After some customer testing I will be offering leather belts for grinders of all sizes. If size is not on my site just send me an email and I will get a quote for you then add it. https://canadian-artisan.com/knife-making/sanding-supplies/
John I need a 2 x 72. I’ll be placing a belt order again sometime this week, so hopefully you can set one aside for me and tack it onto the order. Cheers!
So far reviews have been good on the 1x42 belts. I have decided that the 2x72 belts will be two layers of 4oz Vegtan leather. Two layers will have less stretch over its lifetime and should last longer. Edges will be rounded and I will leave it up to the customer to seal with compound or paraffin wax. Beeswax is sticky and will grab so I won't be suggesting that after my experience with a grabby belt.
Just wondering if you'd given any thought to using a lightweight inexpensive 2x72 sanding belt as a backing for the leather to prevent stretching. Contact cement should hold the leather in place. Regards Dave
two layers of leather back to back will have pretty good stretch resistance. Another option is a Tyvek intermediary layer which has no stretch to speak of however this may cause other issues and I want to run one for lots of hours to be sure nothing odd pop up
Hoarding old belts could be a support group name. I have to go through my pile and pick a couple of the worst ones and cut them up or the stack gets unmanageable