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Replacing Your Belt

tonymiceli 26 December 2008

Thought part of this email might be useful to others:

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the place for belts (of all kinds) is www.mcmaster.com . Bill Youhass sent me there. I ordered two o-ring sizes that matched the diameter of the large and small pulleys, but the rubber stretches a bit, creating an intermittent tremolo on the rack with the sharps, so we're going to order some smaller diameter ones (-.5") for a tighter fit. But at least I get the clue of what it sounds like with the motor running on the large wheel. Sweet! Even the dog approves. Thanks for your help with that.

When i called Mcmaster and told them what i needed, the guy was like, "a vibra-what?" I told him to hold on, put the phone on speaker, and gave him a phrase of "Misty." (I also cobbed together "Blue Skies" and "Have yourself a merry little xmas" the other day, but wasn't ready to trot those out for a stranger.) He did get the clue.
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Comments

djohn Thu, 11/11/2010 - 16:52

Hi there,

I went venturing out for extra belts a while back here in Switzerland and would like to share what I found.

According to the Musser specifications you need, for the M55 (year 2008 in case this matters), a 1/8" x 5 3/4" o-ring.

What I got (we're sooo metric!):

  • O-Rings 3x140mm & 3x145mm. (They both seem to work, but the the tighter one is probably preferrable, as Tony mentioned.)
  • round-shaped (instead of square-shaped, star-shaped, oval-shaped, X-shaped, etc.)
  • Material: "nitrile" - in german: Nitril (kunstkautschuk)
  • 70 shore (something to do with the hardness of the rubber)

I bought them for 5 Swiss Franks per piece from Johannsen AG in Zürich. http://www.johannsen-ag.ch/
I was in contact with a Mr Walter Nänny.

They have a minimum order amount of 50 CHF if you want them to send it. But I'm sure you can find similar kinds of businesses around your neighborhood.

John

pask74 Tue, 05/31/2022 - 17:34

Hey John,

You seem to be located in Switzerland. I'm in Lausanne starting out on the vibes.
I need to replace the o-ring on my Deagan 510 and would love to chat about it. How could we get in touch?
Cheers,
Pascal

clarkington Sun, 02/27/2022 - 11:04

I doubt anyone will ever see this, but there doesn't seem to be any way to add a new question in the forums. Can anyone tell me how the belt (or belts!?) are supposed to be most efficiently installed on a 1930s Leedy? It's the original motor, still working terrifically -- but I've rarely used it, since it was almost impossible to put the belt on the pulley thingees. And now, it's been so long that I no longer remember how I ever did it in the first place (or even if it requires one or two belts). Some day, if someone sees this and can give or direct me to instructions, that would be great. Thanks!

Randy_Sutin Mon, 03/07/2022 - 21:06

On many older vibes, the belts have to be positioned while putting the resonators on the instrument. Sometimes, also the rails are in the way, so installing new belts involves removing both the resonators and rails, then reassembling with the belts in place.

tonymiceli Tue, 06/07/2022 - 11:09

i saw it. see if you can post now. i changed your user settings. we get so many spam accounts we have to be very restrictive and then look at users and turn on the posting. the other way you can guarantee posting is to become a subscriber. it's just impossible to keep up with the hackers. they win!

LeonLouder Wed, 01/11/2023 - 10:22

Hello,

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me replace the belts on a Galanti Vibraphonette. I need to know what the dimensions of the belts should be, and also how they are threaded. I've been able to screenshot a few pictures that give me a clue, but cannot find a manual or schematic anywhere that shows the belt paths. If only it were obvious... Many Thanks!

Randy_Sutin Tue, 01/17/2023 - 19:02

I don't think any of us here have that model axe, but Andy Batista and his mentor (Gilberto Serna) saw pretty much everything. If anyone knows what size belt it takes, he would. If he doesn't, my second call would be to Rick Byers or his mentor (Bill Youhass... Tony mentioned him in the original post, which was from before he retired and turned the business over to Rick) at Fall Creek Marimbas.

And, if all that fails, it won't be too painful to order some o-rings from McMaster. They are pretty cheap. If they aren't the right size, then you can go bigger or smaller as you need until you find the right ones.

IndianaGlen Mon, 01/23/2023 - 18:24

Assuming you're using an O-Ring belt, you can use a string to measure as a starting point. Mark it where it crosses with a sharpie. Musser belts are 1/8" thick. You can convert to a round number in MM if you are ordering metric. On an M-55, The ID (inside Diameter) is 6" the od will be 6 1/4" McMaster carr has EVERYTHING. However, you can save a few bucks (but you may not get the correct size on your first order) from amazon. I MAY BE WRONG, but this looks to me like replacement for m55 Mussers. https://www.mcmaster.com/o-rings/fractional-od~6-1-4/width~0-139/
Your mileage may vary. If the belt is too tight it will make the motor hum, if it's too loose it slips.

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