MG08 Original Belt Preservation

[alpencorps]

Hi again,

enclosed the part of Belt-maintenance in the MG08 instruction-Book,
not mutch information,
no information abut soiled / oiled Belts

I try a translation:

the Belts have to be cleaned careful by the Belt-Cleaning Brush (describted as special type; 12cm long; 4cm with, strong brushes)
Wet belts let the cartriges stick very tight, so the fire-rate goes slower or the fire stops.
Belts should be protected against water.
Are Belts get wet: dry it and strech the pockets bevor using.
Also the Belt should be protected against water and Oil.

Greetings
Alpencorps

[cptdarling506]

Just leave the belts as is.Protect them from moisture.
The web/canvas if stiff means it has/is breaking down(rotting) already,not much you can do about that.
If youre going to fill them with display rounds,make sure the rounds have a coating of clear varnish,to stop a reaction between the canvas and brass.

[dwmmg08]

Interestingly, back when I first got into the WWI MG's, and bought my first MG, a 1917 MG 08/15, I followed my usual practice and tried to learn all I could about them, from every source possible, so I asked a lot of questions, bought the Devil's Paintbrush, and read basically everything in print anywhere about them.

There was a lot of "word of mouth" knowledge from a lot of people, either good or bad, some just flat totally wrong. Like a lot of people, I had known the big gunwriters knew next to nothing about Maxims, or really many interesting guns at all. One of the things I ran into was the fact that many of the older belts were in poor shape, due to rust on the metal, etc. You would not believe the number of people who told me to soak the belts in oil. some told me to me to scrub the rust after soaking them in oil. At least one owner I know of also told me he laid them out on a driveway to get them dried out/ less oiled up. I never tried it, but some of those guys did the oil thing with every belt they had!

[wooferocau]

Yep.. the majority of advice i have received is in some way associated with soaking the belts on oil...........though i cant see how this in good for the canvas material...

[cptdarling506]

I've had a lot of experince with canvas/webbing,brass/steel and oil.
Most modern oils have a solvent in them which eats canvas.Some oils react with the brass/steel in the belts.
Rust on belts should only be removed with a soft brush,No brass or steel bristles!
Rust by its self wont hurt the canvas/webbing.The unsightly stain is just that,you can bleach it but that will damage the canvas.
An oil and rust mix acts like a grinding paste,not what you want going thru the breech/lock mech!
Originaly the belts were throw away items,only reused/loaded if the time allowed.
Belts dont last long when used over and over,especially when soaked in oil!
Thankfully due to the high quality manufacture of the belts they tend to last a long time.
Have the proper tools for reloading belts,stops over stretching.
As soon as part of the strands breaks, use the repairs kits,or as it unravels you'll lose more of the belt.