Leather drive belts

[Randy Stevenson]

Is there a better alternative to a leather belt?

My old Lehmann lathe uses a long, 5" belt, that has become oil soaked over time and slips on the motor pully. Have tried to clean it (even pressure wash it), but the oil always finds it's way to the surface, after a few seconds of running. The motor pully is plastic (looks like black UHMW), and looks fairly slick to begin with. In addition, the motor has been raised to make up for what looks to be quite a bit of stretching.

Is there any replacement for these old, leather belts - something a little less prone to retaining oil and stretching. I would convert to a simple double V groove shieve, but have clearance issues around the lower drum/pulley. Would I be best advised to simply buy a new belt and try to find and fix the oil leak?

[jphagen]

For a flat belt use 3M non-slip stair product.
Clean very well, but note it will not slipp If you jam it??
ie put it on the pulleys.

[Andre' B]

Many different types of belts available.
http://www.mcmaster.com/param/dsc/ds...m=Flat%2bBelts

Edit: Looks like that link will not work.
http://www.mcmaster.com/ and put the words (flat belt) into the search box.


Fixing any oil leaks will of course help regardless of what type of belt you use.