Flat belt dressing

jimparamedic · July 08, 2009, 08:24:40 PM

Looking for beltI have used dressing for my sawmill I have one can of pullman left need something to replace it I have used the stick type by dissolving it with gas but the co. went out of bussness 2yrs ago Please Help in Need

LeeB · July 08, 2009, 08:29:48 PM

Enlighten the uneducated here. What does the dressing do for you?

beenthere · July 08, 2009, 08:45:13 PM

The product is still around.
Gunk® has one.
http://www.gunk.com/CAT_M206.asp

Another is
http://www.pagebelting.com/belting.html

They list belt dressing as well as leather belt stock. Might be worth contacting.

LeeB
Used to take the slippery shine off flat belts. Use to have a bucket of tar-like belt dressing to brush on the flat belts when they would start to slip. If I remember right, seems the belt would get a hard shine on the leather, and it was hard to keep it on the pulleys and from slipping under load. But there also was some suspicion that the application of belt dressing would contribute to that 'shine' and only be a temporary fix of the problem.

stonebroke · July 08, 2009, 09:13:29 PM

I get mine at NAPA

Stonebroke

jimparamedic · July 08, 2009, 09:43:22 PM

Trying to stat away from spray cans But if that is all I can get then that is what Ill have to use

sawthemlogs · July 08, 2009, 09:49:32 PM

its hard to find ??? i have used pine tar .it will really grip ,but tends to leave a build up on the pulleys after awhile and you have to scrape it off to get lumps off your pulley.... ii also stinks terribly...i get it at local feed store,,, another home remedy is sorghum molasses....i did manage to find some of the old cling surface dressing at old farm estate auction...not many knew what it was for....

Ron Wenrich · July 09, 2009, 05:25:24 AM

I used to get belt dressing at a farm store. Ours came in a stick form and you put it on a moving belt. Not nearly as messy and you don't have any problems with buildup of residue and sawdust on your pulleys.

Fla._Deadheader · July 09, 2009, 07:29:23 AM

That stuff could build up and make the belt act up, is what my Mentor told me. I've seen globby belts from wads of dressing.

I used RAW Linseed Oil, until I bought the Corley. Do NOT use Boiled Linseed Oil.

The Linseed will get sticky as it gets warmed up from slippage. It will NOT build up, and, a little dab'll do ya. I just ran a thin stream down the belt for about 4 feet. The flat pulley will distribute it for ya.

Hardware or paint store should have it.

jimparamedic · July 11, 2009, 10:33:16 AM

The stick that look like grease tubes are no longer made. Ill try the linseed oil. Ive been working on my own mix Ill post receipe when I get it worked out

jimparamedic · July 13, 2009, 02:39:15 PM

Working on a mix that uses mineral spirits, bees wax,linseed oil and tar. Working on the amounts of each

jason.weir · July 14, 2009, 07:25:31 AM

Please do Jim, as I'm running low on a bottle of stuff I got from Page Belting - old stuff they were throwing out..

-J

sparky · July 14, 2009, 08:29:14 PM

I have had the same problem trying to find stick type belt dressing. There is nothing on the Internet that I was able to find. I met a fellow at a tractor show 2 years ago that had bought a full case of stick type dressing at a farm auction. He had checked it out before it came up for bid. The auctioneer announced that a case of gun grease was up for bid. This fellow bought the 12 sticks for $8! I talked him out of 2 sticks. I don't know what I will do when they are used up! The firm in Iowa that made these sticks is out of business.

Sparky

bandmiller2 · July 15, 2009, 06:19:24 AM

I believe rosin is a key ingrediant in most preperations I have used it but try to avoid dressing if I can if you have to use it theirs something out of wack with your belt sizeing or tension.You want to keep a belt supple enough and not glazed to grip the pulleys.I would tend to favor FDH's method with raw linseed.I use neatsfoot oil to keep belting supple but not too much.Frank C.

cheyenne · July 16, 2009, 09:43:52 PM

There is a product called belt-seize in a can that you can drip on or squirt. Check with an industrial supply house......Cheyenne

jimparamedic · July 20, 2009, 09:39:08 PM

Well the mix I came up with is 2 bees wax ring for toilet,1 quart raw linseed oil,1 quart roof tare sofened with1 quart mineral spirits, heat very carefully, I used double boiler and elec hot plate. Seens to work just use small amount at a time, I use an old dish soap bottle.

jason.weir · July 21, 2009, 07:32:03 AM

Thanks Jim...

How thick does it end up? Is it sticky - does it build up?

I'll probably make some this week and give it a try - I gotta saw 10 bundles of shingles for a member here and I'm running low on dressing..

Anyone gonna be in the southern NH area on Friday wanna see a shingle mill run let me know..

-Jason

breederman · July 21, 2009, 07:44:40 AM

It seems I remember using molasses as a kid.

mayor · July 21, 2009, 09:55:22 AM

I've got a lot of belt stuff....corn shellers, grinders, saws, fodder cutters, hammer mills, etc.
I just like old flat belt driven equipment. We go too the shows and such so I dont like using tar based dressings as they are sticky and dirty too handle.....they also build up on the blades.
I found that by cleaning the belts really good and then spaying them lightly with NAPA belt conditioner/dressing in the red spray cans......they work fine with no slippage and they stay clean. The condtions I've found they would slip are: wet, too dry, not enough tension, glazed over from too much dressing and then slipping and getting hot.
The black rubberized belts are the best for no slippage and ease of use...they just seem too run better with no side too side deflection on longer belts.
I still like canvas belts for the shows as they just look better......and I've even got leather belts, which has too use belt dressing as they get slick faster than any of my others.

jimparamedic · July 21, 2009, 01:36:08 PM

I used the tar to add some tack I use old equip with babbet that the shafts run on so to much tension causes over heating and premature failure MyGrandmother would tell about her dad and uncle taking an old tire and setting it on fire and letting the rubber drip on the belt of the sawmill and theashing machines that they run. But that was true rubber not what we use to day. My Grandmother was a wealth of info. Her father worked the oilfeilds of Texas flat belts and steam engine where ever you looked.

StorminN · July 25, 2009, 05:13:40 AM

When I was down in Mexico this past spring, I watched a sawyer there sprinkle pitchy pine sawdust on the flat belt feedworks for his mill... every couple of logs, he would sprinkle a handful on there. The short time I was there, I never did see him use anything else.

They had a two liter Coke bottle with a hole in the cap, had diesel in there and were squirting that on the blade every log or so... they were running about a 5" wide band.

-Norm.