when is 1" not 1"

[photostore]

Hi everyone, sorry my first post is to b***h but has any one else ordered 1" wide straps from Tandy only to find they are exactly 7/8".

I ordered belt blanks for convenience while i awaited my hides turning up but as far as ordering leather from Tandy it will be the last time- i was offered a refund from the UK store but the excuse that it was down to the manufacturing process was a little cheeky.

Anyone else have this happen or is the manager correct ?

The cynic in me suggests that all those 1/8" strips add up to a few more straps off every hide !!!

Regards Andy

silly me-i guess none of you have to buy belt blanks from tandy- me too now hides have arrived

Edited May 20, 2008 by photostore

[rdb]

Sorry for your problem. Sometimes new leatherworkers get confused on this issue.

All belt strip mfgs do the same thing. It's standard operating procedure. It's not because of money, but, when you fold the leather over in a buckle, it gets fatter, and bunches up in the buckle, unless you have taken that into consideration, and made the belt strip that little bit narrower.

Hi everyone, sorry my first post is to b***h but has any one else ordered 1" wide straps from Tandy only to find they are exactly 7/8".

I ordered belt blanks for convenience while i awaited my hides turning up but as far as ordering leather from Tandy it will be the last time- i was offered a refund from the UK store but the excuse that it was down to the manufacturing process was a little cheeky.

Anyone else have this happen or is the manager correct ?

The cynic in me suggests that all those 1/8" strips add up to a few more straps off every hide !!!

Regards Andy

silly me-i guess none of you have to buy belt blanks from tandy- me too now hides have arrived

[Art]

Hi Andy,

Tandy actually states in the catalog, "The actual belt width is approx. 1/16" less." This sure doesn't cover 1/8" as it didn't say "on each side". I don't know if you folks "across the pond" can tolerate the end user having to be Tandy's quality control department, but we've kind of gotten used to it over here. Some of their good managers pretty much take care of this when sending stuff out, and if you make them aware that it is what you expect, then most of the time you won't have to send stuff back. If you do, they accept returns readily. Abbey Saddlery they are not, are the prices any better?

Art

P.S. I just measured a 1 1/4" strap from Weaver Leather, it was 1 3/16", which is indeed 1/16" less.

Hi everyone, sorry my first post is to b***h but has any one else ordered 1" wide straps from Tandy only to find they are exactly 7/8".

I ordered belt blanks for convenience while i awaited my hides turning up but as far as ordering leather from Tandy it will be the last time- i was offered a refund from the UK store but the excuse that it was down to the manufacturing process was a little cheeky.

Anyone else have this happen or is the manager correct ?

The cynic in me suggests that all those 1/8" strips add up to a few more straps off every hide !!!

Regards Andy

silly me-i guess none of you have to buy belt blanks from tandy- me too now hides have arrived

[pete]

Sorry for your problem. Sometimes new leatherworkers get confused on this issue.

All belt strip mfgs do the same thing. It's standard operating procedure. It's not because of money, but, when you fold the leather over in a buckle, it gets fatter, and bunches up in the buckle, unless you have taken that into consideration, and made the belt strip that little bit narrower.

If that's true then why did I get 2 -1&1/2" blanks last week that were exactly 1/8th OVER?!! And why would folding the leather have that much to do with the width as much as the thickness. I always have to skive the ends anyway and most people taper the tips,ends.

I thought that belts were cut about 1/16th under to allow for stamping and spreading.

pete

[rdb]

For forty years I have cut my belts that 1/16 - 1/8" less, because when you bend the leather over the buckle bar, it gets wider from compression and such. The buckle swivels better, not that pinched feeling. The mfgs all say they cut a bit shy for just that reason. If they didn't, they get nasty letters from everyone trying to fit a 1" strip into a 1" buckle, and having nothing but problems. Not everyone owns a skiver. Even if the 1" strip fits around certain buckle bars, it still looks better if it isn't cramped in there.

Skiving the belt ends reduces the thickness in total, and reduces the width a little, but not by very much.

I don't know where you bought those blanks 1/8 bigger, but if I bought a dozen of those for my buckles, and had to strip them down to fit, I'ld be madder than you...lol.

Tandy and others have been doing the same thing since forever...

If that's true then why did I get 2 -1&1/2" blanks last week that were exactly 1/8th OVER?!! And why would folding the leather have that much to do with the width as much as the thickness. I always have to skive the ends anyway and most people taper the tips,ends.

I thought that belts were cut about 1/16th under to allow for stamping and spreading.

pete

[JRedding]

Hi everyone, sorry my first post is to b***h but has any one else ordered 1" wide straps from Tandy only to find they are exactly 7/8".

I ordered belt blanks for convenience while i awaited my hides turning up but as far as ordering leather from Tandy it will be the last time- i was offered a refund from the UK store but the excuse that it was down to the manufacturing process was a little cheeky.

Anyone else have this happen or is the manager correct ?

The cynic in me suggests that all those 1/8" strips add up to a few more straps off every hide !!!

Regards Andy

silly me-i guess none of you have to buy belt blanks from tandy- me too now hides have arrived

Photostore, belt blanks are cut 1/8" under because a 1" belt buckle should be exactly one inch inside measurement, a one inch belt doesn't fit in a one inch buckle very easily without some room to slide without binding. One eighth of an inch only allows for 1/16" inch of clearance on each side of the belt as it passes through the buckle. Too tight a fit inside a buckle will make it difficult to slip together, buckle up and will destroy the finished belt edge quickly if it has to scrape through the buckle every time. If you tape the blank with packing tape before you tool it, let it dry completely before you untape it and then edge and finish the belt the 7/8" should work out just right.

Edited May 20, 2008 by JRedding

[Jordan]

I agree that it appears SOP as far as widths, the only way to get an accurate 1" or any other width, is to cut your own, but even the strap cutters are off when you use the markings on them.

[ferret]

Try le prevo in newcastle. They sell cut straps that are exactly the width advertised and at a reasonable price.

[abn]

Not much more I can add to this topic, other than to say that every belt I've built was done using Tandy blanks. And, like Andy, I was dismayed when my first blanks arrived and they were 1/8" less than advertised.

But, I built the belts anyway and learned there's a reason! Like rdb says, thinning a belt to make it fit a buckle is hard, unnecessary work.

Alex

[photostore]

Thanks for all the replies- i now stand corrected and informed.

Regards Andy

[AlcoveShop]

Plus the setup they were using the last time I looked wasnt exactly rocket science inspired. Theyre usually pretty close but if you want true sizing, cutting your own is the way to go and 1 hide's savings covers the cost of a strap cutter and a handful of blades.

Calculate your cost per sq foot on a premade blank vs a hide and doing it yourself.

I changed over to Weaver (since we are a distributor for them now) for all the belt blanks because they are cheaper via quantity, more consistent and will edge them and the rot to boot.