# Flat belt drive with some ooomph!!



## WayneP

Hi All

I'm new here and haven't read everything but I thought I'd share a tip that I use for driving my old Southbend lathe.

I machine a lot of large diameter parts, well....if  5" dia can be considered large. Of course my 1" flat leather belt is long gone, replaced by a more modern synthetic laminated belt....strong like a bull....but slippery...ie not much grip. I struggled for a while....and not really wanting to go to vee-belts, or even taking my lathe apart....I decided to try to improve the grip (never mind that spray goo!!)  My first attempt was to put "rescue tape" on all 6 pulleys.....worked like an absolute charm.....and the lathe got quiet!! Suddenly I could actually put the lathe to work....depth of cuts were much better. The rescue tape (sometimes called plumber's tape) is silicone and it would tear away under too much load.....but waaaay better than what I had so I just kept replacing the tape as/when required, every few weeks. Then I saw 3M electrical rubber tape in a big box hardware store (you can guess) and that was the ticket!! This stuff is for binding electrical connections, its about 3/4" wide and "self sticks" as you over-wrap it on itself. Its lasting me about 6 to 8 months, works very well. So try it out.....you can finally get your lathe to do real work on large diameters. 

I hope this works for you....my contribution.

Wayne


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## cranky1

Thanks Wayne. I been looking for something like this. Cheers jim


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## pjf134

Wayne,
  Try a link belt it is quiet and does not slip and installes in minutes, but make sure you use a v belt on motor that does slip just in case of a jam. People use these for 20 years and still work fine. Mine has been on only a few years and it is still like new.
Paul


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## WayneP

Hi Paul

Thanks for the tip? I have a v-belt on the motor drive but the drive pulleys from the jackshaft to the headstock are flat crowned pulleys, for a 1" wide flat belt. The only link belts I have seen are linked v-belts....is that what you mean or is there a type of linked flat belt? Any additional details would be much appreciated. 

Wayne


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## pjf134

Wayne,
  The link belt works fine on flat pulleys. The link belt will not slip so add a v belt to the motor in case of a jam. I put it on the lathe when I first got it and decided to let it on, so the pic is before rebuild. I got it at Harbor Freight.
Paul


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## janvanruth

got a twisted link belt on my heavy ten
was on it when i got the lathe
it will run off the pulley when the lathe is about to stall
tried it on my light ten and it kept running off while just running
got a serpentine belt on my 9a, now that works like a charm


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## Rick Leslie

I too run the link belt in place of a flat belt on my Heavy 10. I kept the regular automotive V belt for the drive pulleys though. I run the link belt inverted so the flat back runs against the flat pulleys. It hasn't run off yet. Grips great but will slip if I make it do so.


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## WayneP

Thanks guys, will have to give one of those belts a try....when I run out of tape!! lol


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## Andre

The self stick tape your talking about, do you mean friction tape? 

Tape on the pulleys remind of of bandsaw tires.


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## Mark_f

I like a flat leather belt, personally. I bought one of those new composition belts and it was a piece of junk, also stretched two inches, slipped all the time. Went to the local Amish tack shop and he made me a nice leather belt (pre stretched so it doesn't stretch much). I asked how much I owed him and he said" ten bucks ok?  I said " make me a spare also". We are both happy. Now,I can cut .060"per side in steel without slipping.


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## hermetic

It is known as "self amalgamating tape", or "malgy tape" in the trade, I used it for waterproofing outdoor plugs on wireless broadband transmitters and antennas,  it turns into a seamless rubber cover in a couple of hours, and the only way to get it off is a knife. good gear!
Phil
UK


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## WayneP

Yes hermetic that's the stuff! Mark...try your leather belt with the tape if you like. I was lucky (sort of) in that the synthetic belt I got is pretty strong, no stretch whatsoever...but it had no traction, the 3M self amalgamating tape (thanks hermetic) works great with it though.


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## Mark_f

i will try it. 

Does anyone remember if the leather belt runs with the fat side to the pulley or the hair side to the pulley? I FORGOT!


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## Randy803

I always wondered if a little ole fashioned rosin on the belt would solve the slipping issues some lathes have with the flat belts... I cannot imagine any slippage using the rosin and it wouldn't take a lot.


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## ScrapMetal

mark_f said:


> i will try it.
> 
> Does anyone remember if the leather belt runs with the fat side to the pulley or the hair side to the pulley? I FORGOT!



I've always run them with the fat side to the pulley.

FWIW

-Ron


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## fastback

As for leather belts the rough side to the pulley.  The finish side is too smooth and will slip more readily.   As for me, I also use a serpentine belt.  Mine is super glued.  This is my second one the first lasted several years, it was a used one off my old F150 with 5.4 L engine.  I like it a lot better than the leather.  It sounds like the link belt might be worth a try in the future.

Paul


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## petersenonmain

You would be surprised of the torque you will get out of an industrial rubber coated belt that is cut to the right width.  Most of the conveyor belt outfits can make one up in minutes all you have to do is clean it every so often.  Use nothing larger then #2 clips and only take off the very minimum of rubber to not get a jump in the cut.  If the lathe is set up right you would think it's a gearhead.


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## mce5802

+1 on the rubber belting. I use round baler belt that they sell at farm stores by the foot. I use it on my 18" Reed cone head lathe and I've taken some pretty heavy cuts on it with no slippage. Fwiw.


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## petersenonmain

That was a source that I had not thought of but that would great was to go


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## mcostello

I use honey as belt dressing, put a small dab on a pulley, run it a minute and let dry. Turns black and no more slippage.


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## catskinner

mce5802 said:


> +1 on the rubber belting. I use round baler belt that they sell at farm stores by the foot. I use it on my 18" Reed cone head lathe and I've taken some pretty heavy cuts on it with no slippage. Fwiw.



How does that round belt fasten together or do you just buy it made up to length.


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## mce5802

They sell splices at the same stores, usually next to the belting. You have to cut it to width and length, usually the narrowest they sell is like 4". They also have what they call lacers, which is a tool used in a vise for putting the splice on the belt. I don't think they're too expensive, not sure as mine came with my round baler. Keith Rucker did a YouTube video on splicing belts, should give you an idea what I'm talking about. Its easy enough to do, and cheap once you have the tool.


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