Thinning an antique piece of leather belting

[t20sl]

I need to thin from .200 inches to about  .160 inches thick.  It is an old 3" wide by 12 feet long drive belt from either a farm implement or a machine shop overhead drive system.  Probably 75 plus years old with lots of character which is why I want to use it.  I will end up using an unspliced section of about 50" long.  it's a little stiff with very minor cracking in places.  I need it to retain the antique look.  Has anyone have any comments about the idea of soaking it for a few hours and then trying to roll it thinner?  Something along the idea of like a wringer washer but with smooth metal rollers.  I doubt I could skive it evenly enough since this belt has seen lots of tension and stress in its life.  Ideas?  Thanks

[Colt W Knight]

I would try to find a local leather shop with a splitter, they can cut some off the back to whatever thickness you need.

Being an old farm implement drive belt, it probably doesn't have much stretch left to simple squash it out thinner.