Thread: Shop Rats - Need some help with sanding belts for machine

I have an older Fontaine with 6" X 80" belts. I've been using aluminum oxide standard issue belts and have tried 80-120 grits. What grit do you guys buy for your machines and what abrasive do you use. I'm due for some belts and the silicon carbides are recommended for plastic but not so great for ferrous materials like the edges. Also, I've had mixed results with the backing materials warping and debonding so something compatable with wet usage would be great. Any suggestions?

I too am on the prowl for new belts and read a thread somewhere here where the dude was saying he was getting nearly stone finish with ceramic belts. Im intriged by this but am a bit of a belt jong as well and would appreciate a breakdown of whats available.

Interesting. I'm also intrigued to hear what you discover regarding the ceramic belts.

Your comments rang a bell regarding several discussions with Mark Sewell of Ski Visions who has done extensive research relative to base and edge stones. Now you have me wondering about a ceramic sandpaper for hand sanding or orbital sanders....

Anyway, the ceramic and aluminum oxides sound similar in the fracturing department. I know that aluminum oxide sandpaper cuts bases fairly cleanly. The SV base and stones are aluminum oxide (see below) and cut base material well but not good on edges. I'm not clear on what the new 4" stones are made of (possibly ceramic???), but they cut edge metal well and the new ceramic (as are others) polishes the edges nicely.

FWIW:, per SVST:

Ceramic Belts
The hardness of this abrasive material along with super durability are key factors for producing the finest finish of any belt used in the ski industry today. The key to this technological breakthrough is the development of a very fine synthetic crystalline structure, permitting microfracturing of the abrasive grain. This ensures constant regeneration of new cutting edges (self sharpening). Low-fuzz factor—the closest finish to stone grinding of any abrasive belt available.

Per SkiVisions:

Silicon carbide stones should NEVER be used in the Base Flattener. Their grit is sharp and their cutting action is one of tearing. A tearing cutting action leaves very hairy bases, hairs on bases are bad, bad, bad.

Aluminum oxide stones, on the other hand have a cutting action more like polishing than cutting. Hence, you will get a much cleaner base with little in the way of hairs.

The new Ruby Stone Blades are aluminum oxide stones, the highest quality aluminum oxide grit there is, and they have two unique characteristics that make them particularly effective. First the grit is much sharper than standard aluminum oxide so they cut more rapidly. Second, the grit fractures to new sharp points, much like the diamond grit on a fine diamond file, so that when the Ruby Stones are re-sharpened, their performance remains consistent with (although not quite as sharp) as a brand new stone, the sharp new points being replenished every time it is sharpened. They take only minutes to re-sharpen, which also re-flattens them, so doing it frequently really pays. They are, quite frankly, the best of all worlds.

HTH