03-25-2017, 01:58 PM
I love leather belts on a 1x42. I always have one on at least one machine. If I'm sharpening I'll use 2 out of 5.
The only thing wrong with leather belts is that they stretch. A bunch. You can't leave a leather belt under tension, and I'm terrible about leaving them on overnight. Doesn't take long for them to get too loose or break.
I went to linen belts for quite a while, but poly diamond, my favorite, is too aggressive for linen. Went to CBN, which is great for deburring, but it leaves a slick edge. Especially when the belt gets loaded, which is kind of hard to determine with linen.
If you put a worn out heavy belt under the leather they can't stretch, and you never have to take it off.
It makes a big difference to me.
The only thing wrong with leather belts is that they stretch. A bunch. You can't leave a leather belt under tension, and I'm terrible about leaving them on overnight. Doesn't take long for them to get too loose or break.
I went to linen belts for quite a while, but poly diamond, my favorite, is too aggressive for linen. Went to CBN, which is great for deburring, but it leaves a slick edge. Especially when the belt gets loaded, which is kind of hard to determine with linen.
If you put a worn out heavy belt under the leather they can't stretch, and you never have to take it off.
It makes a big difference to me.