Hello,

 

I'm working on getting my drill press running. The driven wheel material seems slightly hard and slippery. I haven't been able to drill with it yes to see if it is going to slip although I am fairly certain it will. Does anyone know what kind of material it is? See pictures.

 

 

Asbestos?

Before I split the pulley I was expecting to find some type of belt in there. It had that kind of look and feel to it. If I'm not mistaken asbestos is a hard material. This is somewhat flexible. I'll post a few more pictures later.

Another picture.

Asbestos takes many forms.  Items are often compounds that include asbestos.  In industrial setting asbestos was commonly used for many functions through the 60s and at least into the 70s.  As a kid I used to love playing in the white asbestos dust under the mills in my dad's shop.  Who knew.  Anyway I have seen flexible asbestos gasket material of the color of the material in your photos.  It pays to be careful with unknowns.

Probably something like brake/clutch lining.  And yes back in the day brake lining materials contained asbestos.  There however are modern substitutes which are asbestos free.  

 

Perhaps a good solvent cleaning would restore it's friction.  Is there an linkage adjustment to compensate for wear ?

I just realized I wasn't clear in my initial post. I'm looking to find a replacement for the material. Thanks.

That shouldn't be a problem there are many replacement materials for asbestos gaskets.  It does get spendy so make sure you save the usuable scrap.  You use a hand held gasket punch for cutting bolt holes, they are cheap.  Do a web search for the material.  By the way, that is a cool project.