Pulley lagging

[jww]

Going thru the learning curve on leather belting. Is there a difference between the leather used for belting and the leather used for pulley lagging? Seems all of the leather knowledge in my part of the country is directed towards hangbags and boots.
I have learned the difference between side stock and center stock, with center stock being the premium grade. It appears thickness is measured in ply's, 1 ply being available in 5/32", 7/32", and 3/16" thicknesses. Is the pulley lagging used on the clutch spool and rear drive pulley usually the same thickness as the drive belt? Thanks in advance as always. johnny

[Ken Lee]

don't know if this will help but I ride a 1912 Excelsior with flat belt , the driving pulley and the rear pulley are both covered in leather and it is a very thin leather , I have seen somewhere that the rear pulley does not need to be covered as the steel pulley of this large size will give good grip (mine was covered when I bought it) , both glued in place and screwed or riveted , I do not think the quality of this is too important as it is for assisting grip of the driving pulley , I have a rubberised / synthetic belt on at the moment but have a ''chrome leather'' belt on order , it is being made up of two thicknesses so can be made a continuous belt , each thickness is about 1/8th inch making the total thickness 1/4 , and the two pieces are glued and sewn together , I hope this will be a good belt , it should be delivered to me within a week or so , I'll fit it soon after and give it a try , although I bought mine in England , I am, sure you can get one made there , on another thread of mine on belt drive material , I did get someone from over there to help me and perhaps that would be a good place for you to start , not sure of his name but will look it up and come back to you , best wishes , Ken

[Ken Lee]

Hi Johnny , the contact I mentioned that may be able to help is Paquette , email -- -- , he does leatherwork and could help hopefully , cheers , Ken

[jww]

Thanks Ken!!
I had been following the other thread regarding belts, and will use that info when i get to that point. From what i have been told the pulley lagging should be thinner than the belt. I have ordered from a belting supply house a piece 1 3/4" wide X 5/32" thick to use as lagging on my eclipse clutch hub and the rear drive pulley. The clutch lagging is held in place with screws and the drive pulley lagging with rivets johnny

[Ken Lee]

Hi jww , the lagging on my bike is held the same way , what bike do you have ? Ken

[jww]

Ken,
Current project is a '13 Pope Model K. Its an OHV single. Going to be a neat bike, can't wait to take it for a spin.
johnny

[Ken Lee]

johnny ,
thanks , I should have come back and said -- I have seen a pic of it on another thread , nice bike , Popes were quite advanced with their OHV engines , best of luck with it , Ken

[LouieMCman]

Johnny, I used some 3/16 lagging on my Miami front pulley only. It is screwed on so I thought the thicker stuff would work better. It seems to be working great. Yesterday I went to a friends place who owes an old textile mill that has numerous belt drive machines and we fitted a new belt on the Miami. We had to work on it a bit because it wanted to walk around on the rear pulley because of the way I tapered the pulley but we got it straightened out and working good. I also ask him about the lagging because I always heard you needed it on the front to grip because of the small diameter of the pulley. He said you may not even need it depending on what kind of belt you have. He has a lot of experience with belts and will be at Barber this weekend. If you are going, look us up at the Dixie Chapter tent.

[Ken Lee]

Hello Louie ,
What type of belt have you fitted ? do you or anyone know what material Excelsiors used , they called their belts ''SPARTAN'' and used them for a few years but do not say what material it is ? the lagging on my pulley's is about 1/32 leather with the rough side out to aid grip , I don't think that thickness matters but the thicker it is the more the gearing will change , probably insignificant unless you live at the top of a very steep hill , Ken

[jww]

Louie,
Glad you told me you used the thicker lagging, will prohibit me from wagering with you with regards to top speed......might have a hole shot advantage though. Based on the screw length i think 5/32" was used on my Pope. Won't be making Barber, maybe next year.
Ken, don't have a clue on your belting requirement. I have found resources very limited. Good luck to you.
johnny

[LouieMCman]

Ken;
No idea what kind of belt it is, it is two ply leather with what looks to be some kind of cloth coating on both sides. I have been after my buddy for any kind of two ply leather and he found this 29 foot piece at the Charlotte, NC car fair and paid $5 for it. He gave me enough for my bike but wouldn't turn loose of any more. He has the same problem as us, no more leather belting being made.

[Ken Lee]

the current belt I am using I made from two pieces of re-inforced rubber belting , scarfed the joints (two) and glued and sewn , this has seen just over a hundred miles but I am waiting for a leather belt which is being made for me by a saddler (you probably have one or two in the States!!) making a continuous belt using two thicknesses of chrome leather with the joints staggered and sewn all the way round both edges , I'll let you know how this works out but may be a little while before I get it and try , but I suppose as long as whatever we use it turns the rear wheel then it'll be ok , Ken

[wyatt emp]

I am new to this antique bike stuff but purcahsed a 1910 Harley in peices and built with internet forum help. One of the problems I found with the belt drive system is that there is slipage going up steep grades and when in nurtal, causin friction heat, smoke, and damage to the leather. I have a Ford model T and replaced the transmition and brake bands with Kevlar, which work great, so I had an idea. I purchased a 2" wide Kevlar brake band, cut to size, and mounted it on the engin pulley, where it can't be seen unless you look very close, and it works great. I can stand at idle forever with no friction or burning and it grips great. The correct belt tension is of course always important at iddle, as it has to be loose enough. Did some research and found in the day owners could buy after market lagging made from resin soaked espestos (sp?) which of course can no longer be found as it has been banned for it's health issues. Hope this helps.

[Ken Lee]

Yes , always good to hear others views Wyatt , I am now using a leather belt , I made from an old industrial leather belting , found some and cut it to the size I need , made a continuous belt as the Excelsior frame can be unbolted to allow for a continuous belt to be fitted , I have had good service from it , the only real problem is slight belt stretch on a run , of about 1inch on a 70 to 80 mile ride but this shrinks back after a few days to near the original size , although after about 1,000 miles it has stayed stretched by about 1 inch but all this means is , I will have to cut it and join it again !! It doesn't suffer much from slip but your idea of using Kevlar to wrap the engine pulley sounds a good idea , will keep that in mind , Ken

[wyatt emp]

My 10' Harley frame bolts apart also as it too has a one peice belt. Big learning curve for me as when I first got it I ran it in nutral while on the stand while fine tunning it. Suddenly there was a odd smell and a lot of smoke. The drive belt was nearly destroyed and the leather engine pulling lagging was burnt to a crisp, litteraly, as it broke into peices when I removed it. Made a new leather one and adjusted so the belt was looser when in nutral, which helped but would still smoke some if standing in nutral for a long time. Then trying to start from a dead stop, facing up-hill, burned up the new one. That is when I knew I would have to try something else and started researching. I found the artical about the resin soaked asbestos and thought I would try the kevlar. It seems to be working. I have not tried any type of leather treatment, which most seem to be doing, so do not know if that would have solved my issue. Kinda a catch 22 to me as the belt needs to become loose enough in nutral to avoud friction but tight enough in "gear" so as not to slip. Even there I have found that too tight tends to bog the engine down so it is a real art driving one of these. Thank God for the adjustable arm on my 10".