Gun Belt - First Attempts

[particle]

Well, I finally got around to making myself a gun belt (1.5")... I ordered blanks a little while back from Weaver, bought a skiver from another forum member, skived them down to an undetermined thickness (no calipers at the moment, but the finished thickness still ended up being about 1/4"), and tried to figure out the proper way to build a double layer belt using the Stohlman belt book as reference (no mention of double layer belts in his book). I would greatly appreciate feedback and constructive criticism on these first two belts before I start making them for customers...

My first attempt - a belt for myself. The edges look like crap. I was trying to use the brown Edge Kote method shown in the Bianchi DVD, but I guess since I did not wet the edges first, I had a hard time getting smooth edges. That stuff has an odd smell anyway, so I guess I won't use it anymore... In the future I think I will use Hidepounder's method for edge burnishing.

The finish was two brushed on coats of Angelus 600 - wish I would have airbrushed it... LOL

Is this wrinkling to be expected on the back side? Or do I need to do something to prevent this?

Here is a belt I made for my son. I made it a little long so he could grow into it, and also skived it down a little thinner. Not sure how thick it is - I forgot to measure it. The build and colors were the same, but I recycled one of his old belt buckles, which also meant I had to cut the belt down to 1 1/4". I had the light box setup and wanted to go ahead and snap some pics, but the edges weren't done yet in these photos. I ended up burnishing with beeswax, then finished with Angelus 600 sponged on, but this time I cut it 50/50 with water - much happier with the way it came out.

[bitone40]

Very nice indeed .. im sorry i dont have any critiques on the belt because they look fine to me , I like the color of them and the stitching looks good also, is yours two pieces glued / sewen together or do you add a stiffener in between?

[particle]

Thank you - yes, they are two layers. I bought belt blanks from Weaver - 8-9oz, then skived them down. I've never used a skiver before I worked on these belts, nor do I have a thickness guage - I was just running the blanks through until it started shaving some of the flesh away. I was a little more aggressive when I did my son's belt - I wanted it quite a bit thinner. His belt probably ended up right at about 1/8" thick, if not a tad over. No stiffeners on these.

[Shooter McGavin]

Did you use the roller guide attachment for the Boss?

Looks good BTW.

[K-Man]

Bet it took some time stitching those on that BOSS.

[particle]

I don't own the roller guide attachment yet. I wanted to buy it, but after sewing these without it, I don't really think I need it. Wasn't too hard to keep straight.

Yep - it took a while to sew them, but probably only about 5 minutes if I had to guess. The worst part was running out of bobbin thread on my belt when I was about 4 inches from the end.... LOL

Wishing for a powered machine one of these days...

[Big G]

I don't own the roller guide attachment yet. I wanted to buy it, but after sewing these without it, I don't really think I need it. Wasn't too hard to keep straight.

Yep - it took a while to sew them, but probably only about 5 minutes if I had to guess. The worst part was running out of bobbin thread on my belt when I was about 4 inches from the end.... LOL

Wishing for a powered machine one of these days...

wonder if you can use prewound bobbins in a tippmann boss? mine had one in the box when i bought it but i havent tried one yet. they usually hold more thread than you can wind on by hand

[rkleather]

LOL, yup.. Looks killer!

Edited March 10, 2011 by rkleather

[K-Man]

Yep - it took a while to sew them, but probably only about 5 minutes if I had to guess.

That's faster than I can do it with a powered machine.

Edited March 10, 2011 by K-Man

[Lobo]

Both belts look very good. Given your proven talent, I expect nothing but perfection will result from your continuing efforts.

My Cobra Class 4 stitcher is set up at about 60 stitches per minute, which is actually pretty comparable to what can be done on the Tippmann Boss. I like the added control of slower speed. I estimate about 10 minutes per belt for stitching (fancy stitch patterns take considerably more time, both to lay out the pattern and to perform).

When doing several belts at a time I like to use the roller guide, but I frequently do a belt or two without taking the time to set up the roller guide. Staying in the stitching groove on a belt isn't all that difficult to do.

Looking good, sir.