sanding belt life length

[m beezo]

I went to use my belt sander yesterday. It seems to be running fine but every belt that I tried out on it came apart within the first 2 or 3 minutes.Right at the glue joint. I know the belts have been in my truck since last summer when they were bought for a job. I am trying to figure out if the glue has broken down because of the time or if something is wrong with my sander. I plan on getting another belt but certainly wont buy some to just have ride around in my truck if the glue goes bad.

Any idea of how long the sanding belt glue will last

On an unrelated note my Festool 125 has been doing a great job for me. Like it except for the fact that you really cannot seem to use the thing one handed. Especially in the aggressive mode.But I was pretty aggravated with myself yesterday. I went to use it after a break and had forgotten that I had stopped to change papers and return a phone call. Finished the phone call picked up the sander and started sanding before remembering that the sanding disk had been removed but not a new one installed. The Velcro seemed to hold the paper fine but for a minute I thought I was gong to need to get a new sanding pad from Festool.

[Guest]

I have used some old old belts and haven't had that problem.
..Home Depot?

[Guest]

I've had belts sitting for years, some even on the sander (i.e. stretched). No issues.

[Guest]

My guess is that the glue broke down from moisture. Things aren't quite as dry in the truck versus the shop.

[Guest]

I am guessing the glue gave out for some reason. I know my van gets hot since it is a dark color. Can turn into a place very similar to the sweat boxes you see in the Bridge on the River Kwai movie. All the belts broke right at the glue joint. At the same time it did seem that the belts were warm to the touch. I know friction makes heat but the heat was noticeable so I was wondering is something was going on with my sander. That thing is probably 15 years old but may not get used but a few times a year.

Simple test will be to buy a few new belts and try them out. No more buying a 10 pack unless I am going to use the sander a lot since keeping them around may not be a wise investment.

[Guest]

I have always had problems with belts that are old, even ones I kept in the shop. Seems that the glue fails or the tape used over the glue fails then the glue. I admit that I have had belts that didn't fail that came from the same box that were just as old as the ones that did fail. I just stopped buying them in bulk and the ones I had left I used in a hand held jig.