# Drive belt woes



## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

I previously posted about lubrication questions on my 11 inch Logan.   Thanks for all the advice.  (Think I got that covered)  my problem now is my flat drive belt slipping.  I have had an issue for quite some time with the lathe stalling due to the belt slipping.  Especially during operations like boring with a large drill bit (3/4 ") and parting.  I have tried tightening the belt, cleaning it and even flipping it over.  I think it is time for a new belt.  I have looked on eBay and have seen several options including a belt with a splicer made to order and another which seemed to be a kit where you glued the ends together.  Does anybody have a suggestion?


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## Gaffer (Oct 26, 2021)

I bought the Al Bino belt for my SB 9A, and it works fine. Lots of folks have switched to serpentine belts. Initially, I looked into splicing, but it didn't make economic sense to me to buy the equipment for a likely one-time repair.


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## Nutfarmer (Oct 26, 2021)

Don't know how belt dressing would work on a smaller flat belt like on a lathe,but we used it on the hammer mill's flat belt with good success. The one draw back was the mess. Shortening a leather type belt can be done by lacing by hand. No special equipment needed. Look up how in an old Machinery Handbook.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

Tried belt dressing.  Didn't help.  Where do I get an Al Bino belt?


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

I was considering this one off eBay. 








						SOUTH BEND,ATLAS,LOGAN DRIVE FLAT BELT 5/32" X 1"CUSTOM CUT,LATHE,OTHER MACHINES  | eBay
					

Bonded together with friction and skim coats. The fabrics most commonly used are nylon, cotton duck. SOUTH BEND, LOGAN, ATLAS FLAT DRIVE BELT, CUSTOM CUT, LATHES, MILLS, OR ANY OTHER MACHINES, CAN BE USED FOR OTHER APPLICATIONS.



					www.ebay.com


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## woodchucker (Oct 26, 2021)

Serpentine belt. works great. I had to flip mine recently as it was wandering back and forth after 7 years use.
Very happy with it. Not a big deal to pull the spindle on my SB9.. I think people are too afraid of pulling their spindles apart. But on an old style lathe like ours, it's not a big deal.


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## Gaffer (Oct 26, 2021)

Any size flat drive leather belts supplier: Al Bino Industrial Belting
					

Al Bino Industrial Belting is your supplier of flat drive belts tailored to your size requirements.   Call for a quote and our smooth order process.



					albinoindustrialbelting.com


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## Gaffer (Oct 26, 2021)

woodchucker said:


> Serpentine belt. works great. I had to flip mine recently as it was wandering back and forth after 7 years use.
> Very happy with it. Not a big deal to pull the spindle on my SB9.. I think people are too afraid of pulling their spindles apart. But on an old style lathe like ours, it's not a big deal.


When I bought my 9A, I disassembled it to clean and fix any issues. The leather belt was extremely worn and loose, and I intended to replace it with a serpentine, but I was very disappointed to find a previous owner welded/brazed the spindle to the gear.


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## Nogoingback (Oct 26, 2021)

Logan also sells belts:  I bought one from them which required spindle removal (which I was doing anyway).
Very thin material (don't know exactly what it is) but it has a tendency to slip.  If I were doing it again I would
probably look at a serpentine belt since the rubber would grip better and I doubt they stretch like the one I
have, or leather.


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## ericc (Oct 26, 2021)

That is a pretty large drill bit.  I would be careful of putting too much stress on the lathe.  You could try working up to that diameter by drilling with smaller bits first.  The same thing holds for parting.  If something is a little loose and the blade catches, it may be better to slip than crash.  That said, I was able to get better results by making sure my belt was slack using the detensioning lever before leaving it for long periods of time.  Also the tension turnbuckle can be tightened.  Before doing this, I put a torque wrench on the chuck and tightened until there was slippage.  I don't remember the torque setting, but it can be found with a web search.


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## woodchucker (Oct 26, 2021)

Gaffer said:


> When I bought my 9A, I disassembled it to clean and fix any issues. The leather belt was extremely worn and loose, and I intended to replace it with a serpentine, but I was very disappointed to find a previous owner welded/brazed the spindle to the gear.


