Rockrz

OK, thanks. It's black so I'm assuming it's dyed unless it came from a black cow.

I never thought of that but it makes sense that it would be tighter. How long to soak the strap in water? Maybe over night?

OK, so I finally put together the hat band like the Donnie Van Zant hat band, but looping the leather thru the holes in the conchos don't hold the conchos very tight and they move up and down a bit. The holes in the conchos are 3/8 inch so maybe I need to go with a larger leather strap... which would be the next size up from 3/8 inch? From the pic below it doesn't look too bad, but in real life when I put this hat band on my hat some of them look uneven. When I was punching the holes, it was kinda hard to make them all perfectly straight. Maybe that was just me. I was wondering if there was a way to use some wire to attach the concho to the leather strap maybe one on the upper side and one on the lower side wrapped around the center section of the concho, but I'd have to figure out a way to make the holes straight somehow If I used wire to attach them, the leather strap I install would cover up the wire. Anybody ever attach conchos with wire and twist it on the back to secure it?

I ended up getting this cheapy hole punch set on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/187150381302

That might be what I end up doing, thanks for the tip. I'd imagine a sharp wood chisel could easily handle leather.

Anybody know where I can find a 3/8 Rectangle Hole Punch that I can purchase online? (I'm in the US) I'm seeing lots of 3/8 hole punches that are oblong, but I'm having a hard time finding a 3/8 Rectangle Hole Punch I need it for a 3/8 leather strap (Thickness: Approximately 1/16") and I'd like the 3/8 hole punch to be close to the size leather I'm using so it'll be a tight fit.

Well, I was in the doctor's office the other day in the waiting room After waiting for some time a nurse came and wanted to take me to a back room to prep me for a colonoscopy... which I thought was odd because I was at the dentist's office! 🙄 Needless to say.... I'm looking for a new dentist now.

Thanks... I wonder if some people think maybe I'm a pimp er something 😅

The conchos I used have 2 posts and they have a rivet that goes on the back. I put a little all purpose cement on the rivet before banging it in using my mallet I like the duel post since it cannot turn and will always remain straight

Will be going back to the slotted conchos as I still want to duplicated the Donnie Van Zant hat band. But meanwhile... 04/02/25 First hat band made (turned out pretty good!) used... 1-1/4" The State of Texas Concho Double Rivet Back mounted on to 1-1/4" wide 5-6 oz. (2-2.4mm) Black Leather Belt Blanks The look is kinda similar to the Donnie Van Zant hat band

OK, thanks. Just thought I'd ask since I'd imagine some vendors are better than others

I'm in the US and would rather order from a vendor within the US as it's easier to do returns if need bee with US vendors verses international vendors.

Yeah, I was looking at the pic of this guy's hat band and noticed it was slightly wider than the concho so I may need to revisit that part of the project. I could use some one inch conchos rather than the 1 1 /4 I was thinking of buying a black belt that has a seam sown in on the edges hopefully with black thread. Any recommendations for a good place online to buy tools?

Wasn't sure which forum to put these question in.... I'm wanting to make my own hat band similar to the Donnie Van Zant hat band (see pic below), and I've already ordered some 1 1/4 inch Silver Slotted Star Conchos, and a black Buffalo Hide Leather belt that is 1 1/4 inches wide (see attachments for pics) All I still need is some leather that is flat black that's fits in to the slots on the conchos and some leather working tools to be able to punch a rectangular hole in the leather belt I'll be using. I'll just run the thin leather strap thru each concho thru the holes in the belt where it will run on the back side of the belt all the way around where I'll have to figure out a way to fasten the back where the two ends come together. Questions... 1) Where can I find a tool that is rectangular shaped once I find the exact size I'll be needing (I'll know once I measure the slots) 2) I was thinking of somehow tying the thin strap that will be routed thru as slotted concho where it all comes together in the back of the hat... so what are some ideas on how to do that? One of the attachments to this message is a pic of the hat band I'm wanting to re-create since I cannot find anywhere that this can be purchased by itself without also buying the hat too which is pretty expensive