Question about belt making.

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Jerry B.
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Question about belt making.

Post by Jerry B. »

It seems like I make about one or two Edison belts per year so my material stays wound up an stored most of the time. I made a belt for my Home D last night and when I tried it out, it rode up on the shoulder of the top pulley even though the pulleys were in line with each other. Was my problem from a slightly too loose belt or the fact that the belt material was not really straight? Does anyone do anything to the belt material before making a belt? Thanks for you opinions. Jerry

phonojim
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by phonojim »

I use Ron Sitko's belt material as it comes. Just be sure to properly feather the ends to minimize the effects of the splice. To me, beltmaking can be fiendishly difficult because, even with tensioning devices, the belt still must fit almost perfectly to begin with. The worst belt I have had to deal with is the one on my Columbia Q. There is no tensioner, so the belt must fit tightly enough to pull the mechanism but not so tightly that it will cause drag. I had to do that one over at least once before I got it right.
If your splice is straight, square and properly feathered, you shouldn't have a problem as long as the mechanics are correctly aligned. However, I have bought belting in the past which was not cut properly and had noticable runout. It was very difficult to get it to run correctly and I quit even trying to use it when I got better stuff from Ron.
I also keep my belt material very loosely wound in storage so it will have less curl and be easier to use.

Jim

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Brad
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by Brad »

Jerry,

I have experienced the "belt riding up on the edge of the pulley" and found the cause to be a belt that is not straight. It was easily solved by sanding the protruding edge of the belt with some sand paper. I put adhesive backed sand paper on a short piece of wood and as the motor was running I slowly moved the sandpaper into place and sanded down the protruding area as it passed the sandpaper. After a dozen or so passes, the protruding section was sanded straight enough with the remainder of the belt to stay within the pulley. It has worked fine since.

I have tried the feathered joint on belts and have never been pleased with the results. I then tried a different method (I can't recall where I heard/read it first) and have been very pleased with the results. The method is to cut one end of the belt at a 45 degree angle. Wrap the belt around the pulleys and cut the belt a little longer so the overlap is just a little longer than the diagonal cut. Then with the long end of the belt against the pulley, pull the belt tight and overlap the diagonal cut end and score a line in the long end with an xacto knife using the diagonal cut as the guide. Remove the belt and cut remaining waste off the end at the diagonal score mark. Put contact cement on the diagonal cut edges of each end of the belt. When it is tacky, push the ends together making sure that the sides of the belt are in line. You will get a nice flat belt without any ridges or thick spots.
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Jerry B.
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by Jerry B. »

Thanks for both replies on belt making. I made a second belt for my Home D and if it rides up on the shoulder, I'll try the sandpaper method. Happy collecting, Jerry

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Discman
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by Discman »

Original belts were very thin, much thinner than the leather material sold today to make replacements. I have had good luck making modern belt leather thinner by lightly sanding the unfinished side before splicing. I take a piece about 3" inches longer than I need for the finished belt, put a tack in each end and tack it to a piece of wood with the unfinished side up. Then I take a sanding block with some medium grit paper and lightly sand the rough side of the leather to carefully remove material, making it thinner. It takes a little practice to get the right touch but I've been successful reducing the thickness by about 50%. The thinner belt helps the machine run much smoother and doesn't ride up on the pulley. The thin leather is trickier to splice but the end result it is much closer to an original belt.
Dave Jolley

Phonofreak
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by Phonofreak »

Jerry,
I follow the instructions in Reiss's book about making belts. After I cut the belt to length, I coat both sides with Neetsfoot oil. It softens the leather and makes it more supple. It is available in most boot stores. After application,wipe off excess and let dry overnight. I stretch the belt over the pulleys and cut off the excess. I scarf the belt like in Reiss's book. For glue, I uses Walthers goo cement. You can get it in a model rail road store. I have used this method for many years and it has always worked for me.
Harvey Kravitz

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Lucius1958
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Re: Question about belt making.

Post by Lucius1958 »

I've found the usual replacement belting to be rather too stiff for good performance (though I haven't tried neatsfoot oil - I was concerned that it might cause problems). I've been cutting out my own belts from scraps of soft leather I have.....

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