1320 
7fr* 
Expansion and Contraction of Belt 
We are using four-ply canvas belting 
on a milking machine which stands in a 
small concrete room by itself. This belt 
expands in Summer so that it has to be 
shortened, and then contracts in Winter 
so as.to pull the lacing out. and it con¬ 
sequently wears very badly. The last 
belt that I bought was guaranteed not 
to shrink or expand, and we therefore 
have little faith in our local dealers’ 
recommendations. Can you advise as to 
whether we ought to get an expensive 
belt, for say So cents a foot, or ought 
we to get a cheap belt with the idea that 
under the conditions of its use it will go 
rapidly anyway? The room where the 
belt is used has no heat and is apt to be 
somewhat damp. E. n. c. 
Bantam, Conn. 
The foundation of the ordinary grades 
of belting is cotton. This is more or less 
thoroughly impregnated with waterproof¬ 
ing compounds. It will absorb moisture 
during damp spells and give it off again 
during dry time, however, to a certain 
extent, and this causes changes in length. 
As the belt is doubled around the pulleys 
any change in length is multiplied by two, 
with the result that at some times the 
belt is too slack and at others it is drawn 
so taut that the lacings are torn out. If 
the drive can be kept free from oil I 
would recommend the use of a good grade 
of rubber belting, as this is probably af¬ 
fected by weather changes as little as any. 
The arrangement of an idler, as shown 
in the sketch, will further protect the 
belt, as it will permit a considerable 
change in its length and still keep an 
even tension on the pulleys. It may be 
slung from'Ihe shaft as shown, or any 
convenient place, and arranged to run 
on the’slack side of the belt, weight being 
added until the, belt has sufficient tension 
to prevent slipping, but using no more 
weight than is necessary for the purpose. 
Any pulley that you may have on hand 
Door for Round Barn 
Will you give me an idea how to build a 
door for round barn, other than one that 
slides up and down, as they raise and 
lower too hard? I would like regular 
track door if it could be made. l. b. m. 
llalcottville, N. Y. 
A horizontal sliding door for a round 
barn can be built by making the door up 
in sections or panels about three feet in 
width, the width depending somewhat 
upon the diameter of the building. These 
panels are connected by means of ordinary 
strap hinges applied on the outside, the 
back edges of the panels being slightly 
beveled, jut enough to permit the door to 
follow the curve of the barn wall. Any 
of the ordinary flat tracks that can be bent 
to the curve of the barn can be used for 
a support and a roller applied to each 
panel or section. The above directions 
are for a door hung on the outside of the 
barn, the usual place. If it is desired to 
have the door hung on the inside the po¬ 
sition of the hinges and bevel should be 
changed, making them come on the inside 
of the door. The round barn presents 
many difficulties of construction, of which 
this is only a sample, and if you have not 
already built I would strongly advise that 
you look thoroughly into - the matter be¬ 
fore deciding to build a barn of this type. 
R. II. s. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Electric Power for Hand Grinder 
I have a small hand feed grinder, with 
a capacity of one bushel of corn per hour. 
It has a 20-inch wheel, which can readily 
be changed to a pulley of the same diam¬ 
eter. Can I use my one-sixth horsepower 
electric motor to run same? m. g. 
Hackensack, N. J. 
Man is supposed to be able to exert 
about one-eiglith horsepower continuously 
as his rate of work. Your feed grinder, 
then, when run at normal speed and rate 
of feed is probably designed to come 
within this limit, and if so the one-sixth 
horsepower motor that you speak of 
should be sufficient to drive it, although 
the margin is rather narrow. While I 
do not know the diameter of the pulley 
that is now on the grinder, it is probable 
that belting direct from the motor would 
cause the grinder to run faster and to 
consume more power than formerly. To 
obtain the proper diannuer for this pulley 
multiply the diameter of the motor pulley 
by the number of revolutions made by it 
per minute and divide this product by'the 
number of revolutions that the grinder 
should make. The result will be the pro¬ 
per diameter of the grinder pulley. If 
desired, the necessary speed reduction can 
be secured by the use of a jack shaft, 
belting from the small pulley on the motor 
to a large pulley on the shaft, and from 
a small pulley on the shaft to the large 
pulley on the grinder. If this is done 
obtain the speed of the jack shaft as out¬ 
lined for the grinder, and after obtaining 
its speed multiply it by the diameter of 
the small pulley carried by it and divide 
September 6. 1919 
by the desired speed of the grinder to 
obtain the required diametei; of the pulley 
for the grinder if arranged in this way. 
R. H. 8. 
Trouble with Pistoii Rings 
I have a tractor engine, and put in 
never-leak piston rings, one in each pis¬ 
ton. Lately we have not had much 
power, so we took them apart, and found 
both rings gone. Can you explain thL 
to us? r. w. 
