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Repairing broken sander belts

33K views 16 replies 15 participants last post by  WilsonCreations  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Is it possible?

I went through several sander belts on a recent stair refinishing job. Not that the belts wore out, they broke. Yes I had them on the right way. The belt sander belongs to my neighbor and I think the belts may be quite old.
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What I'm wondering is, is there a way to repair them? Can I remove the existing spicing tape and put on new tape of some kind? It seems a shame to throw out perfectly good belts. Hey! I'm Scottish! What can I say?!?
 
#2 ·
They are pretty inexpensive. I think I pay about 80 cents each for the 3Ă—21" belts.
That being said, I suppose you could get a roll of seaming tape for carpets and give it a try.
Some use linen with crazy glue.
Remember all these remedies cost money too.

bob
 
#4 ·
Mike,

Your assumption about old belts is probably correct. My shop is in the basement and it can be a little humid. I experienced several belt failures on belts that were brand new but had been stored in the shop for many months. Newly purchased belts worked fine.

I agree with Bob and Gary- replace rather than repair

Lew
 
#6 ·
A Jewish friend of mind says he knows what happened to the lost tribe of Israel… They ended up in Scotland.
......
My Grandmother was well known for spending $1 on gas in order to save $0.10 at at sale…..

I guess I'm a little too much like my grandmother….

Ok, I give, I'll buy new ones.
 
#7 ·
Well I'm like Rustic Elements.

I've got about 50 belts and they are each breaking within 1 minute of turning them on. 1" wide belts and 4" wide belts.

I'd like a way to salvage them.
 
#8 ·
I think any repaior that you'd do to the belt would shorten it too much to be able to mount it on the BS. I think Grumpy has the best idea, use them somewhere else to get the value out of them.
 
#13 ·
I had 35 belts 4"X36" where the seam failed. I tried numerous methods to find a fix.

Here is what I finally found that works.

Get a roll of "iron-on" carpet tape from home depot or lowes. A lifetime supply is about $7.00.
cut strips from the carpet tape to fit the seam on the back of the sanding belt.
Remove the existing adhesive strip from the back of the sanding belt.
Rough up the surface of the back of the belt with sandpaper.
line up the ends of the sandpaper belt and apply the carpet tape with an iron. The iron must be turned to HOT.

The repaired belt will produce a little "bump" as the carpet tape adds some thickness but it is better than throwing away good belts.
 
#14 ·
I had the same problem and tried many different tapes, but none would hold. I finally contacted a belt manufacturer (Carborundrum, I think) and asked them what tape is used. Their reply was; the tape was prioritary. I guess you will have to buy a good belt. They last longer than cheap belts, HF for example.