I got some belts from Skookum to go with my sander but when I put one of them on tonight it was too tight and wouldn't allow the motor to turn. Has anyone else run into this? I did okay with the AO belt I was using but I got some ZA and a ceramic to try as I know they cut better/faster. The belts that I got from King worked without a problem. I did only get a chance to try one of the others as well so maybe it was unique to that one.
Surprised nobody responded to this but I have just run in to the same problem. Same King sander and with Zircs too .... I got 40 grit blues for material removal as well as 120 blues and the first one of each that I put on worked fine. The abrasive qualities of them are amazing .... I still havent worn one out yet. Not only will they not turn but even if they would the tension/tracking wheel gets pushed so far forward that the inside edge can rub on where the tension spring sits. I wonder if they can be stretched by hanging them with a weight ....I can't see returning them to be a very productive process. Even if they get replaced what are the chances of just getting more that are the same way?
I got my green ZA to go last week. I turned on the sander and manually moved the belt till it started to go on it's own. Took a bit. I had to do it with both belts. They are around 1/4-1/2 (3/8?) shorter than the ones I ordered from King. I took the clear plastic guard off to make it easier to turn by hand.
