I tried to stop the treadle belt slipping, but I still couldn't get up to full speed on my Singer 201K. It ran well for a while, then slowly but surely, the belt started slipping again.
The problem has now been solved. My bro in law has been staying with us and he fixed it in about five minutes. He had a pair of pliers ready to open the metal staple that joins the belt, so he could cut the belt down by about half an inch. He had the awl ready to make a new hole in the leather. My contribution to the whole operation was to put the clothes pegs over the belt to stop it dropping through underneath as soon as it was cut. Then I disappeared out of the house and left him to it. When I came home later the belt was fixed and turning the machine beautifully. No more slipping!
It comes in a handy little tin from the music shop and costs less than three quid.
It looks like barley sugar but tastes nothing like it. I know. I tried it when I was little.
If it stops violin bows sliding across the strings when they get greasy, it can do much the same for leather belts when they slip on treadle wheels.
The 201K treadle was a bit sluggish. The machine was well oiled and turning well, and so was the treadle wheel. The problem was the belt. I was assuming it was too slack because it had stretched with age, but it didn't seem any great deal slacker than the belt on the 15K, which goes like the clappers.
I knew if I tried to shorten the belt I would probably end up needing a new one anyway, so I tried the easy option. I gave the treadle wheel a thorough wiping, to make sure there was no oil in the groove, and then ran the wheel with the rosin scraping on the rims of the groove. The rosin dust has made all the difference. The treadle belt is now gripping, and I can run the machine fast enough for the needle to become a blur, which I just couldn't do beforehand.
Helen Howes has a good page of advice about treadle belts on her website. It is well worth reading.
