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Alex, it is helpful to the operation of this accessory if you paint the big black pulley at the top with something like rubber cement or Bullfrog Snot before installing the belt.  Of course, let it dry first!

The belt tends to slip and you want the pulley to grip it better.

Good luck!

 

Bob posted:

Alex, it is helpful to the operation of this accessory if you paint the big black pulley at the top with something like rubber cement or Bullfrog Snot before installing the belt.  Of course, let it dry first!

The belt tends to slip and you want the pulley to grip it better.

Good luck!

 

Hi Bob, 

Thank you for the valuable information.The original belt isn't actually broken it just slips , I will try painting the pulley with what you've suggested and see how it operates better. 

Thanks very much, Alex

Alex M posted:
Bob posted:

Alex, it is helpful to the operation of this accessory if you paint the big black pulley at the top with something like rubber cement or Bullfrog Snot before installing the belt.  Of course, let it dry first!

The belt tends to slip and you want the pulley to grip it better.

Good luck!

 

Hi Bob, 

Thank you for the valuable information.The original belt isn't actually broken it just slips , I will try painting the pulley with what you've suggested and see how it operates better. 

Thanks very much, Alex

As another option, I applied a strip of double sided cellophane tape to the large pulley. It has been working fine for around 7 years now......

 

C.J. 

I have a question about this accessory, which I have. When the logs reach the top and fall down, are the 3 black metal stakes supposed to release when the logs hit them, so the logs fall into the train car below?

Those stakes don't release on mine when the logs hit hem. I have to push the stakes down with my finger to get them to release.

If they are supposed to release when the logs hit them, what needs to be done to make that happen?

I've tried light oil and WD40, but that hasn't worked.

Arnold

GP 40 posted:
Alex M posted:
Bob posted:

Alex, it is helpful to the operation of this accessory if you paint the big black pulley at the top with something like rubber cement or Bullfrog Snot before installing the belt.  Of course, let it dry first!

The belt tends to slip and you want the pulley to grip it better.

Good luck!

 

Hi Bob, 

Thank you for the valuable information.The original belt isn't actually broken it just slips , I will try painting the pulley with what you've suggested and see how it operates better. 

Thanks very much, Alex

As another option, I applied a strip of double sided cellophane tape to the large pulley. It has been working fine for around 7 years now......

 

C.J. 

Still another option, which I used as a teenager when mine started slipping, is to move the belt off the slippery black pulley, put a rubber band (of the size and thickness that the mailman sometimes uses when you get a lot of envelopes) onto the pulley, and put the red belt back on top of the rubber band.  The advantage of this approach is that it still grips as well as the other suggestions but there are no permanent alterations to the piece.

Also, I have replaced the cloth belt … and it's kind of a pain … or at least it was difficult because I wasn't very adroit as a teenager.  IIRC, you need to use something hot to melt the glue strip where the belt joins onto itself (i.e., they ship it to you as a ribbon because it needs to be threaded through the rollers). I used the my mom's iron (where the iron comes to a point) on the belt.  I pressed down hard on the steel area just before where the belt reaches the pulley on the theory that the stamped steel could withstand the heat whereas the black plastic pulley might not.

Good luck with it.  I'm sure many would be interested to hear how your replacement goes....

Steven J. Serenska

 

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I have a question about this accessory, which I have. When the logs reach the top and fall down, are the 3 black metal stakes supposed to release when the logs hit them, so the logs fall into the train car below?

Those stakes don't release on mine when the logs hit hem. I have to push the stakes down with my finger to get them to release.

If they are supposed to release when the logs hit them, what needs to be done to make that happen?

I've tried light oil and WD40, but that hasn't worked.

Arnold

Hi Arnold:

The stakes are supposed to give way to let the logs roll down.  On mine, sometimes they decline to do this for the first log, but the second and subsequent ones add sufficient weight so that they give way.

If all 4-5 logs aren't pushing those stakes down, something's wrong.  It's been a long time since I've looked at mine, so I can't help you out concerning what to look for.

Here's a suggestion: If you're going to York and you see a log loader -- with the seller's permission -- push the stakes with your finger to feel how much tension there is and compare it to your memory of yours.  There's a dealer in the Purple Hall, first stall on the left as you walk in from the Red/White Hall side, who's got many many bins full of parts.  He also routinely stacks up 4-5 parts-quality log loaders along the back wall.  You might take a spin through these and, if one of them seems better than yours, make one the donor and one the survivor and end up with one good, reliable log loader.

Good luck with it.

Steven J. Serenska

P.S. FWIW, this is one of my favorite accessories and has always been a crowd pleaser.  My children have told me they have fond memories of feeding the logs on the floor around the Christmas tree.

 

Last edited by Serenska

Hi Arnold and all,

I have the same unit and have addressed all of these noted issues.  I use the shorter logs (even cut the longer version and use the stubs for scenery) and double sided sticky tape.  As for the logs rolling off the unit, my simple fix was to tilt the entire unit so that the logs roll off. Took some fine adjustments, but when you get the sweet spot, they roll just fine. 

And just as an FYI, if you need any work on the motor, there is an excellent video by Jim Barrett titled, Tune up the #364 Lumber Loader, in volume 6 of the Jim Barrett in the Backshop video series available from OGR. 

Hope this helps.

Michael

I have one of those log loaders and wanted one terribly bad when I was a kid. Had the log car and everything. Finally got one when I joined the TCA but never used it. Did get an extra belt though, just in case. The funny thing about those loaders is they make no sense because you could just run the car buy and still have logs on your car. They are a classic of Lionel though. Don

scale rail posted:

I have one of those log loaders and wanted one terribly bad when I was a kid. Had the log car and everything. Finally got one when I joined the TCA but never used it. Did get an extra belt though, just in case. The funny thing about those loaders is they make no sense because you could just run the car buy and still have logs on your car. They are a classic of Lionel though. Don

I think the idea is to unload logs from one car and load into another.  

The log loader we have focused on in this thread is the conveyor belt model #364.

IMO, what Rthomps says makes more sense if logs are unloaded from a train car on one track, and loaded into a car on a different parallel track. This is what model # 164 does, which is shown below:

20180506_205552

I think the #164 (conveyor belt model) is a nice accessory and a crowd pleaser, but unloading from one car, and then loading on another car on the same train and the same track, is kinda silly. Arnold

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