There is no class of appliances so little understood by the ordinary steam engineer and steam user as belts, which may be seen by the quantity of belting sold annually. Where one can point to a belt that has been in continuous use for twenty years, you can find hundreds that do not last one-fourth as long. Why? Not always because the buyer has tried to get something for nothing, but as a rule, when they do, they get nothing for something.

The average belt is a poor one, and the average buyer will not find it out till he has used it for some time. If you weigh the belt dealer up as a man who is trying to rob you, beat him down in price, then get him to give from 5 to 40 per cent. off, he will enter a protest, and, after some explanation, will come to some terms with you. Have you gained anything by your cleverness? Well, hardly. Belt dealers and makers, like almost all other dealers in supplies, aim to get nothing but first-class goods; but second and third, and even fourth-class goods, are made, and you get the quality you pay for. In the second place, belts wear out quickly because they do not get proper care. To let a belt run one moment after it gets too slack is bad practice, for it is apt to slip and burn all the staying qualities out of it. Another good reason why it should not be run slack is that the engineer or belt man, to save work, would be tempted to put on a dressing or, worse yet, put on resin to make it pull, and, in the language of Rex, "the man who will put resin on his belts is either a fool or a knave," for it is sure to spoil his belt if continued for any length of time.

In an emergency, as when some unforeseen substance has found its way to the belt, it may be necessary, to keep from shutting down between hours, to use some of the so-called dressing. We know from experience that engineers will go to almost any extreme to get out of a tight place—circumstances sometimes make it necessary to keep a belt running when it should not—but this should not be allowed to any extent. To allow a belt to run too tight is just as bad, for it will make short life for the belt, hot boxes and scored shafting. There is not one in twenty who takes the time or can splice a belt properly; it is generally done in a hurry, any way to make it hold together, with the understanding that it cannot talk; but it does. How often we see boards nailed up or rims tacked on to keep belts from getting off the pulleys. All of this is good for the belt dealers.

This is not all the fault of the engineer or the belt manufacturer. Often belts are made uneven, and soon get out of shape, even with the best of care. We sometimes find a belt that ordinarily runs easy on the pulleys and does its work with ease suddenly inclined to run to either one side or the other of the driven pulley. This is caused by one of two things—either the belt has been too slack, or the load increased for want of lubrication, or other causes. In either case it will run off if you insist on applying the power. The remedy would be to take up the belt, thoroughly oil the journals, or take off the extra load—maybe a combination of all. Still a little extra work making the belt tighter will enable it to run well and do the extra work just as long as the extra tension can be maintained. Then it may appear perplexing and run to one side of the driven pulley when the driven shaft gets out of line with the driving shaft. In a case of this kind the belt does not run to what is called the high side of the pulley, but to the low side. Another peculiar indication: If two shafts are parallel and there is a high place on the pulley, then a belt will run to the high place; but if the shafts are out of line, or, in other words, are not parallel, and the face of the pulley straight, then the belt will run to the low side or that closest to the driving shaft. The remedy would be to line up your shafting.

The object of this chapter is not to say how belts are made, but to impress upon the minds of belt users that to get the best results, belts, like all good servants, must be well cared for, and all responsibility should rest with one man, just as with your engine or any high-priced machine.

XI