Westover, Mass. 
While I am not familiar with the con¬ 
struction of your tractor, not knowing 
what kind you have, I would expect that 
your trouble is due to the fact that tin* 
rings were not properly fitted, and being a 
little loose in the grooves, broke up under 
the repeated hammering of the explosions, 
the small pieces escaping out of the ex¬ 
haust valve. If your tractor is of the 
type that permits the top ring to come 
half way out of the cylinder bore on tin* 
up stroke this would be possible. Piston 
rings should be fitted so that while they 
may move freely in the groove there still 
can be no up-and-down motion or play. 
The grooves should first be examined to 
see that they have square shoulders, and 
are not worn. If found worn or dam¬ 
aged they should be trued up before at¬ 
tempting, to fit the rings. Rings should 
be fitted to the cylinder, making them so 
that they will just meet when placed in 
the cylinder bore. If the ring is too wide 
for the groove in the piston it cab be 
ground down by tacking a sheet of emery 
cloth to a smooth board and grinding the 
ring down by a circular motion. 
. R. n. s. 
DRIVE PULLEY — 
MAIN 5HAfT - 
WEIGHTED 
IDLER - 
IDLER 
FRAME. 
— pump 
n.M.t, 
of Power Farminq 
Idler to Equalize Variations in Belt 
may be used in the construction of this 
tightener, provided that it has a face 
sufficiently wide to accommodate the belt 
B. H. S. 
Power Applied to Trailer 
I have seen it stated that an automo¬ 
bile can draw a great deal heavier load— 
some say twice the weight—if the load be 
on a trailer rather than on the automobile 
itself. Is this true, and what would be 
the explanation? E. A. w. 
Newark, N. J. 
I have never seen the statement to 
which you refer, and doubt its truth, for 
it seems probable that if the load were 
drawn on a trailer rather than carried 
where it would hold the rear wheels in 
close contact with the ground the machine 
would lack traction, i. e., the wheels 
would slip and spin in heavy going rather 
than moving ahead. It is true, of course, 
that the carrying capacity of an automo¬ 
bile may be increased to a considerable 
extent by the addition of a trailer, loading 
both the machine and the trailer. The 
average automobile has a power plant 
that is capable of drawing a great deal 
larger load than can be placed on the 
chassis, therefore if a trailer is added 
and loaded the capacity is increased, as 
the engine is hauling a full load on the 
chassis plus the load on the trailer, the 
engine having power to draw more than 
there is room for if bulky, or more than 
a capacity load for the chassis if the 
material is heavy. K. H.S. 
You buy a tractor to make 
money. The more money a tractor 
or implement will make for you 
the more you are willing to pay 
for it. 
Consider then what a tractor will 
make for you in dollars and cents 
—how much man power it saves, 
how many horses it displaces, and 
the more and better work it will 
do. That is the way to buy a 
tractor—the purchase price alone 
should not influence you. 
When you buy a Moline- 
Universal Tractor you get 
one of the finest power 
plants on wheels. You get 
a completely equipped 
tractor, with self starter, 
electric governor, electric 
lights, belt pulley, power 
lift gang plow—everything 
you need. 
The Moline Line 
of Implements 
Plow* 
(steel nnd chilled) 
Hiutowi 
Planter* 
Cultivator* 
Crain Drill* 
Lime Sower* 
Mower* 
Hay Rake* 
Hay Loader* 
Hay Stacker* 
Crain Binder* 
Com Binder* 
PitlcM Seale* 
Spreader* 
You not only buy a quality 
tractor, but a complete system of 
power farming. The Moline-Uni¬ 
versal enables you to do all farm 
work including cultivating. One 
man operates both tractor and im¬ 
plement from the seat of the 
implement. 
Actual figures from over 200 
farms in 37 states show that the 
Moline System of Power farming 
saves an average of I ^ men and 
5 horses per farm. 
Figure what such a sav¬ 
ing will mean to you. Con¬ 
sidered from this point of 
view the Moline-Universal 
is the lowest priced tractor 
made. Thousands of farm¬ 
ers are proving this every 
day. Write us today for 
full information. It’s free 
on request. 
Moline Plow Company, Moline, Ill. 
Atlanta 
St. Louis 
Stockton 
Denver 
Minot 
New Orleans 
Poughkeepsie 
Spokane 
Kansas City 
Sioux Falls 
b lid 
Dallas 
Baltimore 
Portland 
Omaha 
Des Moines 
Oklahoma City 
Los Angeles 
Salt Lake City 
Minneapolis 
Bloomington. 
. iv£-f 
Indianapolis 
Columbus, Ohio 
Jackson, Mich. 
