Belt sanders are efficient and multipurpose tools found in almost every home. Though they do require some practice and getting used to, but to some people, they are much easier to use and require much less effort when compared to hand-sanders or other kinds of sanders.
However, regardless of what anyone might say, it is a non-arguable fact that changing the belt on your belt sander is a rather difficult task.
Keeping this in mind, we will teach you how to change a belt on a belt sander in today’s article. So without further ado, let’s get started!
How to Change a Belt on a Belt Sander?
Here’s the process for you.
1. Know When to Change the Belt
Although this might seem very obvious, you would be surprised to know that there are, in fact, a lot of people who miscalculate their time for changing the belt. Changing it before its roughness wears out would not do you any harm, but why waste all that sandpaper, right?
On the other hand, if you change the belt after it’s roughness has long worn out, then you will not be getting any noticeable results from objects you have just sanded, whether it be a piece of wooden furniture or some other material.
So when should you change your belt? To know when to do so, you need to run your hand along the belt of the stationary sander. If it feels more or less smooth to you, it is probably time to get a new one.
2. Disconnect the Sander
This step may be skipped if you usually keep your sander unplugged. However, if you do not, then disconnect your sander from the electric connection first because you never know when you might accidentally turn it on while trying to change the belt.
3. Finding the Tension Lever
Every sander has a lever that can be pulled to loosen the sandpaper belt. Usually, you will be able to locate the lever at the side of the product, fit snugly between the top and bottom belts.
However, in some cases, if you cannot find the said lever, then try applying pressure on the front wheels of your sander by pushing it against a wall.
By doing so, you will be forcefully locking the wheel in a non-tension mode, which is what the lever would do.
4. Changing the Belt
Once you have located the lever, place the sander on its side so that the lever is pointing towards you. Next, all you have to do is pull it towards you with some amount of force. If you are doing it right, you will see the front and back wheels rolling towards each other, and the belt will come undone.
Now all that there is left for you to do is to take out the old belt and replace it with the new one by following the same pattern as before. You will see some arrows at the back of the sandpaper. These arrows indicate which end of the belt you should put into the sander first, so do make sure to keep that in mind as well.
5. Returning the Sander to Its Original Position
Once you have securely replaced the old belt of your sander with your new one, the only thing left for you to do is to return your sander to its initial position by pushing down on the lever so that the wheels slide away from each other.
If you are using a sander that does not have a lever, you will need to wedge the wheels back to their initial places with a flathead screwdriver. Hence make sure that you have one at hand from before.
Safety Measures
Regardless of how experienced you might be, a few safety protocols should always be maintained when working with belt sanders. Now that we are done looking at the process of changing a belt on a belt sander, let us now look at some safety measures that need to be taken:
- When working on a dusty project, be sure to wear a dust respirator so that you can prevent your respiratory tract from getting damaged.
- Keep your sanding area clear so that you don’t trip over stray cords or other items.
- Clean your sander regularly to prevent dust from accumulating in them
- Use two hands to work with the device and keep both hands away from the sanding belt.
- Wear a face shield or safety goggles.
The list of safety measures that need to be taken are not limited to the ones mentioned above, so do make sure that you do your fair share of research beforehand.
Conclusion
This concludes our article today. We hope that by the time you are done reading this, you will know how to change a belt on a belt sander. Thank you for staying with us till the end!