Van De Graaff Belt Source

[Jason C Wells]

I have searched the internet high and low for a less expensive belt for my Van De Graaff. Science First is selling replacements for $36 plus $18 shipping and handling. That seems like a bit much. The belt has to be an off the shelf item. I just need to find the right shelf.

I tried making my own belt. Super glue works great. I have a crowned pulley. The belt won't track straight and comes off the pulleys.

Regards,
Jason C. Wells

[Jerry Biehler]

Superglue is too hard. Try some Barge:

This stuff is used for gluing latex, that is basically what it is, latex in solvent. Use in a ventilated area!

[John Futter]

use
PVA Glue white wood glue
ie poly vynal acetate
synthetic latex
both surfaces are first coated and left to dry fully (primimg)then the two are glued together and left to dry

[JohnCuthbert]

A friend of mine is a lab tech in a high school and she sent me this by email a while back

It seem s you need to register with the site before you can read the item ,but the information is here anyway.
Hope it helps


"We recently discovered that you can make a replacement Van De Graaff belt out of vinyl covered cloth. (wipe-clean table cloth type.) Simply measure the length you
need using a piece of string wrapped around the rollers. Cut and glue with cement glue or instant adhesive. Cut the edges slanted and overlap so you get a smoother roll
over the rollers rather than a 'thump, thump'. Place on rollers cloth side down. I found we got a better spark using this than our bought rubber belts."

http://www.preproom.org/newsletter/jan1 ... -cloth.jpg

[Jeremy Sims]

I used the solid vinyl shelf liners from Walmart. Did not overlap. But do slant the seem. Just laid the two pieces end to end and used a sewing machine (from thrift store) to zig-zag stitch the seem. Worked really well.

[Dennis P Brown]

The cut needs to be in the form of a long "V" (both ends) to allow both for a stronger bond and better roller performance.