# Best Homemade Tools >  Pulley/Fan Belt Welding Jig

## Captainleeward

Fan Belt Welding Jig Holder. This is a jig that holds the belt material so both ends are centered on each other,
then the belt ends are moved apart and heated with a soldering gun special tip,and the jig then closes the two half's together and thus forms the weld.

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Altair (Jan 18, 2015),

baja (Apr 6, 2019),

Big-Pete (Mar 18, 2021),

billster (Oct 12, 2018),

Canobi (Mar 18, 2021),

Christophe Mineau (Jan 19, 2015),

darkoford (Oct 11, 2018),

EnginePaul (Oct 11, 2018),

greyhoundollie (Oct 14, 2018),

high-side (Jan 16, 2019),

IAMSatisfied (Mar 23, 2018),

j.bickley (Oct 12, 2017),

kbalch (Jan 15, 2015),

Metallurg33 (Aug 1, 2022),

mwmkravchenko (Oct 12, 2018),

ncollar (May 21, 2016),

NickP (Oct 12, 2017),

nova_robotics (Mar 17, 2021),

olderdan (Oct 16, 2017),

Paul Jones (Jan 15, 2015),

quickcut (Aug 5, 2022),

Ralphxyz (Mar 17, 2021),

rlm98253 (Mar 22, 2018),

Scotsman Hosie (Apr 6, 2019),

thevillageinn (Oct 23, 2017),

Tuomas (Mar 23, 2018),

VegeKev (Mar 22, 2018),

winmac (Dec 28, 2022)

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## kbalch

Thanks Captainleeward! I've added your Fan Belt Welding Jig to our Welding category, as well as to your builder page: Captainleeward's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:





 






Fan Belt Welding Jig  by Captainleeward 

tags:
jig, welding

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greyhoundollie (Oct 14, 2018)

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## Paul Jones

Captain,
How fast do you have to work between withdrawing the soldering gun tip and closing the gap to form the weld? Also, is there any surface trimming needed for the welded joint after it hardens? This looks like an interesting jig for making my welded urethane belts for my small Unimat lathe and milling head setup.
Thanks for showing this, Paul

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Tuomas (Mar 23, 2018)

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## Ed ke6bnl

what is that belt material and where do you get it

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## Captainleeward

Hi Paul, It is important to move the hot ends back together as quick as possible, With this machine the ends are mated perfect.
Hello ED, urethane belts, they come any length you need and size on e-bay just type in urethane belts. 

Thanks to all for your interest....:O)

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EnginePaul (Oct 11, 2018),

Paul Jones (Jan 19, 2015),

Scotsman Hosie (Apr 6, 2019),

Tuomas (Mar 23, 2018)

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## DIYer

I have to admit, it's the first time I've seen a homemade tool for this, and I'm happy to learn something new.

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## Captainleeward

DIYer your to humble..... :Bow:

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## Altair

Like DIYer, this is the first time I've seen such a jig. Reminds me of a bandsaw brazing jig. Thanks for sharing such an interesting jig, Cap'n.

Al

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## Captainleeward

You be welcome matey....:O)

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## Cascao

Never had luck trying to weld green PU belts....

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Captainleeward (Oct 16, 2017)

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## olderdan

Captain
This is a great idea, I have been using a V block but that tends to draw the heat to fast, this is a much better solution.
I find the worst part is trimming of the flash, any idea's for that?.
The fact that you have made the jig that length makes me think you maybe have other uses for it.

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## mklotz

> Captain
> This is a great idea, I have been using a V block but that tends to draw the heat to fast, this is a much better solution.



I had to weld a small Unimat-sized belt so I took a short length of angle iron and, in the middle, milled away a section so the belt ends, lying in the V of the angle iron were exposed in the milled slot. Pull them slightly apart and close them on a palette knife that's been heated. While pushing them together on the knife, slip the knife out and the two heated ends of belt are immediately pushed together. (An assistant is useful for this maneuver.)

With the mid-section of the jig milled away the heat isn't sucked from the belts by the angle iron, yet the belt is closely supported so the alignment of the belt ends is good. 

A larger version might work for larger belts but I've never had occasion to try it.

