Slipping Belts

[jschmidling]

About 25 years ago I bought a spray can of some stinky, tarry stuff that solved all the leather belt problems on my South
Bend lathe and was probably 95% full when lost in our fire. I have no idea what it was (brand or functionally) and now I need some for the V belts on my mill drill.

All I can find now is stuff called "belt dressing" but it all seems to be auto related and intended to solve noise problem and has nothing to do with belt traction.

Any idea what this stuff is now called or a link to an equivalent to what I had?

Thanks,

Jack

 

[NortonDommi]

Hi Jack,
The automotive stuff is fine. I only know about the Wurth product but most automotive belt noise is caused by slippage not always a loose or damaged belt, sometimes the pulleys become highly polished and the belts glazed. The spray on belt dressing conditions the belt and provides a very slightly tack that restores full function.
It is designed for V-belts. Belt dressing for leather belts is different and most people mixed their own, Beeswax, Turkey oil, Neatsfoot oil and Rosin were common ingredients.

 

[francist]

Sounds a little like pine tar. Readily available, especially if you know some baseball players, although not so much in an aerosol. I did find this...



I’ve also used rosin on V-belts to give them some extra traction. Available in solid form for tacking up the bows on string instruments (violin). Break it up into a powder, worked ok for me.

-frank

 

[Video_man]

Some good information here: https://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44078. One thing they mention is the use of molasses as a belt dressing, plus some source info on other stuff.

 

[jschmidling]

I’ve also used rosin on V-belts to give them some extra traction. Available in solid form for tacking up the bows on string instruments (violin). Break it up into a powder, worked ok for me.

Actually, I tried that already. I happen to play the violin and made my own rosin block from a tree in our pasture. I found another chunk yesterday but was too lazy to melt and clean it properly and tried dissolving it in paint thinner but it didn't work very well. After reading this, I tried acetone and it dissolved a little better and this seemed to work pretty well just brushing it on with an acid brush.

Thanks,

jack

 

[mmcmdl]

If I remember correctly we used CRC belt dressing at my previous employer . We used it by the pallet loads moving cases of detergent up incline belts to the warehouse . When our line leaders used too much of it , we had to go out and grind the belts down back to the bare rubber .

 

[Tozguy]

Just curious Jack, what is the problem with the V belts....noise...slippage...?
I've used the back tar based stuff and the automotive stuff but it just seemed like a temporary bandaid.
Modern quality V belts do not need dressing. At one point I just changed brands of belt and the noise went away.

 

[RobertB]

Modern quality V belts do not need dressing.

Yep, a good belt under proper tension should not need belt dressing. It will get you by with an old belt that has gotten hard and glazed until you can get a new one, but as Tozguy said this is just a temporary bandaid.

 

[RJSakowski]

Early in life, I used to use belt dressing to reduce squealing and slippage. It was my experience that, over time, the dressing was actually contributing to the problem. It has been more than thirty years since I have used any belt dressing. A rubber belt that has hardened or glazed should just be replaced.

 

[Bob Korves]

Problems with V-belts can be caused by using the wrong type of belt. There are subtle differences between types of belts, even if they show the same lengths and widths. For example, automotive belts are different in design than belts designed for electric motors. They are essentially not interchangeable, and if you do use the wrong type, that is when the belt slipping problems often arise. Sometimes, for example, the inside diameter width of the belt is too narrow, and the belt is only bearing on that side, not on the angled flanks of the belt that are supposed to carry the loads. Also, some belts have different angles than others and the pulley angle needs to match the belt angle to properly transfer power. When in doubt, RTFM (read the f...... manual) and use what it says to use. A Ford engine pulley is not the same as a Wards washing machine pulley is not the same as a South Bend lathe pulley (usually...)