WarmGlass.com

I am running through silicon carbide belts like there is no tomorrow. Does anyone know of a good source for a 60/80 grit diamond belt for a 4"x106" WBS? I need it badly.

Thanks, Lisa

I checked into it a few years ago, and HIS glass carried them then. I decided to stick with the disposable belts as I was leery of the durability and life of the very pricey diamond belts. My belt costs end up being almost negligible, in relation to the value of work they help create. I'd love to know how it goes for you if you opt for the diamond. Anyone else out there a regular user of these?

the covington catalog says they stock 41.5" diamond belts, and will make custom ones to size.

if you're going through them fast, maybe it's your technique or a deficiency in your machine that is causing it. overheating kills a belt fast, for example.

Lisa, I take off a bunch of glass for each piece, so I basically factor this into the price of the work along with fiber paper, diamond wheels, etc. Ya just run through em. I almost always use up one 60 belt on every piece I do. The higher grits last much longer naturally.

Hi Lisa,

The HIS diamond belts are wonderful. I bought two of them several years ago (very pricy but it made my life so much easier). HIS has really great cork belts too. When removing most of the unwanted glass the diamond belt really does the job fast. For those who are only going to use the WBS only once in a while the investment in the diamonds wouldn't be the way to go. I think the diamond grit on my belts are 100. Robert Stephen at His suggested this due to the coarser grit will chew up the glass edge more. Taking care of the belts will extend the life of them too. The only diamonds I have are in and on my tools.

Good luck Lisa.

Patty
http://www.pattygray.com

You could also check Abarasive Technology. You want the plate bonded diamonds. I have a 70 and a 220. They are great.

Amy

Thanks to all of you! I will check HIS and Abrasive Technology on Monday.

Lisa

Lisa, I haven't used diamond belts, the price always scared me, but if you're removing a lot of glass, as I sometimes do, try a 40 grit carborundum belt. It is very fast. Also very noisy, sounds like hail hitting a cheap trailer home, but you can shape a piece rapidly, then go to other belts. I would go 40, 80, 220, 400, cork. Brock

I believe the belts that HIS sells are from Abrasive Technology (Crystalite). Their websites are http://www.hisglassworks.com and http://www.crystalite.com

I use the diamond belts that Kingsley North sells on my WBS, but it's a smaller (41 1/2" by 3") size Covington WBS. Diamond definitely lasts much longer than silicon carbide. http://www.kingsleynorth.com

I've purchased items from all three of the companies mentioned above (no problems with any of them). Another company which I'm aware of but which I've not tried is Wilt Industries in NY. They sell belts (as well as wet belt sanders): http://www.wiltindustries.com/wet_belt_sanders.htm

I started out with a 60 grit diamond belt from Kingsly North for my Covington WBS, and SiC belts for the other grit sizes.

I was so happy with the diamond belt, I later bought 220 and 400 diamond belts. Much faster than using SiC belts. So far, I haven't noticed much decrease in efficiency as I have used them. I follow the 400 diamond with an old 400 SiC, and then cork.

Steve

CR Laurence also has diamond belts.
Just got my wbs going last week. I ended up with the GL4W and use it daily
Very happy!
I am using their polish spray also.It is supposed to prolong belt life...have not used it long enough to tell yet...but it does seem to improve the process.
When you go to the cork belt...are you using cerium or tin oxide slurry or plain wet cork?
jim

WB sanders are meant to be used with water only, or perhaps some other light lubricant. They travel way too fast to use a slurry, you'll wear it. My machine, a 106" model, goes around 30 revolutions oer second. If you have exceptional reflexes, it'll go around 12 times before you can move. Brock

I have a collection of diamond belts for my belt sander. I guess I have 5or6 plated bond and about as many resin bond. I get plated bond belts direclty from abrasive technology and resin bonded belts from eastwind diamond through kingsley north. I also use silicon carbide belts. What combination of these I use really depends what I'm making. It took me at least a year to figure out the exact quickest and best combination for each product and I'm still tweaking it all the time. Generally for removing material plated diamond is the way to go. For medium grits resin bonded is okay, and I really only use sic for final smoothing. A good start is, 100 and 220 in plated. I wouldn't recomend the 70. Then 320 in resin bond and finish with a 400 in sic.

I'd stick with carbide belts because I figure the chance of me abusing and gouging a belt is pretty good and if it was diamond, I'd be crying. I use 50 grits while Brock uses 40's for hogging off glass rapidly. The carbide 50 rapidly slows in cutting speed to new 60 or 70. If you find you are wearing one area of a belt because of the type of glass pieces you are doing try the following tip. I got a U shaped piece of nylon plastic (from a plastic fish tote off a fish boat, wrecked tote found on beach.) the piece was about the length of the roller strip at the front of the belt sander. I can clip this piece over the top of the set of roller wheels whenever I want. It enables me to work new areas of the belt and will roll side to side.
Kevin