First "gun" Belt... Questions

[Sixer]

So I finally attempted my first gun belt... It was way more frustrating than I anticipated. Actually, I technically made 3 belts this weekend... but 2 of them ended up in the "box"

I used two layers of 7/8 oz double sholders that I ordered from Weaver's. I payed an extra $9 to have them cut the hide into 1.5 in strips, which I really liked.

My first issue was skiving/ splitting. I decided to try and and split each piece at the buckle and keeper area to minimize thickness when it's folded over. I did this with a hand skiver, which made it nearly impossible to get a consistent thickness and took way too much time and effort. Is there a better way to do this that doesn't require a $500+ piece of equiptmen

Secondly, two layers of this 7/8 oz leather made a belt that was just over 1/4 inch thick. Extremely sturdy... but IMHO a bit thicker than I would like. I'm thinking that 2 layers of 6/7 oz would be more than sufficient. Any thoughts?

Next issue was the burnishing. Normally on my holsters (different leather) I can get an egde that's slicker than snot... not so much on the belts. I'm using a coco-bolo "drill press" burnisher that is great, but I have to think there is a better way / setup for burnishing belts. I eventually got a nice edge, but I feel like it took much more time and effort than it should have.

Finally, my biggest issue / dislike of the finished product were the wrinkles that formed after the belt was completed. I had glued the pieces, punched the holes, stitched it up, dyed the leather, edged the belt, applied the finish, and added the hardware... only to have the belt (mostly the back side, bunch up / wrinkle.) I'm thinking this might be due to the leather... not sure... but how do I prevent this from hapening?

I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow, but any help / tips / guidence would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! I'll try to get some pics up soon

[Shooter McGavin]

I paid, I think, right around 200 bucks for one of the Tandy splitters. It works great for belts, but thats about it. If you plan to start doing belts, well worth the investment.

1/4" seems to be a time proven standard. I've done them thicker or thinner on request.

As for the wrinkling, I havent had much of an issue with that. While the belts are still wet from sanding the edges, I roll them into a loop with about a 12" diameter. Dont know if it does anything but I havent had problems with wrinkles. Properly oiling the leather might help as well.

Post pics!

[Dwight]

................My first issue was skiving/ splitting. I decided to try and and split each piece at the buckle and keeper area to minimize thickness when it's folded over. I did this with a hand skiver, which made it nearly impossible to get a consistent thickness and took way too much time and effort. Is there a better way to do this that doesn't require a $500+ piece of equiptmen

****One easier way is to take the outside piece, . . . use it to hold the buckle, . . . bring it back and Chicago screw it together, . . . blending it to meet the inside piece about 2 inches aft of the buckle. Don't have to skive, . . . the whole belt is the same thickness the full length, . . . works for me.

Secondly, two layers of this 7/8 oz leather made a belt that was just over 1/4 inch thick. Extremely sturdy... but IMHO a bit thicker than I would like. I'm thinking that 2 layers of 6/7 oz would be more than sufficient. Any thoughts?

*****The leather you used was not 7/8 if it was over 1/4 of an inch thick. Two FULL PIECES of 8 oz leather is just barely 1/4 inch. Get yourself a dial caliper (NO, . . . not one of those cheap, Chinese, POC, electronic abortions) and measure your pieces. I measure EVERY belt piece, . . . and match them up so I get something between .180 and .220, . . . thicker for my, . . . ummmm, . . . uhhh, . . . oh yeah, longer waisted customers, . . . thinner for the skinny guys.

Next issue was the burnishing. Normally on my holsters (different leather) I can get an egde that's slicker than snot... not so much on the belts. I'm using a coco-bolo "drill press" burnisher that is great, but I have to think there is a better way / setup for burnishing belts. I eventually got a nice edge, but I feel like it took much more time and effort than it should have.

*****You need a belt burnisher.

Finally, my biggest issue / dislike of the finished product were the wrinkles that formed after the belt was completed. I had glued the pieces, punched the holes, stitched it up, dyed the leather, edged the belt, applied the finish, and added the hardware... only to have the belt (mostly the back side, bunch up / wrinkle.) I'm thinking this might be due to the leather... not sure... but how do I prevent this from hapening?

*****Wrinkles, my friend, are just like age, . . . if you hang around long enough, . . . you get em. I have had a few belts that had em, . . . no one ever complained, . . . and I believe the reason is that after you have worn that wrinkly old thang for a day or two, . . . the wrinkles disappear. At least both of mine did.

