Lippy Report post Posted July 25, 2009 Anyone have any expierence making a leather stropping belt for a bench belt sander? After reading about knife sharpening using the Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander I bought one on sale for $35. I'm now trying to . . . "hone" . . . my knife sharpening skills. My first attempt at making a leather belt broke apart at the seam. Is there a stronger glue than Barge? The ends were skived and trimmed at an angle like some of my sanding belts. I coated both ends with Barge glue, let the glue setup and then clamped the joint after that to dry. Any and all suggestions accepted!! For those who might have a similar belt sander, do you have any ideas on how to slow the speed down? FYI: It has a 1/3 hp, 3 amp motor that runs at 3400 rpm. Cheers, Tom (aka: Lippy) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCKNIVES Report post Posted July 25, 2009 Sorry but making sanding belts is pretty much futile and dangerous, but if you look here Jantz you can purchase one and its alot safer. I have one in a larger size for one of my sanders and they work good. I load mine with white rouge first.Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lippy Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Thanks for your comment. Please tell me why it is so dangerous. I did buy a Surgi-Sharp belt. The splice/joint in that belt didn't look difficult to make as long as the belt ends were skived with a smooth taper. Isn't it mostly about using the proper cement or glue. Is barge cement the right glue? Is there something stronger that also remains flexible? There's no need to make sanding belts as they aren't very expensive. However, it would be nice to have the ability to whip out a few stropping belts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCKNIVES Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Very simply at the time you are stropping you already have a reasonably sharp obect against a moving belt, any issue at that time can result in pain.I know several knifemakers who have been cut when a belt breaks.Even the purchased and professionally made belts break, usually at the seam.I have had several break on my over the years and while I escaped injury from the knife, I did get some scrapes from the belts,and the sound of a larger belt like I use breaking, is like a gunshot.Feel free to try but I would have felt bad for not warning you of the inherent dangers.I don't know what glue they use but I suspect good Barge cement might be fine,with said warning.Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lippy Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Dave, Thanks for the warning. Everything I've read mentions using a light touch with both the sanding and stropping belts as the 1x30 Harbor Freight sander runs around 3400 rpm. That said, even using a light touch when a belt of any type breaks can't be nice. Cheers, Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
