66 LEATHER BELTING 



tion will harm the belt by causing it to slip and thereby 

 injuring the surface. 



Many mechanics, when the belt on their machine slips, 

 apply rosin to the surface of the belt. This practice cannot 

 be too severely condemned. The rosin may for a time remedy 

 the slipping, but it will be at the cost of a ruined belt. The 

 use of rosin on any belt should be absolutely prohibited in 

 every factory, and after such prohibition has been made 

 known to the employees, any person guilty of using it should 

 forthwith be dismissed. 



Cleaning of Belts. Every precaution should be taken to 

 prevent belts in service becoming saturated with lubricating 

 oil, or, in fact, from coming in contact at all with any kind of 

 oil. If, however, a belt does become so saturated it may be 

 cleaned by first scraping it and then packing it in sawdust 

 or other absorbent for several days. A quicker method is 

 to pass the belt between rolls, under pressure, thereby squeez- 

 ing out the oil which then may be absorbed by powdered 

 chalk. The surface dirt may be removed from belts by 

 wiping them with a cloth moistened with kerosene. This 

 should be done in every case before applying belt grease. 



Utilization of Old Belting. Old belts which are considered 

 worthless often may contain sections which are capable of 

 further use. These sections may be utilized by first running 

 them through rolls to squeeze the oil out of them, which 

 is absorbed with powdered chalk. They then should be 

 scraped clean and the pieces cemented together as described 

 in Chapter VI. The adoption of this practice will result in 

 the saving of many feet of belting that otherwise would be 

 scrapped, and will materially cut down the cost of new 

 belting. 



Direction in which Belts Should Run. The thin edge 

 of all splices and laps on the side of the belt next to the pulley 

 should point away from the pulley which it is approaching. 

 The hair side of the belt should be next to the pulley. 



