Question/help about flat leather belt on SB9A

josef

josef

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When I bought my lathe years ago it had a composition belt of some kind with alligator clips. At a certain point it gave up the ghost and I got a belt from McMaster Carr called a "high speed extended life leather belt" that had a nylon core to reduce stretch. I had no idea what I was doing and made a scarf joint in it and glued it together with Weldwood contact cement. It actually worked for a few years of intermittent use. Finally the glue joint gave up and refused to be re-made.
So I thought I'd try a real leather belt. I had some leather from Tandy that measures about 0.15" thick and I watched a youtube video by ghostses from back in 2012 about lacing the belt. So that's what I did and made a very pretty job of it.
Now the problem is that it doesn't transmit very much power at all. It slips. I can get the thing going by turning the 3-jaw by hand but it has no power. Admittedly I still don't really know what I'm doing. Is there a particular kind of leather I have to use? Is it just a matter of tension? Do I need belt dressing? I have the flesh side of the leather outermost. The smooth side is against the wheels.
I'd like to make the leather work. I could go back to the high-speed stuff and lace it like I did the plain leather. I don't want to use a serpentine or alligator clips.
 
What do you have against serpentine? They’re low price and work better than leather. The only disadvantage is you have to pop out the spindle. Is that your concern?
 
I have a 10K with the original endless belt. I'd be inclined to go with a belt from Al Bino (https://albinoindustrialbelting.com/) or a serpentine belt.
If your spindle felts have not been replaced, a serpentine belt is a good choice as you have to pull the spindle to replace the felts anyway.
 
Are there any write-ups about pulling the spindle? I have a maintenance and parts manual and it looks like a lot of things have to be removed to get the spindle out.
There are several felt wicks listed in the parts list and very poor drawings of them. Where can I get them if I decide to?
I was only looking to replace the belt, not get into a restoration job.
 
josef said:
Are there any write-ups about pulling the spindle? I have a maintenance and parts manual and it looks like a lot of things have to be removed to get the spindle out.
There are several felt wicks listed in the parts list and very poor drawings of them. Where can I get them if I decide to?
I was only looking to replace the belt, not get into a restoration job.
Click to expand...
It's a simple process to pull the spindle. I've seen a muffler adapter used where he uses the pipe in the video.
Full felt kits are available here. I have this kit and it is excellent.
 
I just did my felts a few mo. ago.
Put a serp. belt on, I will never use leather again.
Mine is a NAPA 070460. 15/16" x46-5/8".
Ribs towards the pulleys.

Bast to measure first.
 
Okay. It looks like the felt kit is the way to go partly for the book on renovating.
If I go with a serpentine belt, how can I find one 15/16" wide and 59" or 60" long? When I search on serpentine belts, I find lots at auto stores but they don't let you search on length.
I did find one place called vbelts4less where I could kind of search once I figured out a 6 rib belt would be 0.84" wide. Other suggestions appreciated.
After writing the above, I did find a 6 rib, 60" goodyear belt on Amazon.
Thanks everyone for the help.
 
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josef said:
Okay. It looks like the felt kit is the way to go partly for the book on renovating.
If I go with a serpentine belt, how can I find one 15/16" wide and 59" or 60" long? When I search on serpentine belts, I find lots at auto stores but they don't let you search on length.
I did find one place called vbelts4less where I could kind of search once I figured out a 6 rib belt would be 0.84" wide. Other suggestions appreciated.
After writing the above, I did find a 6 rib, 60" goodyear belt on Amazon.
Thanks everyone for the help.
Click to expand...
You want a 7 rib belt, not a 6 rib.
Your horizontal drive must be a long way away from your spindle.
I went to my local NAPA store and told them what width and length I needed and they found one.
 
I thought the smooth side of the leather is supposed to be out not in- but serpentine is much better anyhow as far as slip
 
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markba633csi said:
I thought the smooth side of the leather is supposed to be out not in- but serpentine is much better anyhow as far as slip
Click to expand...
Leather should have the smooth side in, more surface area and less stretch.
 
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