Fig. 2691. Fig. 2692.
There are considerable movement and friction between the lace and the belt, more especially when the latter passes over a pulley of small diameter, and this with the friction due to whatever amount of slip the belt may experience, wears away the lace so that in time it breaks. Sometimes a cover is employed as shown in [Fig. 2691] at a, to protect the lace, the cover being riveted or cemented to the belt on the side that is to meet the pulley surface. A similar means is also sometimes employed to make a butt joint. Thus in [Fig. 2692] a is the cover riveted or cemented to the two ends b c, of the belt so as to dispense with lacing.
Fig. 2693.
[Fig. 2693] represents an excellent method of joining very thin belts, the operation being as follows:—
Place the two ends of the belt together with the edges fair one with the other, and with an awl make a row of holes at a, through both ends; then take about half a yard of strong twine (in some cases a lace or gut is better) and draw half the length through the first hole, then pass each end of the twine through the second hole, one end to the right and the other to the left, and draw both tight at the same time, and so on until the last hole is reached, when one end only of the twine is passed through; the two ends of the twine are then knotted tight together and the excess cut off.