New style of belt buckle

[Tigweldor]

Yup - I do have a patent on these.

While they do incorporate a pin to affix the belt, the pin is inside the buckle and will NOT punch holes in your favorite T-shirt as we  all may have experienced with the type of hook buckle with the hook facing your belly.

The belt is sandwiched by/inside the buckle, which is made from rust free chrome steel.

The cover plate is held closed by ball snaps - have worn the prototype for nigh on 15 years now - with no sign of spring fatigue or dropping my pants cause the buckle opened unwanted.

All belts come with a stainless steel D-ring - so you can hook your key carabiner on the D-ring and not on a cloth belt loop.

I am the only one making this type of buckle - world wide.

But I am a craftsman and a lousy seller - so far they have sold solely by word of mouth - which actually turned into a chain reaction.

 

I do not want to sell through Etsy or Hood or Amazon or Ebay - then the item is no longer exclusive.

I do have an abundant stock pile of nigh on 1000 buckles.

Oh yeah - sale price is 35€ per buckle - 70€ for a complete belt made from 6mm thickness leather.

I do need your "circumference" so the belt will sit centered with holes to spare on both sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24 by Tigweldor

[chuck123wapati]

That is a really cool buckle, those would be awesome for engravers there is a lot of good space.  

[Tigweldor]

They are made from chrome steel - that is awful and unthankful hard stuff to engrave.

I am experimenting with lasering - allthough a budget friendly CO2 laser will not really work on shiny metal - you need a fibre laser for that (= mucho dinero) - alternative is a black laser engraving paint that washes off with plain water - not cheap either.

Like I said - I´m still in the experimental stage on that.

But once ready, a customer can send me his design as a file and get whatever motive wanted lasered onto the buckle.

Once set up, a custom laser engraving can be done for around 10 to 15 bucks.

I will update as soon as I am sure it works out properly.

 

But since I make my main income as a self employed weldor - I do not have to sell at any price (which Amazon will dictate) to pay my rent, put food on the table or enjoy my other hobbies and life in general.

Edited March 24 by Tigweldor

[chuck123wapati]

12 minutes ago, Tigweldor said:

They are made from chrome steel - that is awful and unthankful hard stuff to engrave.

I am experimenting with lasering - allthough a budget friendly CO2 laser will not really work on shiny metal - you need a fibre laser for that (= mucho dinero) - alternative is a black laser engraving paint that washes off with plain water - not cheap either.

Like I said - I´m still in the experimental stage on that.

But once ready, a customer can send me his design as a file and get whatever motive wanted lasered onto the buckle.

Once set up, a custom laser engraving can be done for around 10 to 15 bucks.

I will update as soon as I am sure it works out properly.

Oh then check out etching for steel it's easy to do. The pics make them look like brass. I've never considered a laser image any form of self-expression now if you just want money then it may fit your needs.

[Tigweldor]

I have tried just about everything with etching - very poor results and very very poor detail.

And I spent weeks and weeks going through all sorts of forums on metal etching.

Plus you have to make a template when etching - very time consuming.

That I can leave to the customer - my time is too scarce for that - on top, I know/have seen the poor results - no use wasting more time on that - take my word for it.

Been there, tried it and dismissed that idea after many unsuccessful attempts.

Edited March 24 by Tigweldor

[chuck123wapati]

10 minutes ago, Tigweldor said:

I have tried just about everything with etching - very poor results and very very poor detail.

And I spent weeks and weeks going through all sorts of forums on metal etching.

Plus you have to make a template when etching - very time consuming.

That I can leave to the customer - my time is too scarce for that - on top, I know/have seen the poor results - no use wasting more time on that - take my word for it.

Been there, tried it and dismissed that idea after many unsuccessful attempts.

I've done a bit of etching myself. That's too bad though it leaves out a lot of potential for those buckles if you can't do it no one can. I would consider a different material for the construction as chrome steel is way overkill for a buckle and leaves out a vast number of sales options. Good luck to you in your endeavor you have a good product!!! 

[Tigweldor]

Thank you.

I must admit though - I am not an engraver.

The stuff drills pretty easy - so with a carbide tipped engraving chisel/tool, a body could probably achieve good results.

But I am vintage 1962 - so I´m gonna stick to what I know / can do properly with good results.

But since the material is magnetic - I have pondered upon the idea of magnetic foil - which could then change the item into a "many faced" buckle - simply change the foil and have a different buckle look/design.

[Dwight]

I don't have one any more . . . sold it long ago . . . but if you really wanted to do custom engraving . . . it is really a simple process.

First you make a copy of the item to be engraved . . . in some detail . . . and make it rather large . . . put it on a computer program that will print it out on paper . . . in a very large format . . . filling an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper.

Glue that to a piece of 1/4 inch plywood . . . and here is where the person comes in who is very talented.  Non talented people will dismiss this . . . as will lazy people. 

Using a router with a very fine tipped blade . . . engrave the image . . . by hand . . .  1/16 inch deep into the plywood.

You then take that image in the plywood . . . and using a pantograph router . . . set for 2:1 scale . . . re cut it into another piece of plywood.  This will produce an image that is 4 1/4 inch by 5 1/2 inch . . . 

Using that 4 1/4 inch by 5 1/2 inch . . . you then use your pantograph router again . . . and this new smaller image . . . put a diamond bit in it . . . and engrave the buckle.  The maximum size for that buckle engraved image will be 2 1/8 by 2 3/4 inches.

Making the first image . . . being very talented . . . and willing to take your time . . . you produce an image that has flaws in it . . . for sure . . . but the talented part will not let many flaws erupt on the plywood.

The second image reduces those flaws to not being readily seen . . . and the final engraved image is almost always very good looking.

The first ten or so you do will take some time . . . but it usually isn't long before you get the hang of it . . . and it becomes old hat.  Plus you can take the old ones you have already used . . . flip them over . . . and use the back side if you only engraved 1/16 of an inch down the first time.

May God bless,

Dwight

PS:  You may be able to substitute a carbide tipped router bit for the diamond bit . . . you would just have to experiment.

 

Edited March 24 by Dwight

[Tigweldor]

In ten years I will be 72 years old - Nah - I will leave the engraving part to others.

Now, if I were about 30 years younger - I might give it a try.

But like I said - I make my living elsewhere.

This is just a side line - a lucrative hobby - for now.

I have managed to keep debt free all of my life - no use changing that at this stage/at my age.

Besides - I have been a Harley ridin´biker since I was 16, with the odd Norton fitted in between- done my club time and exited in good standing years ago. That was back in the days when riders still knew how to wrench their own scoot - shit, you wouldn´t have gotten past hangaround if you couldn´t perform that task. Nowadays the scene has changed completely.

Miles on the road though is what I still love and need.

20 belts and buckles tagged along take up very little room and have paid for many a vacation and quite a few brews to boot.

Actually, bars and club houses are a very good place to meet potential customers for my merchandise.

Edited March 24 by Tigweldor

[badhatter1005]

I like the way this looks. Would you be willing to upload a picture of how it attaches to a belt strap? I do not have an engineering mind unfortunately so I'm having trouble seeing how this would work. Thank you in advance.