horselady21 Report post Posted April 28, 2016 Hi! I just got this wonderful model 27 treadle..my first...working wonderfully...and my only pet peeve with her is the belt. The annoying clicking from the staple as it goes around, and the stretch of the leather that just doesn't seem to be a good fit. So, since I am a car girl, and have been in the auto parts business for 35 years, I was walking past the vacuum hose display yesterday and thought that the 1/4" vacuum hose looked like it would fit nicely in the belt channel in my machine. So I bought a long enough piece (for 81 cents!), took it home, trimmed it to fit, put a heavy staple deep in the heavy rubber so it wouldn't click, and it works much better! It doesn't slip as much as the leather one, grips much better! I thought I would post it in case others might want to try it. A lot cheaper, too! I already ordered a roll for leather belting for my 31-15 industrial but I might buy the bigger size hose set up for it too. I will have to see how it holds up to any heat generated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted April 28, 2016 Nicely done! The industry does now have a urethane belting material that can replace round leather. There are aluminum couplers that insert into the hose like belting. I still use leather on certain machines, but it's nice having an alternative. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
horselady21 Report post Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks, Eric! Wish I had thought of it before buying the $8 leather belt but, oh well! I guess I was going for originality at that point! But like everything else, my modern and practical side pushed through and prevailed! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted April 29, 2016 As a side note, I use a leather belts on my keyhole buttonhole machines. The reason is the subtle click of the connector tells me the rpm as the machine cycles. I can hear changes if the machine starts to run tight and slow down, indicating an evolving problem or lack of oil. My newest machine came with the urethane belts and I changed them to leather for that reason. I also have a roll of b groove v belting that goes together with clips much like leather. Handy if you don't have the right size belt on hand. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
