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Well I'm glad I brought the topic up. And I'm glad you happened across it. Alex

JLSleather, Yes!! Finally someone who has faced this! I was just trying to point it out because I did not see any references to belts for these large buckles. Alex

Gee, I didn't think my post would stir up such emotions! All I was saying in my original post, was that the type of buckle used may be reason to change the belt end length. I realize that most of the posts talk about standard belt buckles, here I'm talking about decorative buckles. I just measured several standard buckles and they seem to be about 1.5" from the bar held in the belt to the metal arm that goes in the belt hole (for 1.5" & 1.75" belts). (Sorry, I don't know the correct terms for buckle parts.) With this type of buckle the guidelines seem to apply pretty good. I also measured 6 large, decorative buckles (ebay search for brass buckles if you want to see an example of what I mean). Using the measurement description above, the distance from the back bar to the peg/pin that goes into the belt, varied from 2" to 4.5". Additionally, the first left side loop on 5 pairs of jeans varied from about 3.25" to 4.5". In my opinion, I like to have a belt that goes through the belt loop, and the first loop on the pant. So for a decorative buckle, it may best to know the approximate dimension of the buckle that is going to be used so the belt end length can be made long enough. Actually this type of buckle would also change belt length. Alex

I'm a newbe and have just dyed and finished a couple of belts (1.5" & 1.75"). This site has been extreeemely helpful! Thank you all! Now I would like to pass on something I found out about belt end length. I've seen belt end recommendations that say to add 1" - 3", so I chose 2 different lengths for my 6 belts. When I tried my finished belts on, the fit was on the mark, but the belt end sometimes stuck out a bit. I tend to wear jeans, regular, work, or carpenter's style. So I measured from the pant's zipper edge to the first belt loop and I found they varied with manufacturer. The shortest is 3", and the longest was 4.75" (just my pants, didn't go to a store). So even with a loop on the belt, a short belt end that doesn't reach the first pant loop may/will poke out a bit if the belt is stiff (like mine are). So my suggestion is, if possible, test fit the belt before cutting to insure it will reach the first pant loop. I know, this doesn't work too well for those of you who sell finished belts, but if you're making it for yourself ... . O yea, not all jean belt loops take 1.75" belts. Alex

I'm new to this game and ran into the same issue with a couple of belts. They were very stiff, so I looked for help. I found the following reference where Cheryl recommended bag balm, a thick lanolin cream. You can usually find it at garden shops. This does seem more effective than neatsfoot oil. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40996&hl=%2Bsoftening+%2Bleather post #4 Alex

Thanks for the encouragement! I tend to make mountains out of molehills when I start doing something, but it give me some records to fall back on when things don't quite go as planned. My results have been consistent here. Embossed belts really don't lend themselves to two-tone dyeing (like some of the beautiful work shown on this board) as the embossing just doesn't seem deep enough. My blanks came from three different sources and I assume are typical. I can get some highlights peeking through, but nothing consistent. Resolene did work, however there was too much detail on the belts for me to deal with this way. I'm not an artist and it would take more skill than I have to follow the embossing. It does work to do 1 color then leave some of it exposed (say in the middle) then blend in the sides/border areas with a darker color. This has become my latest strategy. I also had the bright idea of outlining the embossing. So I cased 1 blank and am in the process of running a tool along the design to create deeper lines for the major lines. This might work, but darn, it is a lot of fine detail work!!! My neck got sore after a while, my eyes got blurry looking through a magnifying lens, my finger were cramping, and it is coming along. Today I'll finish it. I've got to give all you "Toolers" a heck of a lot of credit! It is not easy to translate designs into leather! My hat's off to you all! I'm just playing at this because I bought a belt buckle and decided to make a belt for it. I've now bought 6 blanks, 3 are unfinished, 2 are done, and 1 was finished and given away. It is challenging so I guess I'll have to watch for more buckles for my belts! Alex

Thank you very much! I wasn't sure if being an acrylic would mean some sort of thinner or acetone. Alex

I see many folks recommend cutting resolene 50/50, but nobody says with what. I'm using spirit dyes and cut those with alcohol, but no idea about resolene. I didn't seen anything on Fiebing's site about cleaning brushes or air brushes, nor cutting. I guess I missed the memo somewhere, can someone help me? I want to cut it 50/50 and clean my brushes. Alex

I'm finally starting to try my hand, beginning with dyeing a belt cut-off. It is an embossed belt so I thought I would try a two-tone coloring. The light yellow went well as expected. But the Medium Brown filled in most of the embossing - bummer! I had wrapped a thin cloth around a piece of aluminum to try to skim coat the top of the embossing. The mechanics worked fine. So I learned that embossing does not make a deep enough impression like tooling does. I figured that might happen, but I was hoping ... . I still have some of the cut-off so I'll try to paint on some resolene in the raised areas, let it dry, then try the dark stain again. It is fun experimenting! Alex

Thanks for the reply! Just a quick follow-up. Are the light areas recessed because of tooling in relation to the dark areas (below the surface level of the dark areas)? To me it kind of looks like the center of the designs might be the same height as the dark area. I guess this is because I haven't tried tooling yet. If they are recessed, I'm thinking you dyed with a light color (which one?), then followed with NeatLac, antique and TanKote. Therefore the dark areas are not from dyeing with a dark dye, but rather from the antique. Am I figuring this out or off-base? Alex

Hmmm, just hoping for a tip here.

Very striking! I'm new to this and am wondering what your dye sequence was. Any chance you would share your procedure? Thanks, Alex

Thanks ikewineb, that does clear up my question on a resist. For some reason I was thinking that it was used in the reverse of your explanation. That pretty well clears up my questions. Thank you all, Alex

Thanks Tom, I kind of figured that was the situation with oil. I do know that it dries out so I have to occasionally reoil my work boots. Anybody want to expand upon my first 2 questions? Alex

I'm just getting into working with leather, wanting to make a couple of belts. I've been reading a lot of great material here and feel pretty good about starting. But I have a few questions. 1) I'm wondering about the need to "finish" leather. Are products like Super Shene or others really needed? Are commercial belts finished the same way? 2) I see how folks use "resist" to prevent dye absorption when making a two, or multiple tone piece. But how do you tone the area that resist was applied to? Does it wash off when you want to tone that area? What is used to remove it? Or am I off base? 3) The couple of plain leather work belts that I have I just put neatfoot oil on once or twice a year. What effect would oil have on an embossed belt? Would it typically give an even tone to the surface as well as the pressed in areas? Thanks, Alex