NO WORDS.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

Metal lacing or glued.  Any thoughts


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## woodchucker (Oct 26, 2021)

ericc said:


> That is a pretty large drill bit.  I would be careful of putting too much stress on the lathe.  You could try working up to that diameter by drilling with smaller bits first.  The same thing holds for parting.  If something is a little loose and the blade catches, it may be better to slip than crash.  That said, I was able to get better results by making sure my belt was slack using the detensioning lever before leaving it for long periods of time.  Also the tension turnbuckle can be tightened.  Before doing this, I put a torque wrench on the chuck and tightened until there was slippage.  I don't remember the torque setting, but it can be found with a web search.


I have drilled 3/4 with my SB9, you just need a pilot hole for the tip. And I believe I worked up from 1/4, to 1/2 to 3/4. You can't do 3/4 in the first cut. My machine didn't have a problem, I was in back gears for the 3/4 but the second cone I believe. As I recently did a 3/4.


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## Gaffer (Oct 26, 2021)

Chris Hamel said:


> Metal lacing or glued.  Any thoughts


I think you're fine either way. When I researched it several years ago, both methods were had positive reports. I have used a glued belt and it has held perfectly - 2+ years.


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## MrWhoopee (Oct 26, 2021)

Serpentine belt, definitely! Don't bother to remove the spindle. Cut the belt to necessary length +2 in., grind 2 in. lap on both ends, taking care to avoid damaging the reinforcing fibers. Install it on the lathe and glue with Goop (any flavor) or Shoe Goo. Clamp the splice and allow to set overnight. Won't stretch, MUCH more resistant to slip and will last the rest of your life (well mine, anyway). I can stall the motor on my SB Heavy 10, the belt won't slip.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

With a serpentine belt do you run the flat or vee-groove side against the pulley?


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## Shiseiji (Oct 26, 2021)

Chris Hamel said:


> Metal lacing or glued.  Any thoughts


I have terrible luck with adhesives. I may lust be cursed, but cleaning with alcohol, acetone, MEK, Clean-Streak, doesn't matter. No hold. YMMV.
Not wanting to pull the spindle, I purchased a cut to length synthetic flat belt off eBay, has worked fine. I figure if It started to slip, I'm pushing something too hard and need to figure out what.

Ron


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

SOUTH BEND,ATLAS,LOGAN DRIVE FLAT BELT 5/32" X 1"CUSTOM CUT,LATHE,OTHER MACHINES  | eBay
					

Bonded together with friction and skim coats. The fabrics most commonly used are nylon, cotton duck. SOUTH BEND, LOGAN, ATLAS FLAT DRIVE BELT, CUSTOM CUT, LATHES, MILLS, OR ANY OTHER MACHINES, CAN BE USED FOR OTHER APPLICATIONS.



					www.ebay.com
				




Does this look like the belt you used?


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## Gaffer (Oct 26, 2021)

No. I can take a picture of it tonight. I've had it closer to 3 years and don't pay much attention to it. I noticed McMaster-Carr sells belts too.








						McMaster-Carr
					

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.




					www.mcmaster.com
				




If I had it to do again, I'd do what MrWhoopee suggested.  Also, here's one of several videos on the process.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

In addition to the stated problems, I found I can hold the big pulley by the motor, grab the chuck and make the belt slip pretty easily.


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## MrWhoopee (Oct 26, 2021)

Chris Hamel said:


> With a serpentine belt do you run the flat or vee-groove side against the pulley?


The grooved side against the pulley. The material on that side is much "gripier", almost like it has fine grit embedded in it. The flat side is quite slick, at least on the belts I've used.


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## MrWhoopee (Oct 26, 2021)

Shiseiji said:


> I have terrible luck with adhesives. I may lust be cursed, but cleaning with alcohol, acetone, MEK, Clean-Streak, doesn't matter. No hold. YMMV.


I had the same problem when I first tried it. Everybody recommended this super glue or that one. I tried 2 or 3, none would even set up. I had been using Shoe Goo to repair some sandals and decided to test it on a piece of serpentine belt. That stuff is really tenacious, I still haven't been able to tear that splice apart. I've since bought some Goop, which is the same thing only a little thinner.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 26, 2021)

I thought the grooved side goes toward but I wanted to make sure.