I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow, but any help / tips / guidence would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! I'll try to get some pics up soon

See above answers, may God bless,

Dwight

[Sixer]

See above answers, may God bless,

Dwight

Thanks for the input guys!

Shooter, I may have to pick up one of those splitters... Is it Tandy's "High Tech" splitter?

Dwight, I was actually going to PM you but I figured I had bugged you enough in the past few weeks, haha. Do you have any pics of your belt burnisher? I definitely need a different setup for burnishing belts. As far as the thickness, it's just a HAIR over 1/4 ". I "ordered" 7/8 oz leather... but who knows. It's definitely not thick enough to be 8/9 oz, but I will certainly be measuring the strips from now on.

Here is a pic of the belt, holster, and mag carrier.... not a great shot of the belt, but all I have for now. It doesn't show the wrinkles, but they are definitely there

[Rayban]

Sixer, with 7/8oz you can cut off the inside layer just short of the fold-over where the buckle is attached, allowing room for the prong slot. This way no skiving is required, and 7/8 is plenty to support the buckle. Several "notable" belt makers do it this way.

Sometime the wrinkles happen because the two layers were not stretched out evenly against each other when gluing them together.

When I'm making a 1-1/2" belt, I cut the inside layer to 1-3/4" so I can then trim off the excess after the glue is cured. While the edges may be even and flush, they are still quite porous and rough. I take it to the belt sander and smooth the edges using 220, then 400 grit belts. This makes the edges very smooth and makes burnishing a lot easier and nicer looking. When a good job is done at this stage, you can't see that two layers have been glued and stitched together.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Rayban

[buckeroo1]

So I finally attempted my first gun belt... It was way more frustrating than I anticipated. Actually, I technically made 3 belts this weekend... but 2 of them ended up in the "box"

I used two layers of 7/8 oz double sholders that I ordered from Weaver's. I payed an extra $9 to have them cut the hide into 1.5 in strips, which I really liked.

My first issue was skiving/ splitting. I decided to try and and split each piece at the buckle and keeper area to minimize thickness when it's folded over. I did this with a hand skiver, which made it nearly impossible to get a consistent thickness and took way too much time and effort. Is there a better way to do this that doesn't require a $500+ piece of equiptmen

Secondly, two layers of this 7/8 oz leather made a belt that was just over 1/4 inch thick. Extremely sturdy... but IMHO a bit thicker than I would like. I'm thinking that 2 layers of 6/7 oz would be more than sufficient. Any thoughts?

Next issue was the burnishing. Normally on my holsters (different leather) I can get an egde that's slicker than snot... not so much on the belts. I'm using a coco-bolo "drill press" burnisher that is great, but I have to think there is a better way / setup for burnishing belts. I eventually got a nice edge, but I feel like it took much more time and effort than it should have.

Finally, my biggest issue / dislike of the finished product were the wrinkles that formed after the belt was completed. I had glued the pieces, punched the holes, stitched it up, dyed the leather, edged the belt, applied the finish, and added the hardware... only to have the belt (mostly the back side, bunch up / wrinkle.) I'm thinking this might be due to the leather... not sure... but how do I prevent this from hapening?

I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow, but any help / tips / guidence would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! I'll try to get some pics up soon

[buckeroo1]

Sixer.....for me, 7/8 oz and 4/5 oz. leather is a great combination. I do something else that is not so common....my belts are made with 7/8 oz. saddle "skirting" on the outside (Chestnut is my favorite color from Wickett & Craig) and then I use a 4/5 oz. veg-tanned "tooling" leather inside for the lining.. By using the "skirting" leather I am able to get a much more detailed carving which my customers truly enjoy. As to your "wrinkles"....this is common to many craftsmen and women....simply beccause they do not realize that " the inside diameter is NOT the same as the outside diameter!" If you glue the two together....by layinng them both flat on the table or workbench and then placing them together....you will ALWAYS have wrinkles! By putting the lining onto the belt, by what I term as the "round" method, holding the two pieces in the air and putting them together and insuring the belt is curving as the lining is applied.....wahlah.....no wrinkles! If both the front and the back pieces are the same length at start....if the liner is put in properly, you will end up with a piece of lining 2 or 3 inches in length that would have certainly been "wrinkles" when worn. Remember the human body is round.....NOT flat! Good luck, hope this helps!

