PapaCannoli Report post Posted October 30, 2013 Hello all, I am pretty new to leather working and have made several standard veg tan belts from blanks. I have a friend who wants me to make him a belt that could potentially be used to hold his weight (220lbsish). More of a harness. What leather would I use for this or should I tell him not really feasible. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camano ridge Report post Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Do you have a pattern or picture of what he is wanting to do. It sounds like more of a safety harness or climbing belt in which case you would be better off going with webbing that is rated for 10,000lb working strength espescially if it is going to be used for fall restraint. I would recommend against doing it if you are unfamiliar with this type of product. Not only would your harness have to meet fall retraint standards the stitching and any hardware would also. Keep in mind that if something did happen and the harness/belt failed the liability would fall back on you. Also if it was to be used in a workplace setting it would have to meet OSHA/L&I standards and ANZI Z359 fall protection. Edited October 30, 2013 by camano ridge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Reaper Report post Posted October 30, 2013 Liability is huge, tell him to buy an approved harness and you can make accessories for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiverCity Report post Posted October 30, 2013 There's things you can do to eliminate stretch, but as everyone has said it's not worth it. Puts both of you at risk should something fail. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PapaCannoli Report post Posted October 30, 2013 These were all concerns that I had had and had explained to him prior. He tells me that it wants it more for the look than the function. I was more concerned about the “hold my beer” type incident. This confirms my suspicions that it shouldn’t be done. I will tell him to buy the proper gear that he needs. Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camano ridge Report post Posted October 30, 2013 When he says he wants it more for looks then function that would concern me. He is not likely to wear it to the local tavern to impress the ladies so why else would you want it. Even if he was only going to use it occasionaly it still only takes once for a failure to happen. I think you are making a smart decision to decline. Like Tree Reaper said you can always make non weight bearing accessories for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
