Homemade Sanding Belts

[@hotsoup1001]

I work at the factory that actually makes the pre-sized sanding belts and disks. I've been doing it for over 25 years professionally, so it's fascinating to see how it can be done manually on an individual basis. I can't disclose our processes for legal reasons since I like my job. But just a couple of very general points for anyone doing this and having issues with their joint not holding: The shinier and slicker the backing, the harder it is to get your joint to hold. If you score "rough up" the backing before joining your belt ends, you'll get a stronger joint. Adhesive, heat, and pressure will also all effect how well your belt stays together during use. If you're using tape or a patch that has threads, cut your joint angle to more closely match the bias of your patch. A joint is much stronger the less shear it is subjected to.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks for adding your experience to the conversation!

[@fxpestoperator5527]

Wow! Thank you Sir!

[@alexjohnson9580]

@@SoatMon You are awesome..... What ever made you think that a blue-jean patch would be strong enough?. Been a carpenter for over 40 years but you prove there is always something NEW...Thank you for the time you have taken to help us slow learners...

[@chuckgordon3581]

Don't know if you're still answering questions here. By less shear do you mean that the threads should align (parallel and perpendicular) with the direction of movement, or with the angle of the splice?

[@dukeman7595]

Say that is a neat trick, I like it very much and will be trying it myself. Thanks for the tip.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@RustyCas999]

Thanks so much for this! I have a number of heavy duty sanding belts from a flooring mill sander, 5’ wide by 8’ long. I’ll have sanding belts for life!

[@SoatMon]

Awesome! Glad to help!

[@llapmsp]

What a great idea. I will try this as I have several belts that the original tape dried out and let the belt come apart.

[@SoatMon]

Hope it works well for you.!

[@BeachsideHank]

While still hot, follow up immediately with a wallpaper seam roller to give added bonding strength, just letting it sit while cooling allows for some springback or separation of the two surfaces.

[@SoatMon]

Excellent idea! Thanks!

[@erfansekh42]

Hiii

[@philipdavison4066sawdust]

Wow that's fantastic now I've seen your video you will have saved me a bunch, brilliant thank u very much 👍👍👏👏👏🍾🍾🍾

[@SoatMon]

You are very welcome

[@ecaff9515]

Great idea using blue Jean patches I use contact cement and cotton or old blue Jean's. Your joint is strong. Thank you for sharing.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@abiamiamab9677]

Yes... that looks soo much easier then using glue. I could never get it smooth enough.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@vorsprung2330]

Do you also experience seam kickbacks while grinding?

[@JoseRodriguez-cg2mv]

Thank for the video tutorial. I made a few belts using your method. So far they have held up. I do wood work and metal work, which includes knives. Thank you again.

[@SoatMon]

That's awesome, I'm glad they worked out for you!

[@enzokayson8732]

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[@garyemiliano5118]

@Enzo Kayson instablaster :)

[@enzokayson8732]

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[@georgechambers3197]

I was wondering about cutting them down. I have a ton of 6x48 belts and drum sander strips. I'd like to make some for my 2 inch sander. I think I'll be giving this a try. Thanks for sharing this tip!.

[@SoatMon]

Your welcome, Good luck!

[@FASIGMAN]

Good idea friend.................

[@SoatMon]

Thanks Frankie!

[@glennfelpel9785]

This is an outstanding idea. It is always impressive to see how you come up with uses for things meant for something else. Trouser patches to make sanding belts...who would of thought of that. And it is nice to hear they don't thump. Will be making my own belt not too. Have a good weekend and be safe. Glenn

[@SoatMon]

Thanks Glenn, I'm glad you found it useful!

[@PatriciaSamHouston]

Great tip! Wonder if this would work with leather for a wheel strop. Thanks

[@SoatMon]

It might. I would probably try some contact cement so you get some soaking into the leather. Interesting idea!

[@davidendres7808]

Hey mate I have followed your instructions but I find the course belts work for a while but have a thump every time the join comes onto the platen and than fail the finer belts fail very quickly what am I doing wrong any help would be great

[@R2_D3]

Linnen-backed is the best for a belt.. (paper is so brittle) Grit 36 is really (to) coarse, grit 60 and up will be better to cut and join. Knee patches is a nice find!! TY! (I think it's best to cut with overlapping belt, that way it will always line-up perfect)

[@SoatMon]

Thanks for your input!

[@paulcotesr5623]

will this work on cloth belt to ?

[@SoatMon]

Yes

[@defneningunlugu]

Hello.your video is very nice.What is the name of the tape you heat with an iron?How can I get this tape? Thank you for helping

[@SoatMon]

It's am iron on patch for jeans.

[@z_polarcat]

What’s the benefit of the 45 vs a straight cut?

[@44Celt]

the work isn't hitting the seam at the same time - less chance of the seam lifting or breaking

[@SoatMon]

It will decrease the amount of bump on the part when the belt comes around.

