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It All Comes from a Jumbo Roll
How Sanding Belts Start Manufacturing
All belts start as a jumbo roll of the particular material and grit.
- Jumbos have a similar look and size as a roll of carpet
- They are purchased from a handful of global manufacturers
- Converters take the jumbos and manufacture belts, discs, shop rolls, etc.
First Steps First
What is scuffing while manufacturing sanding belts?
Once material has been cut to the desired yield, the backing material is shaved down where the joint will overlap.
- Scuffing removes millimeters of material of the cloth backing
- This removal allows the addition of tape and/or glue with a flush seam
- The flush seam allows for smooth grinding without chattering as the seam rolls over the contact wheel.
Butt Joints?
What are Sanding Belt Joints?
Joints, after scuffing has removed material in the back, are the method of attaching a smaller cut of jumbo roll of sand paper back together. The scuffing is completed first, pressure applied, and a high-tech joint tape with specialized adhesive is used to secure the backing material back together. This tape is highly specialized for strength and durability, requiring it to be frozen up until the moment of application.
- There are various different types of joints, most typically butt joints are the most common (a straight line offset at a moderate angle).
- Other joints are common, like those with a wavy pattern.
Funny thing about numbers
Rule of Twelve
Once the material is cut, scuffed, glued and taped, it’s usually set to a width of twelve inches.
- 12 inches is highly divisible by many widths with little to no waste
- Once a 12″ wide belt is created, it is slit down to the final width
- Loops increase productivity by reducing the scuffing and joint time
Burn it with fire
Singing the finished sanding belts
The coarser the sanding belts, the larger the problem can be for small strands of the y or x weight polyblended backing material to break off in thin strands or stragglers. Using a torch as the final finishing process can reduce these and leave a clean product ready for using its edge on your steel blanks or forged pieces.
