Antique Belt Lacer [Restoration]

This tool restoration was on an antique belt lacer. This machine was made by the Clipper Belt Lacer Company from Grand Rapids, MI, USA around 1910s-1920s. This model (No. 3) can lace belts up to 6in wide. These belts, usually made of leather, were used to power machinery during this time period and a tool like this would be very useful to link belts together quickly and get a machine running. I had to de-rust the parts first, just to see where paint was and wasn’t. There was so much paint loss in areas that it would have been really hard to tell if a part was painted a certain way if I didn’t have a better look with the rust removed. Sandblasting first would have messed this up. The metal pin used to hold the clipper belt lacing was incredibly stuck in it’s brass or bronze housing. I had to use a mix of alum and water to dissolve the steel pin out of it. I used 4 coats of black enamel paint and 3 coats of a clear coat for this project. I remade the handles using j