9" Band saw sanding belts

[Cliffo]

will they work on a 9" saw?

I know that Sears sells (or did) bands for a 12" but is a 9" feasible for this use?

this place makes custom in the size if would want, 3/8 x 59.5" but they have ignored my emails (2) so far

http://customsandingbelts.com/abrasive.asp

My concern is with the strength vs tension as the saw seems quite "tight" even in the loosest (install) setting and was wondering if the cloth or paper backing would hold up for both the tension and pressure of use

any help would be appreciated, a responsive supplier would help too
thanks
Cliff

[daveW]

Cliffo, just checked out the refered site....was astonished at the low prices...i looked for a 59 1/2" belt which was not shown in the 3/8" width or i would order a couple and see how they work.. My bandsaw is a Ryobi and sizes are limited for this model. narrow sizes might turn out to be a bust and be useless.......... Dave

[Cliffo]

yeah, I priced them out on their calculator 1.59 cheap ( .25x59.5) and suppose I'll try a couple and some other sizes
It irks me that they won't answer an email though....maybe a glitch
keep you posted

[evilbadger]

Cliffo

I had the Craftsman 12" bandsaw and used the 80" sanding belts with it. The sanding belts do not take the tension like a blade will but you can get them to work. If you are sanding into a tight corner or a curve the sanding belt will try and twist because there is no support behind the belt, but you can make up a support out of a couple of blocks of wood and clamp to the table. Since I got rid of that bandsaw I now use the Jet 1 x 42 belt sander. Narrow bands can be very useful on some projects so keep us posted if they answer your email.