[78-L] Belt for Edison Standard Phonograph

[Ron L'Herault]

I've made quite a few belts and it sometimes takes me a couple of tries to
get it just right.   As I mentioned before, contact cement seems to work
well for joining the ends.  When they are right, they don't cause wow, and
they have just the right amount of slip.  Is the spring on your tension
pulley wound too tight?  They don't press to hard on the belt.  Does the
tension pulley spin freely and is it clean?

Ron

-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Sammy Jones
Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 3:01 AM
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
Subject: Re: [78-L] Belt for Edison Standard Phonograph

Mike Biel Wrote:

> When you mention that you have gotten belts from two vendors, were
> these
> phonograph parts vendors, or just leather-craft vendors?  Fresh leather
> will be stiffer than old oil-soaked leather that has been on the
> machine
> for over 90 years.  

I got the material from phonograph parts vendors, but as I said, it looks
very different from the material that the old belt was made from.  For
starters, it's much thicker, and has a slick side and a slightly more
"furry" side.  Mike, you mention oil-soaked leather.  Is that something I
should look into for my replacement belt?

> Ron mentioned thinning the ends.  Are you doing
> that?  This means using a razor blade and shaving away some of the
> thickness of both ends that you overlap.  The two tips should be
> brought
> down to a very thin edge.  You also need to use a very pliable glue,
> and
> things like Elmers will NOT do.

Yes, I did try to follow the instructions provided by the vendors as best I
could.  Perhaps I'm not overlapping them enough...Could that be why the
machine wows every time it passes the splice point?  Any suggestions on glue
other than Elmer's or super glue?

I am curious on this point:  have others used the splice and glue method
with success?  By success I mean the phonograph runs smoothly with minimal
speed variation.

Thanks for the tips, guys.  I tried to make two belts all those months ago,
and neither came out satisfactorily. I got frustrated and haven't tried
again. I've been without the pleasure of being able to play my phonograph
all that time.  I think it's now time to give it another go!

> And yes, there are several phonograph lists like the 78-L.  Steve Ramm
> is on one, something like phonolist.

I found an online phonograph forum that seems interesting.  I'll try to find
phonolist, as well.

Sammy Jones

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