Thanks, Rich for this insight. About the only time I wouldn't want to replace an intact leather belt is if I were fairly certain it were an original. And, if it's that precious, I wouldn't coat it with non-slip compound which would stain the inside and edges dark, even if it were a viable repair. I appreciate your letting me know that it isn't. Leather belts aren't hard to replace; lapping the ends to maintain constant thickness takes a few minutes, but isn't particularly difficult. For installation, drawing it to the proper tension by holding the loose, overlapped ends over the top pulley, against the pressure of the tensioning idler, and holding it in this position while making the initial bond requires both hands and a few fingers, but it works well to get the tension just right -- Not so tight as to restrict free movement of the pulleys, but taught enough to lift the idler to within a few degrees of having a straight belt. My method might be flawed, and I'm not convinced it's the best approach. If others have better ways to do this, I'd love to hear any comments. Andy Baron On Feb 26, 2007, at 8:56 AM, Rich wrote: > It will trash a leather belt. Sandpaper and maybe rosin powder is > about all that will work. leather belts > have been around for a very long time. And they do wear out. They > are not expensive.... > > On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 08:23:41 -0700, Andrew Baron wrote: > >> Radio-TV service shops, for decades used a product called "Phono Non- >> Slip Compound", a GC (General Cement) to prevent rubber idler wheels >> from slipping against the inside rim of electric turntables and other >> drives that rely on friction for grip. I keep a bottle of this thick >> liquid handy, but almost never use it as I consider it a shortcut fix >> (preferring instead to recondition the rubber where possible and >> properly clean the tt rim. However, it might be suitable in some >> cases for the leather belts on antique phonos (although I've never >> tried it for that purpose). It dries to a flexible, lightly tacky >> but non-sticky surface, which might be just the thing for some >> stubborn cases when you don't want to replace a belt and it doesn't >> respond to sanding, etc. I believe you can still buy this product >> from electronic suppliers such as Antique Electronic Supply and other >> sources. > >> Andy Baron > > >> On Feb 26, 2007, at 8:04 AM, Ron L wrote: > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org