older thread, but I just had a Klingspor 6" x 48" belt come apart at the seam almost immediately after replacing a belt that was on for a while and did the same thing. I contacted Klingspor and they said they only warranty belts for one year (that's their max shelf life). They claim the glue won't last any longer than that. With their minimum order of $100, I will have to buy belts elsewhere.

[Brian Tymchak]

... Klingspor..... With their minimum order of $100, I will have to buy belts elsewhere.

Klingspor has a minimum order??

[Curt Harms]

Klingspor has a minimum order??

Maybe minimum order for free shipping?

[Curt Harms]

This is an older thread, but I just had a Klingspor 6" x 48" belt come apart at the seam almost immediately after replacing a belt that was on for a while and did the same thing. I contacted Klingspor and they said they only warranty belts for one year (that's their max shelf life). They claim the glue won't last any longer than that. With their minimum order of $100, I will have to buy belts elsewhere.

I have some belts for the little P-C belt sander. I've had those for certainly longer than 5 years and recently used the machine. The belt held up. They're stored in a basement in a case to fairly constant temperatures and no UV. From Industrial Abrasives in Reading PA.

[Jeff Ramsey]

If you buy direct from Klingspor, it's $100 ($300 for free shipping). You can buy Klingspor products from distributors, but the 1-year warranty on the glue will dissuade me. From their site:



BuyersKLINGSPOR Abrasives sells to businesses and distributors only. For single purchases and small quantities, visit the KLINGSPOR's Woodworking Shop (https://www.woodworkingshop.com/). Accounts created at the Woodworking Shop cannot be used for Klingspor.com and vice versa.

Minimum PurchasePurchase a minimum of $100 to place an order.

Order $300, Get Free Shipping

[Jonathan Jung]

www.woodworkingshop.com is the official Klingspor "retail" site, and ironically their prices are sometimes better than buying direct from Klingspor. And no min. order.

[Frank Pratt]

I've used 15 year old Klingspor belts and never had one break. My current stock of belts are anywhere from about 8 - 15 years old and I've never had one break. They are stored in a dark drawer in my shop, where it never gets above about 25* C in the summer or below 6* C in the winter.

[Lee Schierer]

I found that my Porter Cable 3 x 21 belt sander was doing the same thing with brand new belts. I examined the tension adjustment and fount that if I inserted a shim so that the tension leaver could apply full tension that the belts would still work just fine, but they wouldn't break for a long time. I think I added about .030-.040 thickness behind the lever to get the best life without slippage. Here is the original post (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?264623-Thanks-for-the-Breaking-sanding-belt-idea&highlight=Porter+Cable+belt+sander%2C+shim)