Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather Belts.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather Belts.
I, EDWARD FRANK SARGEANT, of Linden Lodge, Stroud, in the County of
Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Leather belts have before been made of narrow strips jointed together side
by side. In some methods a hemp sewing was used and latterly the strips
have been grooved and a tongue inserted into the grooves.
According to my present invention I split the strips horizontally into two
layers of nearly equal thickness and supposing the strips so split to be stretched
side by side on a table I move one layer sidewise a distance equal to half the
width of one strip and cut off the projecting portion of the outermost strip on
one side and place the portion so cut off over the projecting portion on the other
side and cement the two layers together so making a belt of the thickness of the
original strips.
In manufacturing a belt in this way the strips are first cut stretched and
split the flesh or lower side of one split strip is further divided longitudinally
into two equal portions-the "grain" side of the split strips are then stretched
side by side over a long table-next the two equal portions of the flesh side of
the one strip are stretched over the outside edges of the assemblage of the
grain sides of the strips and then the remaining "flesh" splits are laid down
between these half strips and the two layers are glued together.
The advantages of this method are that single belts can be made much more
uniform in strength and thickness than has hitherto been possible under any
former method of construction; and that single belts can be got to run straighter
than hitherto because a larger number of strips can be used in their construction.
Thus a two inch single belt formerly had two strips; but under this method
it will have five strips. Moreover under former methods the strips were
weakened by the holes of the sewing and by the grooves of the tongueing:
under this method nothing is cut away from the leather, but the leather is
actually strengthened by being subdivided.
TOLL
Dambau 1900
Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather Belts.
I, EDWARD FRANK SARGEANT, of Linden Lodge, Stroud, in the County of
Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
Price 8dl

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Leather belts have before been made of narrow strips jointed together side
by side. In some methods a hemp sewing was used and latterly the strips
have been grooved and a tongue inserted into the grooves.
According to my present invention I split the strips horizontally into two
layers of nearly equal thickness and supposing the strips so split to be stretched
side by side on a table I move one layer sidewise a distance equal to half the
width of one strip and cut off the projecting portion of the outermost strip on
one side and place the portion so cut off over the projecting portion on the other
side and cement the two layers together so making a belt of the thickness of the
original strips.
In manufacturing a belt in this way the strips are first cut stretched and
split the flesh or lower side of one split strip is further divided longitudinally
into two equal portions-the "grain" side of the split strips are then stretched
side by side over a long table-next the two equal portions of the flesh side of
the one strip are stretched over the outside edges of the assemblage of the
grain sides of the strips and then the remaining "flesh" splits are laid down
between these half strips and the two layers are glued together.
The advantages of this method are that single belts can be made much more
uniform in strength and thickness than has hitherto been possible under any
former method of construction; and that single belts can be got to run straighter
than hitherto because a larger number of strips can be used in their construction.
Thus a two inch single belt formerly had two strips; but under this method
it will have five strips. Moreover under former methods the strips were
weakened by the holes of the sewing and by the grooves of the tongueing;
under this method nothing is cut away from the leather, but the leather is
actually strengthened by being subdivided.
Another advantage secured by this method of manufacture is that the belt
can be made perfectly straight. In order to get the strips of the desired
length they are preferably cut from the skin in a spiral and such spirally cut
strips although they may have been stretched out straight always tend to more
or less return to their original curved form. I remedy this by so arranging the
split strips that the curvatures of the various strips neutralise one another.
The number of strips composing a belt of single thickness is preferably even.
The strips are split into two layers, and the strips of one of these layers say
the grain strips are stretched down to long tables with their curvatures in
opposite directions; if there are only two strips the long edge of the strips will
be placed to form the centre line of the belt as shown diagrammatically in
Figure 1. If there are four strips the long edges (i.e. the edge on the outside
of the spiral) of the two outside strips will be placed against the short edges of
the two middle strips as shown diagrammatically in Figure 2, so that the belt
may be regarded as being made of two symmetrical halves down the centre
line, this arrangement giving it a tendency to fit the " crown" of the pulley.
When the grain layer is pegged down to the table one of the strips of the flesh
layer is cut in two halves longitudinally, and one of these half strips is then
cemented down on the outside strip of the grain layer edge to edge, as shown
in Figure 3, then three flesh strips of full width are cemented down next to
this, and finally the remaining half of the divided flesh strip is cemented down
on the other edge of the belt, see Figure 4. The direction of the curvatures
of the flesh splits must be arranged to neutralise each other, but in this case
two of the wide strips will be arranged to have a curvature in one direction,
and the third wide strip will be arranged to have a tendency to curve in the
opposite direction: the curvatures of the two half strips will be arranged to be
in the same direction as that of the said third strip as shown diagrammatically
in Figure 5. When made in this manner the belt will run straight provided

page_text: all the strips are built in at approximately the same tension. To arrange this
tension the split strips are stretched to the table by hand, one end being nailed
down while an operator pulls on the other end; his judgment will enable him
to tell if he is putting the same tension into each strip, and when he is satis-
fied on this point the end of the strip he is holding is likewise nailed down.
When he has secured all the grain splits to the table in this way he takes the
half of the flesh strip forming the outer edge of the belt and nails it to the table
with half the tension of a full strip; next he nails the remaining flesh strips:
all the strips are now held to the table in the position and under the tensions
they will have in the finished belt, being held by nails at their ends only.
The next operation is to cement them in place. In order to preserve the
tension lines are scribed on the upper surface of the flesh split at right angles
to the belt and two or three feet apart; these lines being also continued on the
table at each side of the belt: the nails at one end of the flesh strips are now
withdrawn leaving the grain strips still tightly stretched to the table.
In cementing down the flesh strips each strip is taken separately. Cement
is applied by small brushes to the surface of the grain strip and to that of the
flesh strip for a length of sav three feet on each. The two surfaces are then
placed in contact and rubbed together. The tension on the flesh strips is
adjusted by causing the marks which were scribed across them when in strain
to come opposite to the corresponding marks on the table, and if this is care-
fully done the belt will run perfectly straight. When all the flesh strips are
put down in this way the belt is left for the cement to set, it is then taken up
and may be used cemented only, or a few rows of machine sewing may be run
down it. If the belt be not made of strips cut spirally the operations of splitting
and stretching will be the same as above described but of course no arrange-
ments for neutralising curvature are necessary. The strips in this case will
be composed of a number of short pieces joined together at their ends in any
convenient manner. It may be found that the grain strips do not lie closely
up to each other in which case they must be arranged to do so and kept in
place by small wood pegs driven through into the table; they may also be kept
up to each other by screwing down to the table rectangular bars of iron extend-
ing the whole length of the table. These bars may be two inches wide by a
quarter of an inch thick and have notches cut in the edge next the belt about
half an inch apart, and also a longitudinal groove connecting the notches to
allow of the escape of superfluous cement. Figures 6 and 7 are a plan and edge
view respectively of such a bar.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A belt formed from strips of leather divided into two layers of approxi-
mately equal thickness the two layers being cemented together with the joints
or divisions between the parts of one layer overlapped by the parts of the other
laver.
2. A belt formed from spirally cut strips of leather divided into two layers
of approximately equal thickness the two layers being arranged so that the
curvatures of the various portions tend to neutralise one another and cemented
together with the joints or divisions between the parts of one layer overlapped
by the parts of the other layer.
!
1000