Hello all, l have my "test mule belt" finally and have begun the trial on servicability and stretch from initial installation..... they will be available if all goes well for US 30-00 plus postage for the black with black stitching and just a little more for the tan/brown with matching stitching.
Our initial test has shown great promise so far.
Can anyone tell me why we dont have leather belts any more , it surely cant be the cost factor , here in Australia , the "cheap" belts will be costing the same ????? from China, as what we will be producing in real leather here in Australia !!!
Any thoughts.....
Regards David Dare

Russ Furstnow (sp) in Flagstaff Ariz, makes te leather for mosat of the T parts, including Leather fan belts

Dave
I, like you, thought a good quality leather fan belt was the answer for my 1926 Model T and were available in the USA. But, I could never keep the %$@*& thing properly adjusted because it continued to stretch, stretch and stretch some more finally exceeding the breadth of the adjustment mechanism.
When I discussed this with Don Lang he immediately pointed me to a good quality fan belt that when adjusted stayed that way!
Ron the Coilman

Bought leather belt from Chaffin's 10 years ago.........best investment.

I bought a leather-belt from Lang's about 3 years ago and do not think I have ever adjusted it!

Paul

I bought one about 10 years ago and it streached so bad i could use it for a belt! Working as a Millwright i have had lots of flat belt experance and i have never seen any belt strech like the one i bought! I hope your are ok! On a sad/dumb note i gave away the Clipper Laceing Machine i got when i left the closed Chevy Plant.Bud.

Here is a pic of the test mule, after 15 minutes of mid range, which is the stretch time in a leather belt, still ok and no slippage , tracking appears to be good, if the weather turns to summer as it should now be, l'll take it out foe a 30-40 mile run and test again.
Here are 3 pics of # 1 in Black.







The join runs smoothly over the fan pulley , which was one of our real concerns.

Cheers David

David

Have also used leather belts and they are very good. The worst belt was the least expensive fabric/rubber glued belt, it separated between the layers.

Thought you would like to see this old ad from 1924, I really think the look of that hairy belt on the Ford would be something

Spose Bon Daron is any relation to Uncle Jack??

Yes l know what you mean with the rubberised type, l put a new one on last week , only to find , that after one week, first signs of 3 cracks have appeared, as far as l can see only good for a get me out of trouble belt....

Unless you do parades or use a waterpump, you don't need a belt at all.

I run a waterpump, but no fan.

Part of the problem with stretching leather belts may be the type of leather used. "Back" leather (if I recall from my youth when I used to do some leather tooling as a hobby) stretches the least. "Belly" leather stretches the most (as a few of us should be able to personally attest if we just look down lol). Therefore, when obtaining leather for a fan belt, you have to know where on the animal the leather came from. That, at least, may explain the different experiences reported with leather fan belts.

Like Ricks, I usually don't run a fan belt on my '17 but I avoid situations that require long periods of sitting in traffic with the motor running. No pump on my car.

I have been making my leather fan belts from brown thick real leather belts from Goodwill! It started out as an experiment, thats why I got the leather from Goodwill. I don't sew them but use a Clipper belt lacing tool to put the little wire "hooks" into the leather. And to make it authentic Model T I use a piece of baling wire threaded into the 'hooks" to hold the two ends together. The first one I made was made from a pretty red leather belt, and worked for a while until it delaminated. That was wen I started to use the thick real leather. So far that has worked the best. A couple of weeks ago I was going to run the car and opened the hood to find that the belt was broken near where the hooks were on one end. It was a simple matter to cut the belt and rehook that end and I was ready to go.
Herb

I have had a couple of leather belts, and didn't like them at all. They just kept stretching, and coming off. I finally got one of Don Langs best quality non leather belts, and haven't had any trouble since. I drive my T hard, and it's no fun changing a belt when the temp is in the 90's, and the engine is hot.

One thing no one has mentioned. I run a water pump on my 10 and tightened the leather fan belt a bit tighter than normal. Not real tight, mind you, but not loose like I usually do. I found the stitching wore grooves in my brass hub. I now run them very loose. The leather seems to grip the pulley better so I don't see slippage. Hope it cures the problem. Anyone had this experience besides me???
On another note, I tried a fan belt made from the new material from Chaffins on another car and its really nice. Its a continuous belt with no seams, not a laminate so it doesn't separate at the ends.

Larry,
Keeping a fan belt from coming off is generally due to the alignment of the fan and crank pulleys. I have had loose fan belts stay on if the pulleys are in alignment. We drove our T to the Centennial with a leather belt and experienced no problems.

Warren is correct in that fan belts (all straps for that matter) must be made from the back of the cow and not the belly. You cannot use a double shoulder, but must use a side. Also the weight of the hide must be 10-11 ounce and the belt should be 1 1/4" wide.

When installing a leather belt, don't tighten the belt as you would a rubber belt. It is common for people to overtighten the belt. All leather fan belts will stretch, but if you keep the belt somewhat loose, the belt will last a long time. Hope this helps. Russ Furstnow

Herb,Long ago [Cat Gut] was the choice for laceing pins but later we used a semi hardened steel pin.Do you have the little lacer you use in a vise or the large one with the not all at once crank adjustment?? If i rember we had 5 sizes of clipper laceing depending on the thickness of the belting.Clipper laceing is great for high speed light duty small under 1 foot wide belts.Bigger.heavier wider 2 3 4 5 6 ft belts use Alligator. Bud.

Apparently Larry and I bought "belly belts"?
Ron the Coilman

Xref to a thread omitted from the thread list and not searchable:
"Fan belt suggestion" http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50893/52369.html?1207710049

Bud I have the one that is bench mounted by itself. You pull down on two handles and there is a ratcheting type of mechanism that squeezes the hooks into the belt. The guy that thought this one up was using all of his noodle!
Can anyone explain what cat gut is? I don't think it is really made from feline intestines, is it?

I just went through two leather belts this week. One was marked 28-1/4'' and was actually 27''. One was marked 30'' and was actually 28-1/4'' but it was 1-1/4'' wide so it would not fit between the pulley tracks without popping out. It was also sewn improperly at the join which made it even wider there... So, I asked for a rubber belt. Tired of trying to deal with leather. They are nice looking belts though...

I run a modren ribbed belt.

Michael, l would say that the stretch rate was made into the completed belt using the average, so maybe the correct belt length will be achieved after the initial stretch is done on the car. Sounds plauseable !!! Hmmm mythbusters!
David Dare