Accessory Drive Belts

[ramjet]

I thought I would pass along an inexpensive substitute for accessory drive belts for your stationary steam models. I recently trashed an old HP computer printer. As I usually do, I saved all kinds of screws and parts before it hit the garbage pail. One component I salvaged was a rather stout DC motor. To shorten this up I turned the motor into a stand alone generator that lights an LED. Having done that I needed a belt to connect the output shaft on my Jensen engine to the generator pulley. A friend of mine uses oxygen and has a respiratory problem and has to replace the plastic tubing that attaches to his nose frequently. I took a piece of the small diameter plastic tubing and made a loop or big "O" ring as a drive belt. I connected the loose ends of the tubing with sections of the spring that you'll find in a BIC lighter. It's the long spring that presses the flint against the strike or spark wheel. I inserted small lengths of the spring into the clear plastic oxygen tubing and placed a drop of super glue, CA glue, cyanoacrylate on the joint. Hence, a perfectly functioning drive belt. I would not use it to supply power to the wheels of a Mamod tractor, but for driving accessories it's a peach.

Just F.Y.I.

Cheers,
Bill