rubber wheels with replaceable belts

Hey Larry, glueing a belt onto a Nova wheel wouldn't work in my case because the Nova wheels aren't a full 8", but are 7 5/8". Maybe someone with a 6" machine has tried that and will respond.
I use an expandable drum from 600 to 8k and a leather belt for polish. The drums have some give to them but I've never really had to do that much pushing on the cabs after the 280 Nova wheel. The 280 for me is the workhorse on my machine, and like I said yesterday, I've been using it for 2 1/2 years, so I got my money's worth out of it and should replace it. I use diamond belts, and only Raytech's True Circle belts for my sanding. The SC belts may only be $3 a pop, but a diamond belt will in the long run be cheaper. And they work so much better than SC belts. I did an experiment about 6 months after I started using my 600 diamond belt. Just for kicks I put on a brand new 600SC belt to see what the difference was, and there was a HUGE difference. I took it off and never looked back. There are a few people that here will attest to the same thing. Maybe if they read this they will respond.
So my thoughts on this are; There's no inexpensive way around the 280 Nova wheel and if you can use the 600 hard wheel before the 280, it will make it last even that much longer. If you decide to go with belts, go diamond, the SC belts are a waste of money.

Ive used a 8inch expando drum since i started cutting cabs back in 1995. I have worked on a nova wheel, but not fulltime, or enough really to say its better or not. I can attest that sic belts work wonders. They are inexpensive, and do last a very long time. The last time i had to buy 220 sic belts was over 1.5years ago. I bought 10 at that time, and currently need to order a new batch. Costed $20

The main difference ive expeirnced with diamond cloth belts to sic belts was how long they lasted. Ed is right, they will last longer, given its specfic grit size. However sic belts seem to wear better for me, and actaully last almost as long. When moving them down the line of grit stage when they wear.

Ive been using a 600 sic belt for over 4years, though now its really a 1200 or higher.

Cost comparison for me has been in favor of Sic belts over diamond belts or nova wheels. But i also use a metal diamond 220 wheel to reduce the time of sanding on any sic belt. Before when i would just go from a metal 80-100 grit to sic belts, they were much faster and utimatley costed more. But keep in mind, cost to me has just as much to do with time as it does supplies. If i used a 4 or more wheel setup, the cost/labor comparison may favor a nova, or stationary wheel and not a belt of any kind. But i honuestly would only favor a nova in that case if other companies made similar ones for large use like DP does. I find any machine that in time, will break, no matter how well you use it or not. I dont want to be subjected to haveing to get the same thing all the time. AS a hobbyist, it wouldnt make a difference in my opinion. But for turning a profit, belts have been ideal for my setup.

I would think if your mid stage grit sanding wears out fastest, then maybe there should be a prior stage to help minimize that wear?

I do a lot of cabbing fossils, and other stones as well, and I use the expandable drum wheels. Diamond is the way to go, the belts are a lot sturdier and last a lot longer. Yes, they are expensive, but worth it in the long run. If you've ever had a SiC belt come apart on you when cabbing, you'll know what I mean when preferring the diamond. It can tear up a finger good

speaking of belts flying apart, yesterday all 3 SiC belts on my machine blew up on me, 100, 220, and 600. Fortunately no nicked fingers. It can scare the crud out of you though when it happens.

If sic belts are flying apart on anyone, either A-they are low qualtiy made belts, or b- your rotation speed is too high. I am not saying they cant, but guys. Ive been cutting for over 10 years, and i know many old timers than have been cutting for over 40years. Mainly using sic belts. Them flying apart is not a common issue. If it was, i would of got off them long ago. So no offence Ed, but that is no case. It sounds like cheap belts or improper use.

Now the glue seam giving way sounds more reasonable than them flying apart. Many factors can come into play that cuase the glue seam to fail. Still, in the years ive been using them. Ive only experince this twice on very old belts, never newly purchased belts that get used within a year or so. But i store all belts inside, as the Arizona sun does to plastics and glues just that in a manner of a few weeks.