Love of lathes.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for your thoughts on adhesives David. Strange though that modern adhesives fail so rapidly when it comes to jointed leather belts whereas 100 year old hot hide glue does the job without fuss; I've now made three hot hide glued leather belt joints; two from scratch one a repair and so far after running the Lorch for well over an hour with plenty of start/stopping not one of my glued joints has let go and I don't expect them to either? The leather belting I'm using is very old and quite hard so perhaps it will respond to a dose of neatsfoot oil to make it more supple? The only downside regarding using hot hide glue is that it takes time.

I'm not a novice when it comes to using hot hide glue because of my previous experiences in wood veneering where I've used this glue extensively. Hide glue needs careful mixing and handling to obtain optimum performance; overheating the glue will render it mostly useless whereas under heating will make it gel too quickly as it is applied; too much water will also weaken it as will repeated heating cycles so for use in belt jointing I will always mix fresh glue. I use a single electric hot plate to heat the double cast iron pot bringing the water temperature up gradually; a wooden stick placed in the pot can be used to stir the glue as it heats and to watch it's progress; once the glue runs freely from the stick end without breaking into blobs it's ready for use; I had considered heating the two halves of the leather joint but given the belt is only 1" wide I arranged everything close to hand allowing rapid joint making; a 1" wide cheap paint brush quickly applied a flowing coat of glue to the two joint faces which where then very quickly aligned and tightly clamped in position; I can't stress enough that speed of working is needed and also to ensure anything which doesn't require gluing is protected such as the clamps I used which I generously waxed and buffed to a polish otherwise the hide glue will bond the lot together? Leaving the joint to harden over night is a must hence these joints are rather slow to complete but hopefully if done correctly this joint making will prove an infrequent occupation; I hope so because I know leather belting properly joined with hide glue lasts many years giving trouble free performance.

I do however like to experiment and if I can obtain used Poly-V drive belts I can try one out on the motor to counter-shaft because this belt is very easy to change. I fully agree with your comments David regarding Poly-V belts and their application; they are a brilliant invention and superior to ordinary V belts in transmitting drive; their thin section makes them ideal for use on small pulleys and they are above all tremendously strong with extremely little stretching unlike leather belting which stretches quite a lot. As you rightly state David these Poly-V belts are designed to run in matching pulleys these pulleys being machined to close tolerances with matching grooves. Poly-V belts are supplied endless so as supplied would be useless for use on the mandrel of this Lorch. However on Practical Machinist forum success has been achieved in cutting and joining these Poly-V belts using modern super glue designed for rubber and plastic and it is such a joint I would now like to experiment with more out of curiosity than anything else; after all I'm now confident my leather belts are up to the job and are original equipment; unfortunately even leather belting is now very expensive but I'll keep my eyes open.

I remember the stick on soles very well David but didn't these have a habit of peeling at the edges once they had been in use for a while?

I've not looked into "link" belting David only being familiar with the "V" type link belting which would not serve on the Lorch? Thanks also; yes I have seen the thread on Practical Machinist you kindly supplied the link to regarding leather belt joints; a most interesting thread where both hot hide glue and Barge cement appear to come out on top?

Thanks for the video link Lawrence; there is some lovely kit available these days and both the planer and saw you mention are worth their weight in gold when such mobile cutting capacity is required; I could enjoy using both machines.

Yesterday I polished and installed the Lorch guards mostly completing the restoration. The two grease cup lubricators still need installing to the mandrel bearings but both cup caps are missing so if I'm unable to obtain replacements I'll resort to buying a suitable finish tap and make a pair out of brass bar stock. A few adjustments still need to be done and of course the noisy motor needs sorting out. A well tried tip is to take a long screwdriver; place the blade end near the bearing and place the handle to your ear; with the motor under power the bearings can very easily be heard; care is needed because poking around any machine in motion with a screwdriver commands respect. I listened to the racket being emitted by the motor bearings then listened to the mandrel bearings; the mandrel bearings gave a very low rumble which I put down to the rolling element (ball) thrust bearing doing its job; the noise difference between the bearings is unbelievable. When the stores open after the holiday I'll strip the motor and install new bearings and whilst doing this I'll check the operation of the centrifugal switch.

What joy it gives me though to have this Lorch so near completed and not to listen to the constant clicking of metal belt fasteners; I can't wait to hear the Lorch run with a decent motor?

I decided to polish the aluminium guards rather than paint them; had I painted these guards it would have been important to use an etching primer because standard primers tend to let go after a while.

Kind regards, Col.