Sanding belt for bandsaw? Where to find...

[Jess Wetherhold]

I am trying to find a 111" sanding belt for my bandsaw. I have done quite a few searches and have only found one up to 104". Has anyone made their own belts and if so how would you suggest I fasten it together? Sorry for the totally newbie question but I have never entertained the thought until now.

[Lance Norris]

You used to be able to buy 93" belts for the 14" saws, but not anymore. I havent seen sanding belts for a while. You might be able to get them made from somebody like Klingspor. Good luck with finding one. I think your gonna have trouble.

[Jess Wetherhold]

This company will custom make them at any size for $2.50. I thought I would post the info if anyone else was interested.

brianstoolsales dot com

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Wouldn't tension be an issue with a sanding belt on a band saw?

What do you do put a board up and run the back of the belt against it?

[Jess Wetherhold]

I got the idea from seeing an old 12" craftsman saw with the sanding belt. I wanted an easy way to sand wooden kitchenware (forks mainly) so I figured I would give this method a try.
A guy from that company said that as long as you don't apply too much tension they work just fine. I guess I will find out soon enough.

[bob hertle]

I've made my own from roll stock of abrasive cloth. I actually had to slit down 1" wide to make to strips of 1/2" width. I've also made them a full 1" wide. I cut my ends at 45 degrees, and scrape the grit off to provide a gluing area about 1/4-3/8" wide and glue the lap splice with Titebond. I suppose I could dig out the camera and try to get a pic if this isn't clear. I made a metal platen for my saw, similar to the kit that DoAll used to sell, and used the belts very successfully for both wood and metal.

All that being said, I haven't used the "sanding attachment" in years because I've got a couple of 2X48 belt sanders in the shop.

Bob

[Frank Drew]

Jess,

Some 3x21, 4x24, etc. belt sanders have jigs that position them upside down for stationary sanding. Something like that might be just the ticket. Jig or not, if you have a belt sander using it upside down might be easier in the long run unless you find a ready source for the band saw belts.

[Jess Wetherhold]

I have many sanders including an oscillating belt and spindle sander. I wanted to set up this type so I can sand forks that I cut out on the BS. Yeah, like the salad tossing kind. I need something that can get in between the prongs. Maybe I should just make spoons...