CHAPTER VII 

 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON BELTING 



U. S. Navy Department Specifications for Belting. The 



specifications for leather belting issued by the Navy Depart- 

 ment call for belts to be made from No. i native packer steer 

 hides or their equal. They are required to be tanned with 

 white or chestnut oak by the slow process for six or eight 

 months; chemical processes are not permitted. The leather 

 is to be thoroughly curried by hand and must not be stuffed 

 or loaded for artificial weight. The leather must not crack 

 open on the grain side when doubled strongly by hand with 

 the grain side out. All belting must be cut from the central 

 part of the hide, not more than 15 in. from the backbone or 

 more than 48 in. from the tail toward the shoulder. Belts 

 8 in. wide and over must be cut to include the backbone. 

 All leather must be stretched 6 in. in the lengthwise direction 

 and should not exceed 54 in. after stretching. Centers and 

 sides are to be stretched 6 in. separately. That is, all sides 

 from which widths of less than 8 in. are cut must be stretched 

 after the backbone section has been removed. Center sec- 

 tions are to be stretched in the same size for which they are 

 to be used. 



For single belts up to 6 in. wide the laps must not exceed 

 6 in. nor be less than 3! in. long. For single belts wider 

 than 6 in., the laps sEould not be more than i in. longer than 

 the width of the belt. For double belts laps must not be 

 more than 5! in. nor less than 3^ in. long. Filling straps are 

 not permitted. All laps must be held securely at every point 

 with the best quality of belt cement, and when pulled apart 

 must not show any resinous, oily, vitreous or watery condi- 

 tion. The belts should be again stretched after manufacture. 



63 



