Sanding belts

[JonnyW]

I need advice on buying a sanding belt for my Draper disc/belt sander.

I've had it for a little while now, and have been pleased with the thing. Does all I need it to do, although I will be buying a bobbin sander in the new year.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-50021-350-Watt-230-Volt-Sander/dp/B0001K9UK0

What I did find when I tried the thing, is that the sanding belt that came with the machine had a very prominent join, that really thuds the wood as it turns.

I'm just about to buy various grits for it, but would like advice on good quality belts "that have been joined properly".

The belts are 100 x 915mm

Any ideas?

Thanks

Jonny

 

[Prawn_Cracker]

I bought a selection of zirconia gritted belts for my hitachi sander from here

https://bndabrasives.co.uk/?gclid=COHD5 ... Gwod4psLlg

Quality belts, pretty quick turnaround. They also don't do mixed packs (or at least didn't when I ordered) so you need to order the minimum of each grit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[paulm]

Avoid the belts from screwfix and toolstation, they are (not surprisingly I guess) real cheapos with the raised joins.

Axi' do decent Hermes ones but charge an arm and a leg for them, I thought the prices were for a pack of five when I first looked but they're for singles !

BND are good prices and quality but as mentioned above you usually have to buy a minimum quantity of each grit (10 or 12 I've found), which might not be a problem if you have some mates to split them and the cost with.

Cheers, Paul

 

[JonnyW]

Guys thank you very much for for your replies

Much appreciated

Jonny

 

[AES]

Jonny, try Abtec. I don't need belts your size but for my own (smaller) belts I've found them to have good service, sensible prices/quantity breaks, and "bump free" quality. They're UK-based and I think have a counter too (though I use Internet, obviously).

Usual disclaimers.

Link: www.abtec4abrasives.com

HTH

AES

 

[JonnyW]

Thanks AES. Appreciated.

Jonny

 

[AJB Temple]

You can also usually get Bosch belts (that will fit anything if the size is right) in mixed sets of three off Amazon. Not necessarily the cheapest, but if you have Prime then delivery can be free next day and sometimes this is worth paying a small premium for. I just bought 6 belts ( 3 different grits) for an Elu 157E that were £10.40 next day delivery. Belt quality is quite high.

I use Abtec 5 packs as well, as recommended above.

 

[JonnyW]

Thanks for that AJB. Nice one.

Jonny

 

[RogerP]

I'll also recommend Abtec. Good quality belts, big range of grits and types (Zirconia is good) and excellent quick service.

 

[woodpig]

Many cheap belt have scarfed joints which "bump" when you sand stuff. Decent belts are butt joined.

 

[JonnyW]

Thanks for that guys. Appreciated.

Jonny

 

[Pedropete]

Apologies for the thread resurrection but keen to get people's views on the Abtec belts (aluminium oxide vs ceramic) and Mirka or Hermes, specifically in the 75mm (x533) ranges, 80-120 grit.

To be used predominately for edge-shaping high-density birch ply and cleaning up some rougher dimensional stuff with a Bosch PBS75.

Have used a variety of cheaper - and not so cheap - belts from the usual culprits and not been that impressed, either with durability or performance. Scarffed joints are also a no-no as really don't enjoy the washboard experience.

Would be grateful for your thoughts in this.

Many thanks,
Pete.

 

[AES]

I have Abtec belts (a different size though) for my little Dremel disc/belt sander, and find them very good - can't say about your size though.

But I do note that these belts have an angled "butt joint" and the inside of each belt is marked with an arrow which must (of course) face the direction of the drive drum rotation. If installed backwards there's more of a "bump" each time the joint comes round, and it's much harder to keep and maintain good tracking. MUCH better when installed with the arrow in the correct direction!

I didn't know Mirka Abranet belts are available. Based on my experience with their hand sanding sheets and discs, I'd expect the belts to be excellent, but don't know that for sure. BTW, with Abranet discs on a ROS, you MUST use the soft foam interface pad disc first, otherwise the Abranet disc just get torn up at the edges, (FWIW).

 

[Pedropete]

Thanks for the input. Believe it or not, the first hand-held belt sander I ever bought came with the included belt fitted backwards. It didn't last long.
I've used Abranet on my ROS for a while (with pad) and, while I like it for finer work I've not found it that long lived even with good dust-extraction. For that reason alone I'd probably steer clear for belt sanding as not convinced it'd last long at all for rougher work.

Was thinking more along the lines of Mirka's 'Hiolit XO' but not found any reviews. Also struggling to find much real-world user feedback on advantages of ceramic over AlOx for use in carpentry/woodworking, so not sure I want to spend the extra on Abtec's ceramic version either. Should probably just order some and see for myself. Perils of being a tightwad: 'cost-benefit purchase paralysis'.

 

[Doug71]

I tend to use Mirka, Hermes or Klingspor belts on my 4" Makita belt sander and find them all fine.

I once got some Screwfix ones as I was desperate, they were unusable because of the bouncing.

 

[Trevanion]

I've tried a few different belts over the years, can't say I've seen much difference between all of them but the Wurth Zebra belts are definitely best for smoothness when using the tool, absolutely no bounce. But that's comparing to extremely marginal bounce from the top ones like Mirka, Hermes, Klingspor, Sia or Flexovit which are all very good belts.