How to cut conveyor belt?

radioman · Mar 2, 2009

2manyrocks said:
HF? Has desperation truly set in? Are we stranded on a deserted island with only HF?

go with craftman saw then.

zzvyb6 · Mar 2, 2009

I've used a chainsaw to cut/rip steel reinforced belting. You need a ripper blade to shread out the kerf. Otherwise the chain will plug. I score the material first to guide the saw and use a friend to run a leaf blower to remove the chaff because it gets messy. Lots of crumbs. Best technique is to roll it up to the diameter of the saw and cut thru the roll instead of trying to cut 60 lineal feet. I donated my old Homelite 14" XL to this mission.

I use the same techique to remove tires from rims when the tire is rusted on and its just not worth the trouble of being careful about saving the carcass. I just cut the thing off. Sometimes I'll need to get out the torch to finish the bead so I don't hurt the pretty little shiney saw chain thingy.

tallyho8 · Mar 9, 2009

In the last week I have tried the chainsaw again, knife blades on a jigsaw and a plywood blade ground to an edge on a circular saw with no good results.

I figured that there is no easy way to cut this belt.

Finally I went to Lowe's and bought a good comfortable Cobalt razor knife and some of their titanium coated razor knife blades. I tested it ripping a 12 foot section of this belt using diesel for lubricant on the blade and it only took me about 30 minutes to cut it and I wasn't even worn out when I finished. The blade wasn't even dull after 12 feet. My regular blades are usually shot after 12 feet.

I figure I will cut my 65 foot belt this way, stopping for a rest after about every 12 feet. Maybe I can get it done in only two days.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I believe that some of these belts are tougher than others and what works on some may not work on others.

2manyrocks · Mar 9, 2009

I'm sorry for my suggestions that didn't work.

tallyho8 · Mar 9, 2009

2manyrocks said:
I'm sorry for my suggestions that didn't work.

No need to be sorry. I asked for suggestions and appreciated all of them that I got. Some of them may work for others cutting a different composition belt than the one I have.

At least I gave my neighbor something to smile about. I thought he was going to bust out laughing when my chainsaw blade started smoking thick black smoke.

2manyrocks · Mar 9, 2009

Thank you.

shepherd · Mar 9, 2009

they make smooth saw blades for the skil saw to cut hydrualic(sp?) hoses that should work. go to the local company that makes hydrualic(sp?) and find out where they bought their blade

tallyho8 · Mar 10, 2009

It seems to me that the problem cutting it with a blade is that the cut does not open up allowing the blade to move freely. Instead it exerts hard pressure on each side of the blade causing high friction and overheating. If there was a way to pull the cut pieces apart, like I do when I'm ripping a 2x8 with my saw by putting a wedge in the cut area to pull it open as I cut, then a regular saw would probably work.

When you're trying to cut an object that weighs over 1000 pounds it is always much harder to control and maneuver than a little handheld object.

J_J · Mar 10, 2009

Did you put any liquid on the rubber as you cut.

Have you tried pulling the matt with a tractor against a stationary blade, with someone guiding it through the cut, with liquid on the cut. I am almost positive that rubber compounds cut better when wet. Put a wedge behind the wedge.

tallyho8 · Mar 10, 2009

J_J said:
Did you put any liquid on the rubber as you cut.

Have you tried pulling the matt with a tractor against a stationary blade, with someone guiding it through the cut, with liquid on the cut. I am almost positive that rubber compounds cut better when wet. Put a wedge behind the wedge.

Yes, I use diesel for the lubricant. It seems to work better than water or soap. I haven't tried your stationary blade idea. It seems like it would be rather hard to anchor a blade well enough to pull against it with a tractor to cut this belt.