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## Janderso (Oct 26, 2021)

woodchucker said:


> Serpentine belt. works great. I had to flip mine recently as it was wandering back and forth after 7 years use.
> Very happy with it. Not a big deal to pull the spindle on my SB9.. I think people are too afraid of pulling their spindles apart. But on an old style lathe like ours, it's not a big deal.


I bet it’s quiet too.


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## woodchucker (Oct 26, 2021)

Janderso said:


> I bet it’s quiet too.


yes it is.  no ticking.


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 27, 2021)

So... I went ahead and ordered a belt from eBay.   when it comes in, I'll let you guys know how it works out.


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## 682bear (Oct 27, 2021)

Chris Hamel said:


> SOUTH BEND,ATLAS,LOGAN DRIVE FLAT BELT 5/32" X 1"CUSTOM CUT,LATHE,OTHER MACHINES  | eBay
> 
> 
> Bonded together with friction and skim coats. The fabrics most commonly used are nylon, cotton duck. SOUTH BEND, LOGAN, ATLAS FLAT DRIVE BELT, CUSTOM CUT, LATHES, MILLS, OR ANY OTHER MACHINES, CAN BE USED FOR OTHER APPLICATIONS.
> ...



That is the one I used on my 14" Hendey... I haven't had any problems with it.

-Bear


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 27, 2021)

Thanks.   That makes me more confident.


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## mwestcott (Oct 27, 2021)

Chris Hamel said:


> I previously posted about lubrication questions on my 11 inch Logan.   Thanks for all the advice.  (Think I got that covered)  my problem now is my flat drive belt slipping.  I have had an issue for quite some time with the lathe stalling due to the belt slipping.  Especially during operations like boring with a large drill bit (3/4 ") and parting.  I have tried tightening the belt, cleaning it and even flipping it over.  I think it is time for a new belt.  I have looked on eBay and have seen several options including a belt with a splicer made to order and another which seemed to be a kit where you glued the ends together.  Does anybody have a suggestion?


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## mwestcott (Oct 27, 2021)

Not sure why my post didn't take...anyway I had put a glued serpentine belt on my 816 and it was good, and would not slip.  But it squealed terribly when the lathe started up, sounded like when your fanbelt is slipping and needs replaced.  Belt dressing would help for a bit, but not much.  The glue (some two-part super glue) finally failed and I went with an Al Bino belt.  It will only slip if I do something dumb, like start it when the back gear lever is pulled out to lock the spindle for die threading or similar, so maybe that's good - keeps things from breaking.


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## woodchucker (Oct 27, 2021)

mwestcott said:


> Not sure why my post didn't take...anyway I had put a glued serpentine belt on my 816 and it was good, and would not slip.  But it squealed terribly when the lathe started up, sounded like when your fanbelt is slipping and needs replaced.  Belt dressing would help for a bit, but not much.  The glue (some two-part super glue) finally failed and I went with an Al Bino belt.  It will only slip if I do something dumb, like start it when the back gear lever is pulled out to lock the spindle for die threading or similar, so maybe that's good - keeps things from breaking.


sounds like it wasn't tight enough, you have a tight spindle, you have so much HP or RPM that your spindle can't keep up on startup, or you have a very small cone pulley and it is just getting loose on startup, OR all /any of the above.

Anyway, you resolved it.


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## Shiseiji (Oct 28, 2021)

MrWhoopee said:


> I had the same problem when I first tried it. Everybody recommended this super glue or that one. I tried 2 or 3, none would even set up. I had been using Shoe Goo to repair some sandals and decided to test it on a piece of serpentine belt. That stuff is really tenacious, I still haven't been able to tear that splice apart. I've since bought some Goop, which is the same thing only a little thinner.


Thanks! I honestly feel a little less stupid now.

Ron


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## wa5cab (Oct 29, 2021)

Gaffer,

This probably belongs in its own thread but that would be quite a bit of work.  You can probably salvage the spindle shown in Post #8 and all of the components loaded on it except the welded/brazed/silver soldered spindle gear but it will take another lathe or at least another fully loaded spindle and a tool post grinder and probably several stones for the grinder in order to do it.  The economics of it are not too favorable versus just scrapping the spindle shown  and its components.


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## Chris Hamel (Nov 4, 2021)

The new belt I bought on eBay arrived and I installed it.  So far seems a vast improvement.  For whatever reason the splicer  isn't making the tick-tick sound I hear people complaining about.


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