DESTRUCTION OF BELTS 67 



Causes of the Destruction of Belts. In those shops where 

 the belting problem has not been given the attention that its 

 importance deserves, few belts become useless as the result 

 of legitimate service and wear, but fail due to misuse, acci- 

 dents, and lack of care. One of the commonest causes of belt 

 failures is the use of belts that are too wide for the pulleys. 

 If the pulleys are out of line only slightly, a wide belt will 

 run over one or the other edge of the pulleys, and come in 

 contact with any fixed object nearby, such as the belt shifter, 

 the edge of the next step of a cone pulley, a post or column 

 close to the belt run, or any other projection. 



Careless splicing also is a frequent cause of ruined belts, 

 particularly where rawhide lacing is used for the splicing. 

 If the ends of the belt are not cut square, or if the tension 

 put in the lacing is not equal at the two sides of the belt, 

 the belt will have a tendency to run crooked, thus leading to 

 the troubles enumerated in the preceding paragraph. 



Another prolific cause of belt trouble, particularly in those 

 shops where the care of the belts on the different machines 

 is entrusted to the man in charge of the machine, is the 

 practice of running the belt on " cross cones," that is on two 

 steps of the cone pulleys that are not in line. This is an easy 

 way for the so-called mechanic who is too lazy to take care 

 of his belts to make a loose belt tight or a tight belt loose, 

 but it is fatal to the belt. The edge of the belt is compelled 

 to rub against the edge of the cone pulley steps and curls. 

 The layers of the belt are separated, and the belt is stretched 

 along one edge. A very short service under such conditions 

 will ruin a belt beyond any hope of repair. 



Belt shifters which do not throw the belt entirely off or 

 on the loose .pulley are also frequent contributors to the 

 destruction of belts. A belt running partly on and partly 

 off a loose pulley will stretch unevenly and soon be spoiled. 



Inattention to the splices in the belts when they begin to 

 give evidences of weakness and to separate will also help to 



