Sanding belt preference...

[PipesByDesign]

Not asking about those belt/disc combos...

For those of you who do stem shaping on a belt sander (I know Kurt has on occasion) do you prefer 1" or 2" belts? I've gotten ahold of some wheels suitable for a homemade "grinder" of sorts and with some modification can be made to work with either size.

My shop is in progress and the end result will be a belt grinder for stems, and disc sanders for three grit stages

Cheers!

[KurtHuhn]

The bulk of stems I make are saddle or 'fancy', so I prefer a 1" wide belt, and sometimes I cut it down to 1/2". But, sometimes if doing a taper, square, or diamond stem I'll use a wider belt. Prettym uch I do whatever makes sense for the shape of the stem at the time.

[wmolaw]

The bulk of stems I make are saddle or 'fancy', so I prefer a 1" wide belt, and sometimes I cut it down to 1/2". But, sometimes if doing a taper, square, or diamond stem I'll use a wider belt. Prettym uch I do whatever makes sense for the shape of the stem at the time.

Hmmm, why is it I never thought of using the 1 inch belt sander I have for shaping stems!

Do NOT answer that question, it was purely rhetorical!

[PipesByDesign]

Thanks Kurt. I didn't think of cutting the belts down but that's a good idea. The wheels I've got are 1.5" I think, so I could just get 2" belts and cut them down. Then I'd have 1/2" stuff on hand for more detail. Sweet! The wheels are the idler pulleys I kept from when I changed out the timing belt on my truck... I just replaced everything involved in that process and was left with a couple of wheels designed for pretty much what I'm looking to do. The bearings are in great shape and they're very solid. Had to buy them for the truck obviously, but it was nice to not have to go out and buy wheel kits available for grinders since I'd rather keep my arms and legs.

Cheers!