What do you do with your old belts?

grindemup said:
What uses do you get out of them? the first one i wore out i couldn't sand wood with without burning the wood.
Click to expand...

Do not use them on your belt grinder. You can cut it in strips and use them on other projects just like emery cloth.
 
My lower grit belts,50,60 & 80 once they no longer cut like I like I hang them on the other side of the shop.When I get 10-15 I take them to my brother.He does metal fab work and burns them through to the cloth:D
120 and above as soon as the life is gone in the trash they go.

Stan
 
Ed Fowler puts them on the floor around his buffer to catch flying stuff. I put them on the floor to trip over.:D
 
i was giving all the belts i thought were shot to the local blacksmiths guild and they loved all the life they got out of them
 
I might have to have a fire soon and clear out some old belts. I do sometimes use low grit belts a bit on wood after they get used up for steel. I have got better about just pitching them and getting a new one out.
 
I would suggest NOT using old belts on wood.
Too much heat build up and crapola finish.

All I do is wood and I throw away any sandpaper (discs and belts) as soon as they slow down with their cutting ability.
 
I'll admit being new and just doing as a hobby I was a bit stingy and became a belt horder. I've since learned that my time is worth more than standing around grinding with used up belts taking twice as long to remove material and heating things up too fast. I'm using a 2x42 Craftsman and a worn belt heats things up dangerously quick at the RPMs it runs. It also invites more opportunities for mistakes. Fewer passes are better in my book.

With some of the mid to finer grit belts, I'll rinse them off and cut them into pices for sanding micarta or kydex edges. But I toss the hoggers. Hopefully I'll get a bandsaw for Christmas and I can do away with the hogger grits all together. Tired of getting extraneous grit tossed up in my mask.
 
Somebody needs to figure out how to convert worn out belts to ethanol. That way we can all get rich.
 
Coarse belts get trashcanned. Higher grit belts get long strips torn from the unworn center for handle profiling, edges get thrown away.
 
Could you glue a strip of it upside down to a piece of wood and sell it as a cheap effective strop?
 
I don't think it would work that well. Strops usually have some give in the surface and a belt glued to wood would not have much flex. I wouldn't think it would be worth the effort
 
After they don't cut the flats, then i use them to profile blanks or handle shaping. I can get more out of a dull 36. The finer the grit the more useless they become. If they start burning wood or building up to much heat they are discarded.
 
Grayzer86 said:
I don't think it would work that well. Strops usually have some give in the surface and a belt glued to wood would not have much flex. I wouldn't think it would be worth the effort
Click to expand...

Makes sense, i got home and took a look at mine, more papery and stiff than i realized. i ruined a cloth sand paper that looked like it would work better. some people make them out of jean material.
 
I cut 'em up and use 'em for rough handle work, and various woodworking projects. Sometimes if I want to finish off a piece in the lathe without a bunch of hand sanding, they come in handy.
 
I used to try and make them last and last and now I spend more time shopping for good deals on new belts and volume deals because I throw them away now as soon as I even THINK they might be losing some effectiveness. Use them like they are free one fellow said and he is exactly right in my opinion. I have decided to try and make the best possible knives and new belts help tremendously . Larry Lehman PS Try the Norax belts sold by USA Knifemakers. They are giving me finer finishes before buffing. They are kind of expensive but your knives will look so much better you will not care. LL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top