Questions about a find: Columbia AB with accessories

[Zenger]

"The belt appears to be brown leather with green stitching on it (see pics 5 & 6) -- a neat little detail; does anyone have a picture of one of these belts in nicer condition?"

Whatever you do, don't change that belt for a replacement... stitched belts are not readily available. It looks like if might need some cleaning with a good leather conditioner to keep it supple...

Thanks for the warning! The belt cleaned up nicely with just a lightly damp paper towel; unfortunately, it slips some, leading to uneven playing speeds. Looking at it, it appears that someone tightened it a very long time ago (see pictures), but I guess it's stretched some more in the past century, and now I don't know what to do about it. I really want to keep it, but is there any way to tighten it again without destroying it? If not, does anyone make or sell a good repro?

[fran604g]

Hi Zenger, to answer your question: No, no one that I've heard of currently produces an exact duplicate laced-belt replacement. The closest I've found was MicaMonster (Wyatt Markus) selling leather belting that was a bit wider than the width used on Edison machines.

Cheers,
Fran

[alang]

"The belt appears to be brown leather with green stitching on it (see pics 5 & 6) -- a neat little detail; does anyone have a picture of one of these belts in nicer condition?"

Whatever you do, don't change that belt for a replacement... stitched belts are not readily available. It looks like if might need some cleaning with a good leather conditioner to keep it supple...

Thanks for the warning! The belt cleaned up nicely with just a lightly damp paper towel; unfortunately, it slips some, leading to uneven playing speeds. Looking at it, it appears that someone tightened it a very long time ago (see pictures), but I guess it's stretched some more in the past century, and now I don't know what to do about it. I really want to keep it, but is there any way to tighten it again without destroying it? If not, does anyone make or sell a good repro?

I was able to tighten the original stitched belt in my Edison A-80 by soaking it in denatured alcohol and then letting it dry. It shortened it just a tiny bit and has been working fine ever since.

Andreas

[JerryVan]

You could also try some belt dressing. Nothing to loose but maybe a few bucks!

https://www.mcmaster.com/belt-dressing