Leather, like your skin, can sometimes dry out. In the especially low humidity of the winter, the leather belt on your treadle sewing machine can dry up. The increased dryness of the belt can cause the belt to slip when turning the treadle wheel. The symptoms of a dry leather belt on a treadle sewing machine may be: when you go to start, it is hard for the belt to catch, and when you stop, the belt may sometimes keep going. Similarly, a wet finger is easier to turn a book page than a dry finger. In order to increase the lifespan of your belt and prevent/treat dryness of the leather, you should occasionally dress the belt with oil or rub to keep it supple and running smooth.
If you are experiencing a slippage of the belt, two things may be happening:
- Your belt may be over-stretched. In order to fix this, take the belt off the treadle by opening the staple, cut the desired amount off the belt, and drill/punch a new hole in the belt, and reintall the belt back on the machine.
- Your belt may be too dry. In order to keep leather treadle belts supple, a treadler can use a number of products. Lather leather balm, mink, or neatsfoot oil onto the belt. These products condition the belt and make it supple. Apply one of the products by rubbing it into the belt and letting it sit for 24 hours if possible, then wipe off any excess oil. Back in the days of leather shoes, Neatsfoot oil and Mink oil was used quite a bit in an average home where there is a lot of rain and snow in Winter. Now with all the synthetic footwear, you may have to go to the sporting goods section or a shoe repair shop to find these items.
Homemade leather belt balm, as given to Treadle on from Grahm from ISMACS: I use 15g Beeswax and 120ml extra virgin olive oil. I grate the beeswax to aidmelting. I heat it in a pan sitting in another pan of slow boiling water. Once allmelted and mixed, I decant it into an empty shoe polish tin.It’s non-toxic so can be applied with the fingers and any excess wiped off.As an aside, it makes your skin nice and soft too, and I’ve used it as a lipbalm after sub-zero winter bike rides! Also good for restoring old dried wood.If you reduce the oil to 90ml and add 5g Carnauba wax, it makes a nice woodpolish, producing a soft lustre (I use it on sewing machine bases and cases).
As found in the 13th edition of Machinery’s Handbook, dated 1946: Do Not Ever Apply Resin to a Leather Transmission Belt. It will add tackiness for a time, but soon Glazes over & actually becomes hard & slick. The more it is used the more often it has to be applied until finally it no longer works. Their recommendation at that point for a dressing to keep the belt soft & pliable was Two parts Beef Tallow & one prat cod Liver oil by weight. For the present time, the above mentioned Neatsfoot & Mink oils would be good, but Grahm’s formula is probably the easiest to find in many locations.
Sewing With Nick 