Sanding Boards - shop tip

   A while ago I was at a clearance sale and bought a couple of boxes of sanding belts, very, very cheaply.  The belts were so cheap because the glue joint that held the belt together and dried out to the point that the belts would only run for a couple of minutes on the sander and then fall apart.
   
   I do a fair amount of sanding and $0.25 per belt is a really good price.  I had hoped that the seller was just being extra careful not to sell a disappointing product, but when I got them home, the belts fell apart almost instantly when put on my sander.


   I wasn't too up set, I decided to cut the belts into smaller pieces and use them on a sanding block.


   Then..... I had an inspiration:


    You know how sometimes the project pieces are too small to sand with your belt sander or orbital sander and you end up fussing around with a hand sanding block.


    When I hand sand now I often use those old sanding belts on a sanding board.

the board is 3/4 plywood about 32 inches long

I tacked 60 grit on one side and 120 grit on the other and drilled a hole on top to hang it up.

    This set up gives me a flat surface on which to sand small pieces and since the belt is more than two feet long I can remove a good amount of material quickly and evenly.  A further bonus is the belts can be cleaned easily with a crepe block just as if they were on your belt sander.


    A cheap and handy shop tip