I don't have any success putting leather belts on machines. Instead I took Bonnie Hunter's advise and bought some 1/4" clear tubing for belts. I bought my tubing from hardware store - it's 1/4" OD x 1/8" ID and I got some 1/8" OD x 1" hose menders from here at work to connect the tube - worked like a charm. Joe here on the board said my hose menders were too small for the aquarium tubing he has. He also said the aquarium tubing was quite flimsy (I think he said that) and stretched after being used a while. My tubing is used on farming equipment so it's heftier with the thicker wall. I paid 20 cents per foot for my tubing and I think 28 cents for the hose mender.