14" x 114" Metalworking Sanding Belts

Cylinder head and block resurfacing machines and 14" wide belt grinders run a long, narrow loop that has to stay flat under heavy pressure across its full width. This 14" x 114" metalworking belt is built for that duty in three grains: ceramic for the hardest cast iron and steel decks, zirconia for cast iron and steel at a lower belt cost, and cloth A/O for aluminum heads and every finishing grit from 150 through 600.

Automotive machine shops, engine rebuilders and fabrication shops with a 14" belt machine buy it by the grit they run most. Each belt is converted in Anaheim, California, on cloth backings that can be run wet or dry, and other 14" lengths are made to order in about 3 days.

• Ceramic, zirconia and cloth A/O grains for cast iron, steel and aluminum
• Y-weight poly-cotton under the ceramic and zirconia resists stretch on a long 114" loop
• 24 through 600 grit: from decking a warped head to a fine gasket-surface finish
• Runs wet or dry, so it suits flood-coolant resurfacers and dry deburring grinders
• Sold per belt: stock the grits your machine actually uses
• Converted in Anaheim, California; free shipping on orders over $200

Which grain should you run for cylinder resurfacing or wide belt grinding?

On a resurfacing machine the choice is driven by the head or block material and by how much material you need to take off. On a general 14" wide belt grinder, treat it like any metal finishing line.

• Ceramic: orange-red grain for cast iron and steel decks, hardened surfaces, and any job where you are taking a heavy first cut to true a warped or pitted surface. It fractures continuously under the pressure a resurfacer applies and holds its cut rate, so the stock removal per pass stays predictable. Stocked in the coarse and medium grits.
• Zirconia: green or blue grain for cast iron and steel where the cut is moderate and belt cost matters. It self-sharpens under load, stocked from 24 to 120 grit. Above 120, a zirconia grain stops fracturing and behaves like a costly aluminum oxide, so the finish grits are cloth A/O.
• Cloth A/O: brown aluminum oxide on poly-cotton. The grain for aluminum heads and blocks at every grit, and the only grain we offer from 150 through 600 for the final gasket-surface passes on iron or aluminum. It cuts cleanly at light pressure and leaves the most uniform scratch.

A typical resurfacing sequence is a coarse ceramic or zirconia cut to true the deck, a medium grit to remove that scratch, then cloth A/O at the fine grit your gasket specification calls for. On aluminum, keep the coarse cut light and use coolant or a grease stick from the first pass.

Grit guide for decks, plate and sheet on a 14" belt

Do not skip more than one grit between passes on a sealing surface. The fine belt only removes the scratch immediately before it; a coarse groove left under a fine finish is a leak path.

What machines take a 14" x 114" belt?

• Cylinder head and block resurfacing belt machines in automotive and diesel machine shops. This is the size the listing has always been sold for, and the reason the belt is built on a heavy backing.
• 14" wide belt grinders and deburring machines for plate, sheet and laser-cut parts in metal fabrication.
• Small wide belt finishing machines in machine shops that use a platen head to put a uniform finish on flat parts.

Confirm 14" width and 114" length in your machine manual; if your machine runs a different length in this width, we make it. Check the inside of the belt for a direction arrow before mounting and track the belt so it runs centred on the drum. On dry machines, use a dedicated metal-rated dust collector; cast iron and aluminum dust must never share a collector with wood dust.

How to get the most out of it

1. Give the coarse grains a real cut. Ceramic and zirconia stay sharp only when the depth of cut is enough to fracture the grain. A glazed, shiny belt and a hot deck mean the pass is too light.
2. Use coolant when the machine has it. The Y-weight poly-cotton under the ceramic and zirconia and the poly-cotton under the cloth A/O both run wet. Coolant keeps aluminum from loading the belt and keeps an iron deck from heat-distorting during a long truing pass.
3. Slow down on aluminum. Use the lower belt speed for aluminum heads, keep the first cut at 60 grit or finer, and dress a dry belt with a grease stick.
4. Keep the feed steady. Dwelling in one spot dishes a deck and blues steel. Consistent feed gives a consistent finish and an even belt wear pattern.
5. Step grits without skipping so the final gasket surface has no deep scratches hiding under it.
6. Store belts hanging. A 114" loop left folded or on a concrete floor takes a set that shows up as a thump and a finish mark on every revolution.

Use it for / don't use it for

Use it for

• Resurfacing cast iron cylinder heads, blocks and manifolds (ceramic or zirconia, finished with A/O)
• Resurfacing aluminum heads and blocks (cloth A/O, wet or with a grease stick)
• Deburring and finishing steel and stainless plate and laser-cut parts on a 14" wide belt grinder
• Truing and graining flat aluminum plate and machined parts

Don't use it for

• Wood or MDF; this is a metal belt on a metal-grade backing
• Zirconia or ceramic above 120 grit when a finish is the goal; switch to cloth A/O
• A machine whose dust system also handles wood dust
• Any machine whose manual calls for a different width or length

Specifications

Frequently asked questions

Related products and guides

• All sanding belts
• Wide sanding belts collection
• 16" x 48" Metalworking Sanding Belts, 3 pack
• Grease stick for sanding belts and band saws
• Custom sanding belts made to order in about 3 days