flat belt replacement recommendation for southbend 9

E

eweissman

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picked up this 9in southbend off craigslist about 7 months back, leather belt that was with it failed shortly after purchase. i purchased a replacement synthetic belt from
hit & miss enterprises a while back, and it kinda doesnt work very well. the alligator lacing they installed for me is crooked and the belt falls off unless i keep it in the
slowest of the three pulley combinations. and i think supposedly the belt is meant to be a little narrower than the pulley flat, but this one is actually a full inch wide.
i know that i can get a real leather belt from mcmaster carr and try to glue it or figure out how to lace it properly, but i was
kinda hoping to just get one with some kind of alligator type lacing so as to not have to cut it or disassemble the spindle to get it off.
thanks all.
-eian
 
If you search "south bend lathe belt" on ebay you'll find the leather belts with the clips so you can replace it without removing the spindle.
 
It sounds like you need to adjust the counter shaft to make it run true. I use a link belt on my SB9A horiz. drive and had to play with it to get it to run true and once done your set. Mine has been on for about 2 years and shows no wear and could change it in 2 minutes if need be and also it is quiet. I do not know if the link belt will work on a under mount type. Pic is before I redid the lathe.
Paul

DCP_0453.JPG
 
If that doesn't work there is a place, I believe in Denver, that has made me a couple of belts. I have the info in the shop.
 
I've heard of people using serpentine belts normally used to drive the accessories on the front of a car motor. I read how they did it. Apparently the right belt length and width would work. I think that the right glue adhesive played a major role in the success of the endeavor.
 
thanks for the advice folks. i like that link belt idea. i did recheck the alignment of the pulleys and they do appear to be slightly off.
should play around with that and see if it makes it better. i still have a lot to learn, this is my first lathe.
 
When I purchased my SB9, it had a continuous automotive type belt on it with no splices! Appartently, the previous owner had removed the spindle to put it on. I cut it to be able to move the lathe in pieces. The replacement belt I got came from Baltimore Belting. They have been around since 1902 and know a thing or two about belting:

http://www.baltimorebelting.com/

I called and told them what I wanted, gave a credit card number and got my belt in a few days. Due to the higher cost of a leather belt, I chose to go with a synthetic composite layered belt with lacing staples on each end. The "pin" supplied is just a length of insulated single strand wire which holds it very securely. You will need the length of the belt when you order. I set the belt adjustment somewhere in the middle of its travel leaving myself room to tighten and measured with a tape measeure (tailors type, not metal which will not accurately measure around the pulleys). Alternately, you can use a wire or cord to go around the pulleys and then measure that.

I had fairly accurately lined up the drive and driven pulleys edge to edge prior to doing all this and used a 1 inch belt which runs true.
However, I have been told that a narrower, 3/4 inch belt is actually correct. Also, it is better for a (slight) misalignment problem. Because the flat belt rides the crown of the pulley, it often needs some side to side space to find a happy medium. If the pulleys are misaligned, remember that the belt wants to "climb" the pulley and movement of one pulley relative to the other when trying to align them may produce a belt movement that seems counter intuitive until you realize that.
Good luck
 
I can't understand why you would want to lace a belt up, when there are such more modern and better alternatives out there. Old style doesn't necessarily mean better. Just my opinion...........
 
I am with Mac. Go with the serpentine belt. Way better than leather or leather substitutes. Much less slip even with oil on the sheave. And you don't get that annoying slapping sound from the splice or lacing.

Randy
 
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