Spliceless Leather Belts for Edisons

[Andersun]

Hello all,

I recall that someone in here mentioned that Edison used a continuous leather belt stamped from a cowhide and spun into a belt shape to create a seamless belt.

1. Is this true?
2. Has anyone tried to make one?
3. If so, do you have instructions on how to do it!

There has to be a better solution than having a splice in a belt!
Thanks!
Steve

[VintageTechnologies]

I have no idea if or how Edison made a seamless belt, but the only thing I can think of is to try to cut out a round gasket (drawn using a compass) from a sheet of very thin leather, perhaps then soften the leather, and then rotate and progressively stretch the leather between two adjustable pulleys. However, one side of the finished belt might be a bit looser than the other and prone to slipping off the mandrel pully. I would be curious to hear the results of such an experiment.

The same ¼" leather belts sold by some phono dealers can be bought on a spool from Tandy Leather stores. However, I consider it too thick and stiff. Perhaps the rough side could be sanded down to make the leather thinner. When I make belts, I feather both ends before overlapping them so that the joint is no thicker than the belt. You should visit a Tandy store, they have quite a variety of leather to choose from. I have made belts from very thin sheets of Kangaroo skin leather, which I cut into ¼" strips with a steel ruler and Exacto knife.

[gramophoneshane]

Over the years I've had a few machines that came with what I was almost positive, was the original belt, and they've all been spliced. The join can be extremely difficult to see, so I've always assumed they were done in a high pressure press to ensure a secure splice was formed that was uniform with the rest of the belt.
I've never come across a non-spliced belt, and if these I suspected to be original were in fact replacements, whoever did them used the same type & coloured leather, & they certainly did a far more professional job of the splice than I've been able to acheive over the last 30 yrs doing them by hand.

The belt that came on my Home I'm sure was original, but it was a little stretched and oily. The oil seemed to have helped preserve the leather as it was still quite flexible and wasn't cracked, so I ironed it on blotting paper, which drew out the oil & shrank the leather, and it lasted me over 15 yrs before it finally broke.
I actually reused it & it now does service on my Standard, so I might have a look later & see if the original splice is still on the belt, but it may have been on the few inches of excess I discarded.