Belts for a micro finisher

[WJHartson]

A friend of mine gave me a micro finisher and an assortment of sanding belts for it in various grits. The belts are about 12 years old and have some mold on them. I think that the mold has eaten the glue in the joint. When I put a belt on it will make about 3 revolutions and then it comes apart in the joint very cleanly. They are mounted for the correct rotation. I have tried super glue but that doesn't work. I can get maybe 10 revolutions then they come apart.

Looking for suggestions on what I can use to glue the seams of the belts together so I can use the belts. I have about 100 belts.

Thanks for the help.

Joe

[Thrud]

Joe
I think you are screwed. It is not impossible to fix but I think that the belt maker would be the only ones capable of doing it. You did not mention the belt size. 3M has some excellent mylar backed abrasives for super finishing.

Some belts can be ordered with tapered lap joints - these give a constant thickness even at the lap joint of the belt so that no "jumping" occurs as the joint passes the work.

[DR]

Joe,

If you're near a large city you might be able to find a "converter". Converters are places that makeup snding belts from raw stock. Generally, converters don't deal with individuals, only abrasive distributors.

If you find one maybe you could talk them out of some of the mylar tape used for butt spliced belts.

A converter I used to order belts through is Jet Abrasives in LA, also known as Western Abrasives.

[lynnl]

Not familiar w/your device or belts, but years ago I had a bunch of belts for a 3 X 21" beltsander (woodworking) that tended to separate at the seam. I had real good results gluing them back with plain ol' white glue ...or maybe it was the yellow stuff, don't remember for sure which. But my re-glued ones held just as well or better than the original seam, so long as I didn't run it too long continuously. The joint would give way if overheated. But for the most part I could wear them out.

I'd give that a try. Or maybe some good contact cement might work even better.

[WJHartson]

The belts are 2" x 60" and have the tapered lap joint. The overlap at the joint is about 1/4". They do not have a mylar tape backing at the joint.

The belts will build heat during use due to the speed of the belts.

I will look for some of the mylar tape. Maybe if I can glue it with the super glue or white glue and put a piece if the tape on the inside over a distance of about a foot it may work. Never thought of the tape. Many heads are better than one. Love this board. Thanks.

Joe

[Evan]

You might try urethane Shoe Goop. It sure doesn't come off anything easily.

[darryl]

Ditto on the shoe goop. It will need to cure for a while, but it won't let go, and it sticks to more things than any other glue or sealer I've tried. I'm using it today to glue some 'krazy carpet' to itself. I'll know tomorrow if it holds.

[WJHartson]

I have tried the mylar tape and duct tape with the super glue. No success. The belts last longer but unless I can get the belt seam glued together it will continue to come apart in a short time. Once the seam fails it starts flapping and then comes apart.

Where can I find the shoe goop? Is that it real name? I will try it if I can find it. If that doesn't work guess I have a lot of sand paper to finish parts in the lathe.

Thanks for all the help.

Joe

[lynnl]

I think I've seen shoe goop at Walmart. It's a commonplace item. I think it's a Kiwi product. It's either "Shoe Goop" or "Shoe Goo", as I recall.

You know, another possibility is to check with a shoe repair shop and see what kind of adhesives they use. I bet some of those would do the trick.

[Benjamin Borowsky]

Ahhh, shoe goo... Good stuff. About 20 some odd years ago I used it instead of wire caps in some low voltage wiring I was doing in my parents computer. Of course, they didn't know I was doing any wiring in their computer... but they also didn't know I was using their shoe goo, so I suppose it was ok.

Worked, too. I don't know that I can actually RECOMMEND it for that purpose, I'm just telling stories.

B2

[WJHartson]

Just a followup note to let you know what I've done. Thrud was right I was screwed. The glue used to make the joint is epoxy and cured with heat under pressure. The manufacturer would fic them for a proce but it was almost as cheap to purchase new one.

Everything I tried worked a little but as soon as the bult built up heat it would come apart. The manufacturer said that moisture will effect the joint so they need to be stored in a dry place.

Thank for all the suggestions.

Joe

[Samuel]

I had a similar problem not that long ago, I have an expanding drum sander, the kind that you can get from rio grand, anyhow I had an overabundance of 2/72 belts that I recut and tried to reglue, no luck then I found that if I used a but joint and fresh contact cement( 2 applications) on the three inches on either side of the joint and used ( dont laugh) high quality strapping tape, youknow the kind that has nylon reinforcement, that the joint held, but you have to wait for the glue to set as per its directions, exactly . and the glue only goes onto the belt, the tape has a pretty good adhesive on it. I have not tried this on my 2/72 sander but it works for my small one../ good luck,

Samuel

[Alistair Hosie]

I have a small linisher about one inch wide belts anyway I had some six inch belts the same length so I cut one down to six one inch belts quite successfully .The theory was that as I did not need to join them it would be ok as I was taking off a complete circle/band albeit a narrower one. I was very careful and they looked great and fitted great. As soon as I started to use them they started to fray at the edges like nobodies business and became so worn with long threads continuously hanging off them they became completely unusable soon after firing up. It seems even the edges are treated to stop this by manufacturers so bad luck all round and cheque books out regards alistair

[Paul Alciatore]

Correct me if I'm wrong but every sanding belt I've ever seen had a cloth type base. I doubt that super glue would hold for long on that. You need to think in terms of the material being glued.

The common Elmer's white and yellow carpenters glues sound like good possibilities. You also might look in the sewing section at Wal-Mart or one of the crafts places for a really good fabric adheasive. If you know a gal who's into crafts she may have some ideas.

BTW, it's usually a few years between major carpentry projects for me and I almost always find that the old but unused sanding belts from the last time will not last long. It seems to be a common problem. Brand does not seem to matter. I just buy what I need for the present project.

[WJHartson]

The white glue will work but it too is affected by heat. The belts are a fabric but has some kind of a harder material impregnated in the fabric. The type of belt I am using is an "X" type that is fairly ridgid and doesn't bend over the edges of whatever you are grinding. I tried a mylar packing tape as a backing but it didn't do much. Couldn't find the reinforced packing tape but I don't think that it would have done much better because when the heat gets to the joint and it seperates it starts flapping badly.

Joe