For all you Belt Makers

[ABC3]

I'm having a difficult time matching up the belt tip with the liner tip (I cut them in two seperate operations) when I glue them together. If I'm off any at all when I cut the tips, they won't match perfectly thus a long sanding ordeal, down the line, and possible distortion of the tip.

I punch all holes for the belt tip as well as the buckle end (tongue slot & chicago holes). Measure and cut the liner. Dye the belt & then glue the two together then sew, ect.

I was thinking of cutting the tips (belt & liner) at the same time thus matching perfectly. Then seperate the liner and dye the belt. Is this something any of you have tried. Holding the two tips together as you cut them might be a problem. Any suggestions?

If you do not cut the belt tip before you dye it you will have a raw tip as you glue the two together and cut both tips together. So I think that method is out the window.

Is there a better way to skin this cat?

[Grunt]

I am no expert on the subject but here is how I do it. I cut the belt and liner straps to length and glue them together. Once the glue is dry I use an end punch to cut the tip. Then I sew the two layers together, puch the holes, and then do the finish work.

Nick

[Art]

Hi Tom

Most of the time I finish the outline for the top including the ends and then glue on an oversized liner, sew it, cut the liner to match the top, then punch holes and finish edges.

Art

I'm having a difficult time matching up the belt tip with the liner tip (I cut them in two seperate operations) when I glue them together. If I'm off any at all when I cut the tips, they won't match perfectly thus a long sanding ordeal, down the line, and possible distortion of the tip.

I punch all holes for the belt tip as well as the buckle end (tongue slot & chicago holes). Measure and cut the liner. Dye the belt & then glue the two together then sew, ect.

I was thinking of cutting the tips (belt & liner) at the same time thus matching perfectly. Then seperate the liner and dye the belt. Is this something any of you have tried. Holding the two tips together as you cut them might be a problem. Any suggestions?

If you do not cut the belt tip before you dye it you will have a raw tip as you glue the two together and cut both tips together. So I think that method is out the window.

Is there a better way to skin this cat?

[ABC3]

Grunt,

You must then dye both the belt & liner....I dye only the belt and leave the liner natural. In the hot summer I have had black dye rub off on clothing.

But I do have to come up with a better way.

If there are any suggestions, out there, I would like to hear them.

[pete]

just finish the belt completely, then glue on an over-wide liner and trim. then sew.

what don't I get?

pete

[Grunt]

Grunt,

You must then dye both the belt & liner....I dye only the belt and leave the liner natural. In the hot summer I have had black dye rub off on clothing.

But I do have to come up with a better way.

If there are any suggestions, out there, I would like to hear them.

Sorry, I should have added, I line my belts with a natural/undyed liner. If I am going to dye the outer layer of the belt I do it before gluing the two layers together. Now I use pre-dyed leather, I forgot to specify.

Either way, my method is only one of many. Art's method sounds good also.

Learning different things and sharing knowledge is what this board is all about.

[ABC3]

Art, what is the reason you use an oversize liner? If I am making a 1 1/2" belt I cut the strap & cut another the same width for the liner.

Just trying to understand all my options. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to leather work. I just hope it's not a train.....

[Doug C]

I always use an oversize liner on belts and most other projects.

1. Stamp, carve finish the belt blank

2. Glue and Sew on oversize liner. (i like to have 1/4 inch at least all the way around the belt for extra. This gives you some room to play with)

3. Trim liner, cut tip, punch holes.

4. edge and dye the belt edges.

5. Clear seal the liner with your choice of product.

Hope this helps,

Doug

Edited April 3, 2009 by Doug C

[rdb]

I do what Doug says, except for a few changes.

I seal/top coat both sides before dyeing the edge, if you make an "oops", most times it comes right off off the sealer. And, I dye the edge of the main belt before gluing to the liner. There's rarely a need to edge dye the liner, by the time you slick down, wax, and seal the edges, it's blended in.

[Bree]

I'm having a difficult time matching up the belt tip with the liner tip (I cut them in two seperate operations) when I glue them together. If I'm off any at all when I cut the tips, they won't match perfectly thus a long sanding ordeal, down the line, and possible distortion of the tip.

I punch all holes for the belt tip as well as the buckle end (tongue slot & chicago holes). Measure and cut the liner. Dye the belt & then glue the two together then sew, ect.

I was thinking of cutting the tips (belt & liner) at the same time thus matching perfectly. Then seperate the liner and dye the belt. Is this something any of you have tried. Holding the two tips together as you cut them might be a problem. Any suggestions?

If you do not cut the belt tip before you dye it you will have a raw tip as you glue the two together and cut both tips together. So I think that method is out the window.

Is there a better way to skin this cat?

Tom...

For ordinary double layer gunbelts, I start with identical blanks split to 7 oz. each. The face blank is tooled, embossed or otherwise left plain. I don't really cut the inner blanks like Hidepounder does because I'm just not as good as he is at creating beautiful swivel knife cuts. I usually leave them very natural and plain.

I dye the face blank whatever color I want. I may lightly oil the blank depending on its condition and the effect that I want. I like the belts to be stiff and to stay that way so they can provide a strong platform for a gun so I don't use much oil. A little bit is OK.

I bond the natural blank to the face blank in a jig that gives me just about perfect registration so I don't have to use an oversize liner. Saves time and a little expense. I do use oversize liners for other types of belts especially if I use a suede liner like on a padded support belt.

I apply Barge cement meticulously to both blanks and use a tamper to rub every inch of the belt blanks so they are bonded from edge to edge, end to end with every area cemeted and firmly bonded. This is really important to me.

I sand out any deviations on an oscillating spindle/belt sander. I punch the tip and the end and clean up the edges at the sander. I burnish the belt with Ivan Sampson's burnisher, tape up the blank(s) with Frog tape to the width of the edge I want so that I get a perfect crisp edge, and then I apply edge dye with a piece of thick felt. After it is dry to the touch I remove the tape and let the dye dry thoroughly.

Sometimes I groove the belt and sometimes I will sew without a groove. But before sewing, I will use an airbrush to apply sealer on the edges and the blanks... both sides. Once several coats are dry I head to the sewing room and sew the belt with a Toro 4000 LA-25.

I like to do sewing close to the end of the process. I don't want my thread dyed or affected by other operations. I stitch slowly and carefully because making a mistake in the stitching is often unrepairable and kills a lot of work and adds greatly to the expense.

Once the stitching is done, I punch my holes, assemble the hardware and I'm done.