South Bend Lathe

glassguy said:
I picked it up yesterday, 250 bucks, and spent 3 hours removing a layer of crud all over it, I still have quite a bit of cleaning to do. The rust on right end of the ways was dealt with using wd40 and a scraper. Came out better than I would have thought. The box-o-stuff turned out to be 60-70 lb if chucks, cutters, turning plates, countersinks, misc home made jigs, a trammel I believe, 3 Starrett calipers, things that I have no idea what they are for but they are factory made accessories for the lathe. The negative I see so far is that it has a Craftsman 1/2hp motor. I do not know if the motor works. It seems as if the drive belt has to have a joint that can be taken apart so that it can be fed around the spindle on the lathe itself. What I have for a belt appears to be a piece of tire tread that has a couple small nut/bolts that fasten the two ends of the belt together. I do not know what a real belt should look like. I have some leather that is almost 1/4" thick and more than wide enough to make a belt. Would that work? I'll look at Youtube. Thanks for the feedback, I guess I have gotten a pretty sweet deal. What a nice machine. I just have to learn how to use it. Steve B
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Yes

I just did this a few months ago

http://www.wewilliams.net/docs/Belt Splicing Instructions - Bulletin No 600.pdf

adjust the tension screw all the way small with the belt cam extended

Measure the circumference with a tape measure

The instructions say to subtract 3/8"
I say Subtract 1/2" or even 3/4"
The belt needs some tension and will stretch some.

Add 5 inches



Skive taper two ends 2.5" back
Make sure you run the taper the correct way to match up
and so the inside joint runs to keep the belt together and not unravel it self.
Photos in that document



If the leather is too short, you can use two joints to create the length.

Use contact cement - cover both sides
I waited until tacky and then used two glue coats ( read the instructions on the glue)


I used aluminium angle and clamped the belt ends down in place before gluing and clamping the pressure plate on top
Waxed paper th keep the leather and Aluminium separated.
I did my best to keep it straight.

It works surprisingly well.

I really underestimated the strength the leather belt and glue have.
I did a test piece first and was completely unable to budge the joint.



Some people do an automotive serpentine belt conversion
They buy a serpentine belt maybe a foot too long and do the same thing, but the joint splice is different
The rubber belt has better grip.



Let's see all the stuff
 
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I used
"LePage #5 flexible plastic adheasive" because I had it.


It lists good results with leather, the label has a flammable warning and it smells like something you shouldn't be sniffing.



Barge cement is the go to for the leather sheath makers

However, they have gone environmental

The good glue has Toluene a really good solvent, the new eco stuff does not.

You can still get the good stuff, you have to watch for it.

I believe the good stuff has a green and yellow label, the new eco to avoid has a blue label
 
Leather will hold up but the problem will be that it stretches and you will have to adjust it often and there is only so much adjustment. Belts like the one I sent a link for have threads in them to prevent stretching. I hope you mean link belt that has one metal link to connect the belt rather than multiple links as they are made for v-pulley rather than crown wheels. Good luck
 
The first leather belt I had was the oem belt and it was good for 55 years until the leather rotted


If the one I made lasts that long I'm good with that


I did make up extra pieces for the tightening turnbuckle on the old one.

I made a longer tail, and bought a 3/8" turnbuckle nut from TSC farm store
It's a female left and right thread, easier to buy than to make.


If this fails I will go to the rubber serpentine belt.
But the leather belt was fast and "free"
 
I wish I had seen the pdf on belt splicing a couple days ago. I had a long enough piece of leather to make the belt, I did a 1/2 lap about an inch long and stitched it together. I dunno, somehow I just wanted to be able to take the belt apart if I had to.
 
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