[AT] Reconditioning Leather belting

Tue Jan 17 14:13:42 PST 2012

LOL!  Ah well, Charlie, join the crowd.  Apparently, confusion is one of those things that many of my students suffered from.  I thought I was being absolutely clear in my instructions to them, but I wasn't.

My grandfather was born in 1875 as the third child in a family of four boys and a girl in Colorado territory.  He was the only one to stay with farming his entire life while the others went off to hard rock mining and other pursuits.  He learned smithing, cobbling, and surveying as an apprentice in his father's shop, but besides the everyday activities of subsistence dry-land farming, he helped construct the flood irrigation system that became the signature for the economic growth that spurred the area west of Longmont.  The Farmers Mill in Longmont was the first co-op west of the Mississippi river.  When that mill was built, warranties and guarantees were unheard of.  In those days, you purchased a second item of your hardware, and held it in reserve in case something broke or otherwise failed to function on the original purchase.  So when the mill was constructed, a second roller mill, a second wagon scale, a second Corliss engine, and other duplicate items were purchased.  Bottom line: My grandfather ended up with the spare hardware.  The spare mill was still operating when the farm sold in 1977.  Over the years, the Corliss engine was replaced, and the mill was being powered by an early John Deere D (1926) when the farm was sold.  But anyway, my grandfather would have known how to recondition this belt.

On a related topic, I have been thinking about my grandfather often for the last several weeks.  He was invited to town to watch the local militia go through their marching exercises.  The year was 1896.  Riding their wheels (bicycles) toward home, my grandfather was asked if he didn't want to volunteer for the militia so he could enjoy the fun? My grandfather said he had followed a horse's ass all day plowing in the corn field.  He didn't think he needed to do it at night, too!  The neighbor and friend was Ullyses Simpson Jumper (Sim).  He was activated with his unit for the Spanish-American war, saw action in Georgia, San Francisco, and the Phillipines, fought in the Boxer rebellion, and finally returned to Colorado after the Klondike gold rush.  My grandfather, meanwhile, never left the farm.  Around the end of last November, I came up with a copy of Leslie's Illustrated History of the Spanish-American War. I have scanned the entire book (over 650 pages) and have it available if anyone is interested in it.

Enough already!

Larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "charlie hill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 10:30:37 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Reconditioning Leather belting

Larry,  I'm not trying to be rude and absolutely know nothing that will help 
with the belt but your response below is confusing to me.  You say on the 
one hand "but I'm hoping to find a more modern product that "does what needs 
to be done" " and then turn around and say, "Where's my grandfather when I 
need him?"    I just don't think your grandfather would be telling you about 
a more modern product.
In fact I doubt anyone has tried to make a product for the long term 
preservation of leather in the last 40 years or more unless it was someone 
in a museum.   Seems to me the answer comes from what was done in the old 
days so you are more on the right track asking what your grandfather would 
have done than searching for a new fangled miracle product.   One thing I 
can promise you is that if you use any product that contains silicone the 
belt is ruined.  It will look great for a little while and then start to 
crack up and fall apart.

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Larry Goss
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 10:33 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Reconditioning Leather belting

Right.  Thanks, Roy, Mike, and others.  This thread is heading in the right 
direction, I think.  The belt has not been abused, but has been neglected to 
the point of being useless until some major restoration happens to it.  I 
suspect that it has not been used for 50-60 years (or longer), and is stiff 
as a board.  I'm really hoping to get some feedback from sources that may 
have information regarding the newer non-wax based treatments that contain 
glycerin.  I have used a glycerin/alcohol combination for rejuvenating wood 
for years, and some of the sites offering restorative products almost talk 
about the process as very similar.  I also have referred to a repro copy of 
a book giving old-time recipes and formulas for everything under the sun --  
done the way they did things back in the 1870's.  One of the precautions 
both the old and present-day information cautions against is how to get rid 
of the build up of wax and residue from neatsfoot oil. I'm a long way from 
having tha!
t problem at this point, but I'm hoping to find a more modern product that 
"does what needs to be done" to this belt.  BTW, I do NOT plan on getting 
close to this belt with any alcohol-based chemical.

I bought a quart of Leather New from Rural King last week.  I started using 
that on the belt yesterday afternoon, and ended up swabbing on the whole 
quart. I suspect the belt would take another gallon before it stops 
absorbing that conditioner.  Maybe by that time the belt will be supple 
enough to actually bend so it can be more easily handled. I'm tempted to set 
up  a dipping tray for the belt as an easy way to satisfy the leather's 
thirst for revitalization, but a couple of websites specifically caution 
against doing that.

Maybe I should look for help in an old copy of The Farmer's Almanac?  But I 
figure there are enough people on this list with experience on belt pulley 
equipment and/or harness that I can find some guidance from them.  Where's 
my grandfather when I need him?

FWIW, I don't plan on keeping this belt or the full box of Alligator belt 
lacing that I got with it.  Those are available.  Maybe Andy Glines needs 
another belt for his steamer?

Larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roy Morgan" <k1lky at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 10:37:13 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Reconditioning Leather belting

On Jan 16, 2012, at 10:57 PM, Larry Goss wrote:

> ... old flat belt at the Arden show this fall....20 feet long. ...
> needs some treatment and restoration/preservation so it can be used
> for flat belt pulley work.  What should I use?

I found a discussion at:
<http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/leather-belt-dressing-111503/
>

One contributor says:
" Every old book I've read says to only use neatsfoot oil on leather
as belt dressing. The others will eventually ruin the belt. Other
types of belting are a different story."

I suggest you avoid bending the belt if it's dried or cracking, until
you can get your treatment into it.

Roy

Roy Morgan
k1lky at earthlink.net
K1LKY Since 1958 - Keep 'em Glowing!

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