Repairing broken sander belts

They are pretty inexpensive. I think I pay about 80 cents each for the 3×21” 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

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Epoxy might work. I would just buy another.

-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX

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

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Mike, never had one break luckily. I cut the old ones into strips for sanding blocks & on the lathe. So they are not really wasted.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

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.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

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.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

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.

-- "Checking for square? what madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2

I agree, buy some new ones, Keep the old ones and glue them to blocks of wood to sand edges.

-- Hope Never fails

I just looked on Lee Valley. These things are $3.15 each for 4” x 24”. Of course, knowing my neighbor, the ones that broke are probably the $0.99 variety. Theoretically, the better ones should last longer.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

Had the same problem. Turning the belts in sanding blocks, large surface sanding, etc. I was told by the Klingspore folks that most belts should be used within one year of purchase

bob.

-- Bob from Northwest Florida

I get mine from Big Lots for about a 1$. I wear them out without breakage. the only proglem is not much grit selection there.

-- bryano

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.

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.

When I started buying Norton 3x belts, this problem went away! They are spendy but worth every penny.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

I never throw away belts that break. Instead I attach them to scrap pieces of wood with different shapes for hand sanding and shaping. It works great and they last a long time like this!!!!!

-- I have metal in my neck but wood in my blood!!