Belt Blank Just A Little Too Large For Buckle

[TooManyHobbies]

Hello,

First post after lots of lurking. One of my first projects that I am attempting (after several practice attempts on scrap) is to make a simple belt. I ordered a blank from Springfield 1 1/2", but found out that the roller buckle I also ordered (1 1/2") is just a little to narrow for the belt blank.

How would you go about narrowing the belt blank? I do not yet have a strap cuttter. We are talking no more than 1/16" or so. But it seems just enough to cause trouble. Would burnishing and edging take off enough? Should I risk slicing off the 1/16" or so I need?

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

[TwinOaks]

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, we're glad you found us!

For such a small amount, I'd recommend using a rasp or just sand paper to reduce the belt's width at the areas that are effected. If you're really steady with a knife, you could shave 1/2 the overall excess from each side of the tongue, OR, shave the whole belt if you don't have any designs on it (or one that wouldn't be affected by the shaving).

[KAYAK45]

WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SITE ON EARTH FOR LEATHER WORK.!

I agree with Twin Oaks and I have had the same situation. You got great leather from SPL! Just sand a bit of the Billet part of you belt till it fits the way you want.

If.. you have a couple of pieces of leather laying around...use some WELDWOOD glue and attach some sandpaper to them. Say one piece of ~~60 grit and one piece ~~120 grit. Use these little pieces to sand your belt to the exact size you want. Little pieces like ovals !!...~~ 3" will be really handy!

Good luck and keep posting questions.

Kevin

[TooManyHobbies]

Thanks for the responses. I will try the sanding tricks, and see how it goes. Its not so much leather removal that I think it will be obvious that I sanded some off. Will post pics when done.

[Dwight]

The best trick is a 1 inch by 20 belt sander. I use mine ($39.95 at Harbor Freight) to dress the edges of all my belts (all glued double layer).

If for some reason one it a little wide, . . . that old sander puts them in their place in short order.

THAT sander, . . . is a must have if you are doing holsters and/or belts, . . . in my humble opinion.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Rayban]

The best trick is a 1 inch by 20 belt sander. I use mine ($39.95 at Harbor Freight) to dress the edges of all my belts (all glued double layer).

If for some reason one it a little wide, . . . that old sander puts them in their place in short order.

THAT sander, . . . is a must have if you are doing holsters and/or belts, . . . in my humble opinion.

May God bless,

Dwight

Same here...I use a 2 x 42 Craftsman with a 220 grit belt. It's a little quick so I wet the edges down a bit to keep from burning, and a "sharp" belt is a must as well.

After a treatment on the belt sander, it's difficult to see the line tween the two layers of leather, it really fuses the edges together beautifully, making short work of burnishing too.

[TooManyHobbies]

Dwight and Rayban,

Thanks for the suggestion on th belt sander. Sadly, I am apartment bound at the moment, or believe me I would have a belt sander by now. A proper garage is in cards for the near future, and will most likely be adding the Craftsman 2x42 at some point for various other reasons on top of leather needs.

One of the reasons I am liking working with leather, is that I can actually work on it in the living room! haha. Obviously there are limitations (and messes to clean up), but less so than woodworking, metalworking or some of the other interests I've been holding off on.