How to Clean a Belt Sander With an Old Shoe

After a few hours of sanding, the sandpaper belt on your belt sander may be clogged with sawdust, dirt and debris. Some craftsmen just discard belts that reach this point, which is actually a very wasteful habit. Most of the time, the grit on these gunked-up belts is perfectly fine; the belts just need a thorough cleaning. And if you have an old tennis shoe laying around, you can clean yours in a matter of seconds.

Things You'll Need

• Belt sander
• Old shoe with rubber sole
• Workbench-mounted vice clamp (optional)

Instructions

1. Plug in your belt sander. If you have a free standing model, proceed to the next step. If you have a hand held model, turn it upside down and secure it in a sturdy workbench-mounted vice clamp.

2. Turn the sander on and let it accelerate to full speed.

3. Hold the shoe securely with both hands. Slowly lower the rubber sole of the shoe onto the belt sander. Make sure you hold it in such a way that the rubber covers the entire width of the belt.

4. Continue sanding down the rubber for a total of about fifteen seconds, then turn the sander off and allow the belt to come to a complete stop. Inspect it carefully; if all of the dirt and sawdust is gone, then consider the belt clean. If some remains, just sand down the shoe sole in ten second increments until all of the debris is gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Shoes with softer soles that have some give to them tend to work better than shoes with very hard rubber soles.

• An accident with a belt sander can cause serious injury in just a few seconds. Make sure that you never touch the spinning belt of a belt sander with any part of your body, and use extreme caution whenever using this equipment for any purpose.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish