Our Top Tips on Storing Wide Belts

There is a saying that a man is only as good as his tools, and this is particularly true in the case of wide sanding belts. It doesn’t matter how good your machine is, you need your belts in good condition to produce the best results.

Knowing how to store your sanding belts correctly and to handle them with care, can help extend the life of your wide belts, avoid breakages, and allow them to work better for longer. And, of course, make your life a lot easier

Doing all you can to keep your belts away from excessive heat, cold and humidity will help keep them in the best condition. So, here are our top tips on how to handle and store your wide sanding belts correctly, so they give you the performance you expect for longer.

Keep your wide sanding belts dry

This sounds obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to forget. Damp, whether from the floor or humidity in the air, will increase the moisture content in the backing and bonding of the belt, causing them to soften and lose significant performance.

With that in mind, always avoid leaving your belts on concrete floors or in damp areas. Also, keeping belts in their unopened packaging until you need them, in a dry area off the floor, will help protect them from damp.

Keep wide belts within the ideal temperature and humidity range

We recommend you store your wide belts between 15-25ºc and 35-60% humidity for optimal performance.

Excessive humidity will affect the dimensional stability of the abrasive backing and cause belts to soften and create a concave curl. Conversely, low humidity can cause belts to become brittle with a convex curl.

Remove them from their packaging at least 24 hours before use 

This will help acclimatise your belts to the air. Once opened hang packs on a rack horizontally for easier handling. Hanging your wide belts in this way, ensuring they are not rolled up, encourages even moisture flow over the whole width of the belt.

If you are able to, store your wide belts against inside partition walls rather than exterior facing, colder outer walls, and keep away from windows and direct heat, such as radiators.

Follow these tips and keep your wide sanding belts in excellent condition, ready for the next job.

Adkwik Custom Made Sanding Belts

Adkwik provide a range of custom-made abrasive sanding belts. Sanding machines such as wide belt sanders, pad sanders and edge sanders have many variations and sanding belts can be manufactured to suit. We have many materials, sizes and grits available to order to suit your machine and needs. Brands include Mirka, Sia, Hermes, and more.  To order or enquire for pricing,  please fill out our sanding belt enquiry form online here.

Sanding Belt materials we think you’ll like…

MIRKA ULTIMAX 

• Specialist cavity coating prevents clogging
• Aggressive performance reduces production times
• Sands cool reducing risk of burning
• Long lifespan

MIRKA JEPUFLEX ANTISTATIC 

• Best seller
• Universal material
• High quality and reliable
• optimised for most hardwood

If you have any queries or would like more advice then please don’t hesitate to contact our technical team by email or by phone- 01223 412373.