Lathe flat belt help

Garage guy, the belt was slipping as it is getting up to speed - I had the belt cover up and manually tensioned it and watched it slip. If I tension it very tightly, it doesn't slip much getting to speed, or when taking cuts up to .020 off the diameter. Dave, I was going to flip the belt and try that, but I really scrubbed the heck out of the belt with acetone and Simple Green, and now it's like it was before it got oily. I just worry that tension is too tight and I am wearing bearings way faster than I should.

I have tried the automotive serpentine belt. It ran the lathe well (other than squealing) but every method of attachment - gluing, lacing with multiple media, has failed.

I am cutting hot roll common steel, I'd guess it's 1018, with hss bits I ground to angles recommended (I think these last I used Tom's Techniques specs). Same bits easily took .060 off the diameter with the serpentine belt. Makes a nice curly chip. Speed as close as I can get it with my pulleys (cutting speed x4/diameter), feed rate at .0087 per rev, which I read was a good recommendation for roughing cuts.

I apologize for all these basic newby questions, and really appreciate the help!
Am I expecting too much depth of cut? Is .020 about max for this lathe?
Is the tight belt tension I described (essentially banjo spring tight, tension screw in until it's almost, or is, lifting the belt cover ) "normal, don't worry about it" or am I doing damage?
Is there anything I can do to seal that oil fill port in the pulley? I had a similar issue with the serpentine belt when I oiled that port. I had to stop and clean everything. The issue went away when all the oil leaked out. So if I oil the lathe, it won't work well and I have to stop for 20 minutes and clean it up, but if I don't oil it.....

I called the Al Bino shop and they had never heard of the Logan oil leak issue. He said I may be better off with a leather belt, which of course was original equipment, as well he said the leather adhesion to the pulleys wouldn't have reacted so drastically to a little oil on it.

Leather is all I haven't tried so far, may as well try it. It was what the lathe was designed to run.
 
I think being limited to 0.020 depth of cut would be a deal breaker for me. I've used some pretty wonky looking belts and haven't experienced slipping like that. I've used serpentine belts on several machines without any problems. I run them ribs down on the smooth pulleys and haven't had slippage. Like others have said, it's a little more work to install them but they're cheap and readily available. They run nice and quiet too.
 
First, fix the oil leak, which is no doubt continuing. You can also put a low viscosity grease in the cone pulley. Then put a sealant on the threads of the plug so it quits leaking. The lathe needs to be kept lubed.
 
I did a bit of searching and that leak appears to be a common issue with Logans. I don't know why I haven't thought about using a bit of pipe sealant or maybe some Teflon tape on the threads.
 
I think I'm just going to start using the light grease like the south bends use. I always have the oil weeping out the end past the fibre washer.
 
I had a laced nylon belt on my Logan 820 for 30 years with no problems. It was nice to be able to pull the pin out when I needed to work on the lathe. I have no Idea where I got it. It never stretched or showed signs of wear.
 
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