[@barrychambers4047]

Use canvas backed abrasive and they won't break. Good tutorial!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@NavinBetamax]

Wonder if anyone else noticed that at 2:54 ......the belt is slightly off the edge of the wood base while marking the 45 degree angle ......

[@newstart49]

Shhhhh!

[@stahl5336]

Yep you should so angle is measured off edge of belt for both cuts.

[@JoeGP]

thanks, to be honest your method seems best, other methods always leave a noticeable bump (even OEM/store bought belts), but these iron on patches are not available here (Amazon doesn't ship to my country) so i gotta find something else to use, one of the comments below looked promising though, using contact cement and some old thrift store jeans, i don't supposed duct tape or gaffe tape would work, right ? i guess i gotta try it, but i wanted to see if i can first make my own custom sanding belts since i'd like to build a custom belt sander, something like a 4x72 or 4x96 and those kinda belt are super rare and crazy expensive because of it, but 4" sanding paper is like the default size available anywhere.

[@SoatMon]

The first one I made years ago... I used a piece I cut from some old blue jeans and yellow carpenters glue, it worked just fine. I switched to the iron on patch because it's quicker and easier.

[@MakingBoost]

I love my little 1/2” handheld finger sander. I’d like to make some myself for it... I wonder how the smaller belts would do if the paper was impregnated with an acrylic glue / water (or silicone / mineral spirits) mix? Would it be enough to keep the paper together while remaining flexible? Just a thought.

[@SoatMon]

You definitely need a stronger belt material like some type of cloth. Thanks for the comment!

[@jungsomewhat]

Your using your brain.. brilliant, well done UK

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@axnbjsbdudbydvydubu9355]

it's a bad quality belt. your idea is marvelous. I am thinking of trying this for my mini diy drill press because every rubber belt I put it snapped after heating up. gonna make sure that fabric is cloth though not paper

[@SoatMon]

Thank you for your input, I agree the belts are poor quality. That explains why I got them so cheap. Good luck with your drill press, I would be interested in your results if you get a chance to try it.

[@DoneeJohnson]

It may have something to do with the patch material being at 90 degrees to the belt instead of 45 degrees, which might cause the belt to bend back and forth at the point of failure when it's coming around a pulley. I would suggest cutting the belt and the patch at a longer angle like 30 degrees to see if it lets the belt flex more around the pulleys instead of bending. Just a hypothesis, I think it's worth considering, with your setup it would be easy to test, hope it works! I have some unused old 4" X 72" belts that the seams fail immediately on start up with no damage to the belts. I've saved them because I think the seams adhesion failed due to old age and will try your knee patch method. Thank you very much!

[@genwiz]

Thank you, good info on patch material to join.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@DIY-cu5jp]

那是什麼膠帶 那麼強

[@garymucher9590]

I wonder how a quality contact glue spray headliner adhesive like 3M or something like that would work?

[@44Celt]

I make mine using Evostik contact adhesive - using strips of denim as a backing material. I found that clamping the joint between 2 pieces of wood tightly and leaving for 3 days gave best results

[@joell439]

I wonder if it failed because of the small diameter wheels? Maybe there is too much flexing required when going around the tight turns on the race track. Regardless, thanks for sharing another useful tip.

[@SoatMon]

Your welcome!

[@MrCinpro]

That's what 8 was thinking the small diameter wheels letting it bend too much

[@nimblemotorsports]

Did you know the iron-on patches are just hotglue on fabric? The iron melts the hotglue.

[@SoatMon]

Yes but thanks for pointing that out.

[@ecaff9515]

Thank you for sharing

[@SoatMon]

You bet!

[@willyzook]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@mikewerner3797]

What happened to the tip of your index finger😬?

[@SoatMon]

I don't know I haven't seen it in years!

[@davidwilcox3812]

GREAT!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@subarutruck1]

Great idea. Thanks so much!!!!!!

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment!

[@ritaejohn]

Tried it lasted only a few minutes the friction between the belt and the metal backing exceeds the temperature of the patch. Catastrophic Failure 101 !!!!! 😢

[@shaunwhiteley3544]

Excellent, thank you. Cheers

[@SoatMon]

Your welcome, thanks for the comment!

[@leonardwilson980]

Get you some emery cloth to make the belts out of.

[@stuartmarkman769]

I wish I had seen this a long time ago. I can't remember how many belts hit the trash can because of breakage.

[@SoatMon]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@Peter-od7op]

Ty so much

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@Pikertime]

And when you trim, keep your finger out of the way. You only need that warning one time!

[@SoatMon]

No kidding!!

[@canfaller]

get you a one inch roll of emery cloth its cloth not paper i like this

[@SoatMon]

That's a great idea! Thanks!

[@philanna38]

Have you tried good ole duct tape?

[@caseycampbell3754]

philanna38 it melts

[@44Celt]

tried it and the glue melts the tape