Belt Lining Question

[dfivdayz]

on say a 10/12oz belt what is the smooth lining i see used most often?....i know its not pig....is it another lining material or a complete 2/4oz side of something?

im wanting to make a nice "duty" and "daily" belt...something thats stiff enough where if you need to latch on your gun rig or knife sheath your good to go but wont grind down your hip bone when you just wear it regularly..

what would you suggust???

thanks

[Double U Leather]

I make quite a few belts that are both stylish and heavy duty at eh same time. I'm not sure if my customer's are wearing holsters on them, but it wouldn't surprise me if some did. At any rate, most of belts are 6/7 oz with a 2/3 oz. lining. That makes the entire belt 8/10 oz. On rare occasion, if someone wants one thicker, I'll make the belt out of 8/9 oz. and then line it with the same 2/3 oz. leather. I use a veg tanned 2/3 cowhide for my liners. Hope that helps.

[PutnamLeather]

I made a duty belt a while back that I still use, just took two 5oz veg tan and glued and sewed them together. Its held up relly well for a few years now.

[Dwight]

My gun belts made to carry a full size 1911, . . . 2 mags, . . . and anything else that comes around are made of two 7/8 oz layers that I try to cut side by side from the same hide. I never have to worry about skiving the ends down so the fat one matches the skinny one, . . . they take dye the exact same, . . . and they wear like iron.

They're garden variety vegetable tan leather.

They're contact cemented together, . . . edges sanded, . . . beveled, . . . gouged, . . . stitched, . . . dyed, . . . curved, . . . then finished and edges all dressed up real nice.

No one has contacted me yet saying he wore it out. Some have said it got smaller, . . . or seemed to anyway, . . . but they just don't wear out in one life time.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited May 30, 2013 by Dwight

[dfivdayz]

thanks for the ideas...

[evandailey]

My gun belts made to carry a full size 1911, . . . 2 mags, . . . and anything else that comes around are made of two 7/8 oz layers that I try to cut side by side from the same hide. I never have to worry about skiving the ends down so the fat one matches the skinny one, . . . they take dye the exact same, . . . and they wear like iron.

They're garden variety vegetable tan leather.

They're contact cemented together, . . . edges sanded, . . . beveled, . . . gouged, . . . stitched, . . . dyed, . . . curved, . . . then finished and edges all dressed up real nice.

No one has contacted me yet saying he wore it out. Some have said it got smaller, . . . or seemed to anyway, . . . but they just don't wear out in one life time.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight, what do you mean by "curved"?

[Harag]

Curved - I'm guessing he means he does something to the belt to make it body shape rather than straight. As to what he does if this is the case, I would be very interested in as I plan on doing some 22" dog collars for my sisters 2 large dogs and want to know how to "curve" these into a rounded shape. - that's just my guess on Curved so would love to know what he means as well

[Dwight]

Sorry guys, . . . should have explained.

When I dye the belt, . . . all that is left to do is finish it and deliver it. I found out early on that sometimes the inner liner would like to buckle a bit if I tried to curve it after it fully dried.

While it is still wet with dye, . . . wearing latex gloves, . . . and being very methodical and careful, . . . I bend the belt between my hands.

That makes something like a 8 inch or so diameter curve in it, . . . end to end, . . . as I bend it, . . . then allow it to staighten out a bit. Laid out flat on a table covered by newspaper, . . . when it is done, . . . it will generally lay in a big circle with the ends even or maybe overlapping a bit.

I always lay my belts down on their bottom edge on newspaper for the first hour or so after dyeing them.

I'm going to someday make a "curver" to do this with less wear and tear on 68 year old hands, . . . but for now it makes the belts a better product, . . . less wrinkles in the liner, . . . and yes, . . . it also works for dog collars. Had to make a couple last year, . . . worked great.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Harag]

Thanks for clearing that up Dwight, much appreciated. I've only just got my first order of Oil Dyes this week so not done any yet, mainly just been tooling.

[evandailey]

Sorry guys, . . . should have explained.

When I dye the belt, . . . all that is left to do is finish it and deliver it. I found out early on that sometimes the inner liner would like to buckle a bit if I tried to curve it after it fully dried.

While it is still wet with dye, . . . wearing latex gloves, . . . and being very methodical and careful, . . . I bend the belt between my hands.

That makes something like a 8 inch or so diameter curve in it, . . . end to end, . . . as I bend it, . . . then allow it to staighten out a bit. Laid out flat on a table covered by newspaper, . . . when it is done, . . . it will generally lay in a big circle with the ends even or maybe overlapping a bit.

I always lay my belts down on their bottom edge on newspaper for the first hour or so after dyeing them.

I'm going to someday make a "curver" to do this with less wear and tear on 68 year old hands, . . . but for now it makes the belts a better product, . . . less wrinkles in the liner, . . . and yes, . . . it also works for dog collars. Had to make a couple last year, . . . worked great.

May God bless,

Dwight

So how are you keeping dye from coloring your stitching if you dye last?

[TomG]

Dwight,

Do you dip dye or use sponge/dauber?

I've had to do the same thing with some stuff I've lined with suede or splits

[Dwight]

I dip dye, . . . 9 x 14 x 2 cake pan, . . . one for browns, . . . one for black ONLY.

I have very few customers who want stitching different from the belt. I make sure they know that if they get white stitching, . . . it WILL get dirty and won't look as good.

When they insist, . . . dying and stitching get reversed in the order.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Jaymack]

Thanks for the explaination and insight onto the "curved" segment of your belt making! I'm alsoi having problems with my own belts shrinking as I get older. Let me know when you discover an easy fix for this!