[Sixer]

Sixer.....for me, 7/8 oz and 4/5 oz. leather is a great combination. I do something else that is not so common....my belts are made with 7/8 oz. saddle "skirting" on the outside (Chestnut is my favorite color from Wickett & Craig) and then I use a 4/5 oz. veg-tanned "tooling" leather inside for the lining.. By using the "skirting" leather I am able to get a much more detailed carving which my customers truly enjoy. As to your "wrinkles"....this is common to many craftsmen and women....simply beccause they do not realize that " the inside diameter is NOT the same as the outside diameter!" If you glue the two together....by layinng them both flat on the table or workbench and then placing them together....you will ALWAYS have wrinkles! By putting the lining onto the belt, by what I term as the "round" method, holding the two pieces in the air and putting them together and insuring the belt is curving as the lining is applied.....wahlah.....no wrinkles! If both the front and the back pieces are the same length at start....if the liner is put in properly, you will end up with a piece of lining 2 or 3 inches in length that would have certainly been "wrinkles" when worn. Remember the human body is round.....NOT flat! Good luck, hope this helps!

Great info guys! I really appreciate the input. Keep it coming

[Mudruck]

Sixer.....for me, 7/8 oz and 4/5 oz. leather is a great combination. I do something else that is not so common....my belts are made with 7/8 oz. saddle "skirting" on the outside (Chestnut is my favorite color from Wickett & Craig) and then I use a 4/5 oz. veg-tanned "tooling" leather inside for the lining.. By using the "skirting" leather I am able to get a much more detailed carving which my customers truly enjoy. As to your "wrinkles"....this is common to many craftsmen and women....simply beccause they do not realize that " the inside diameter is NOT the same as the outside diameter!" If you glue the two together....by layinng them both flat on the table or workbench and then placing them together....you will ALWAYS have wrinkles! By putting the lining onto the belt, by what I term as the "round" method, holding the two pieces in the air and putting them together and insuring the belt is curving as the lining is applied.....wahlah.....no wrinkles! If both the front and the back pieces are the same length at start....if the liner is put in properly, you will end up with a piece of lining 2 or 3 inches in length that would have certainly been "wrinkles" when worn. Remember the human body is round.....NOT flat! Good luck, hope this helps!

Had the exact same issue as the OP did until I starting gluing them using the above method. Works like a champ and no more wrinkles!

[SooperJake]

See above answers, may God bless,

Dwight

What's a belt burnisher, Dwight? Where would one acquire such a device?

[Dwight]

My apologies, . . . started to do this a long time ago, . . . got busy eating cookies or something.

Anyway, . . . here is "my" burnisher. The tool on the end of the shaft is the same as the one used for those cloth polishing wheels, . . . you just use a longer bolt. I actually bought mine in a truck stop, . . . they sold them over where the wheel & rim polish and wax was, . . . for them big sooper truckers and their Cragar chrome wheels.

Find a 1 inch or 1 1/4 in dowel, . . . drill it down the middle, . . . same size as your bolt, . . . you want it snug.

Fit the whole thing onto a 1/4 hp motor, . . . 1725 rpm, . . . put a switch on the motor, . . . bolt it to your work bench, . . . grab a hand full of round files and a couple of flat files, . . . go to work.

Turn on the motor, . . . first thing to do is take a flat file and make the whole thing round. When you drilled the hole, . . . it was off center, . . . and the wood is wobbling, . . . NEEDS FILED DOWN SMOOTH.

Next, . . .file grooves in it to match the curves of the edge of your belts.

SAND EM SMOOTH, . . . uhhh, . . . in case I didn't say it before, . . . SAND EM SMOOTH, SLICK, USE STEEL WOOL TO GET IT "NICE" SMOOTH.

Take a little beeswax, . . . scrap leather sewn together, edged & beveled, . . . practice & have fun.

Now all the way out on the end away from the motor is one trick I didn't plan, . . . but it sure is slick. Notice the big washer on the end, . . . it allows you to lay something up against it, . . . and use the flat piece of wood there to really polish a flat surface. Somtimes I have to use a thick welt, . . . leaves a flat place in the edge of the holster, . . . this little shelf is perfect for polishing those flats. Run the back edge of the holster lightly up against the washer, . . . and burnish to your little heart's content.

Total cost of this tool (excluding motor) is around 20 bucks, . . . and is IMHO well, wellllllll, worth it. FWIW, . . . I can burnish a 52 inch fat boy gun belt in all of about 10 minutes on that rig. Used to take me about 30 or 40 when I was only using my Dremel.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited January 16, 2013 by Dwight

[SooperJake]

I thought there might be such a thing as a "belt burnisher"...some special machine for belts.Thanks for posting the picture, Dwight.