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Paul Jones (Oct 18, 2017),

Tuomas (Mar 23, 2018)

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## Tonz Magonz

> Hi Paul, It is important to move the hot ends back together as quick as possible, With this machine the ends are mated perfect.
> Hello ED, urethane belts, they come any length you need and size on e-bay just type in urethane belts. 
> 
> Thanks to all for your interest....:O)



Great idea Captain , as I also never thought of using urethane as a pulley belt.
When heating ends , would it work easier if you added a thin flat blade to the tip of the soldering iron to act as a heating surface and then press the two cut ends together or use the thin blade as a cutting blade which also provided enough heat to allow fusion of the two cut surfaces..?

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## starlight_tools

> Captain
> This is a great idea, I have been using a V block but that tends to draw the heat to fast, this is a much better solution.
> I find the worst part is trimming of the flash, any idea's for that?.
> The fact that you have made the jig that length makes me think you maybe have other uses for it.



Cutting off the flashing is done with a small flush cutting side cutter. I often use a die grinder with a white Al Ox Stone to clean up the weld after trimming with the cutters. 

The Belting is Fenner Eagle Orange PolyUrethane, and they actually make a welding kit for it, but I like the jig you made Captain 

Walter

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## Ralphxyz

This is called butt fusion.

I was certified to do it on pe gas pipe upto 4".

The homemade jig is something I have been thinking of doing, Thanks for posting.

Ralph

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IAMSatisfied (Mar 23, 2018)

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## IAMSatisfied

I've welded poly irrigation pipe with a similar apparatus... the main difference (other than scale) is that the alignment jig for the poly pipe has a lever that allows lateral force to be applied as you want a certain amount of squeeze-out, but not too much. Butt-fusion is the technical term for the process.

In the video below, they're using an electrically heated plate... with the unit I used in the field, we used a plate that was heated via a standard propane torch... it had a dial thermometer built into the plate and a port into which the torch tip inserted.

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## Ed ke6bnl

What heat source and how is it heated up?

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## Tuomas

Very interesting, thank you. 

You heat it just to the point that surface starts to melt, or longer that it starts dripping?

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## Ralphxyz

Generally there is some sort of heat block to melt the plastic.

Ralph

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## Kwick Aronson

Something similar I will now make to attach 3D Printer filament to use up the end of a roll....
Thank You!!

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## owen moore

I have used this technique to join urethane and it works like a charm. You can also buy belt stock made of heavy urethane tubing. There are push connectors available to connect the ends. My application involved an automated abrasive blasting machine and the urethane belting was a perfect choice. That stuff is tougher than nails in that environment.

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Captainleeward (Oct 12, 2018)

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## Karl_H

Intriguing!

I have a couple questions.
It seems like a lot of travel just to get a soldering iron in place. Why?
I initially thought the brass knob was some sort of y-axis adjustment, but it appears, with further study, just to be a locking mechanism. Is that necessary?

Is this is an adaptation of another tool to this application and the travel and locking mechanism are not really necessary?

Thanks.

KH

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## Captainleeward

Hello, Karl_H yes the jig was something else so I adapted to the task.

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PJs (Oct 14, 2018)

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## Ralphxyz

When I did this with poly gas pipes there always was some roll out on the surface of the joint which for a belt would need to be cleaned off.

Ralph

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## owen moore

I have joined urethane belts this way. It works well. You can also get this same belt material in urethane tubing with specially machined aluminum push connectors. It is much more convenient and would work well on a Unimat lathe. The tubing and connectors are available from WW Grainger, and possibly Mcmaster Carr.

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Paul Jones (Jan 17, 2019)

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## NeiljohnUK

> Never had luck trying to weld green PU belts....



I found it easiest to heat them with a gas flame, soldering irons don't get enough heat into the material to joint it reliably.

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## Ralphxyz

I have been thinking of what a fusion jig would look like and how to make one. This is a great design hope you do not mind if I mostly copy what you did.

Ralph

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## mdhatter3

I made one out of 2 pieces of 2x4 and some bolts snd a clamp. Worked well. I use the belting on my sewing machines. Doesnt break like leather or regular V belting. Different diameter belts and v belts are available for different sizes and shapes of belting. Great stuff that works.

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## Ralphxyz

This is butt fusion not welding!

It is a nice rig, I need one for flat belts. I was certified to do butt fusion for poly gas lines.

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## cyclonesteve

> what is that belt material and where do you get it



Mc Master Carr also sells it. https://www.mcmaster.com/urethane-belts/

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