Gun Belt Advice Needed

[skootx]

I'm looking to make a gun belt for concealed carry of a small handgun. The commercial gun belts are 1.5" wide and nearly 1/4" thick and lined on the back with velcro for attaching the concealed holster clip.

I'm thinking I'd start with something like this (http://springfieldleather.com/18889/Belt-Blank%2CW-OSnap%2C1-1-2%22%2C15p/), but I'm stumped on attaching the velcro as I don't want those stitches showing. So I'd need to sew the velcro to something else, and stitch that onto the belt blank, so the stitch lines only go around the outside edges of the blank.

Any ideas on what to stitch the velcro to? I'd guess those blanks are about 9 oz so I don't mind adding a bit more thickness for another layer.

(I could probably find 1.5" wide velcro but I already have loads of .5" from a previous project, and I thought about using two of those blanks doubled up, but that might me too thick)

Thanks!

[Dwight]

I'll be deadpan honest with you, . . . never saw or heard of such a rig. Been doing this for several years, . . . but I guess it's never too late to learn a new trick.

My "commercial" gun belts run almost 1/4 inch thick, . . . but the holsters either thread on through slots, . . . hang on with clips, . . . or something of that nature.

If it were mine, . . . I'd get a good solid 9/10 oz blank belt, . . . and another 5/6 blank, . . . both 1 1/2 wide.

The thin piece will be your "liner" which goes from the tounge end to where the buckle end is folded over and Chicago Screwed together to hold the buckle.

On that liner, . . . sew your velcro wherever you want it. Then use Weldwood contact cement to cement the two pieces together (flesh side to flesh side).

From my velcro experience with other projects, . . . I'd probably bevel down the edges of my liner, . . . buy a piece of velcro that was 2 1/2 inches wide, . . . wrap it around the liner and sew it in place. It will make that portion of the belt a bit thicker and bulkier, . . . but not enough to cause a problem.

Sand the edges smooth, . . . bevel and burnish them, . . . stitch groove them, . . . sew them, . . . stain and finish, . . . VOILA, . . . done !

I'd like to see the finished product as well as a picture of the holster you intend to use with it.

Look at my website, . . . you'll see one of my finished ranger belts, . . . www.dwightsgunleather.com

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited March 6, 2014 by Dwight

[Red Cent]

I have a Safariland gunbelt that has Velcro in certain places. This belt came with a competition holster. I do not remember ever seeing every day belts with Velcro. I believe the problem you have is not wanting to stitch the length of the belt. As Dwight stated, most of us use an "outer" and a liner glued and sewed together. If we wanted a patch of Velcro on the inside of the belt, we would do as Dwight stated or thereabouts. I would use an 8-9 outer and a 4-5 liner. I would glue the Velcro in place on the liner, then glue the liner to the outer and sew the outer perimeter of the belt attaching everything together.

I skipped over the details of beveling, sanding, burnishing, and finishing the edge.

If we have not described this procedure well, please respond.

[camano ridge]

You make it sound as though all manufactures make all concealed carry belts with velcro on the back . Those that offer the velcro usually offer it as an option. Tucker offers a velcro but then puts it on a thinner belt. A quarter inc belt with velcro on it will be hard to thread through the slots on a OWB and some pant loops. Crossbreed also offers the velcro option. It is primarily used with V clips for IWBs the V clip attaches to the back of the belt by the velcro, making any attachment to the belt hardly noticable. Most makers make the concealed carry belt out of two layers like Dwight stated. If you do that take the inner layer stitch the velcro to it then stitch the inner layer to the outer layer you will not see the stitches for the velcro. Remeber to watch the total thickness of your belt with the velcro. Usually the loop part goes on the belt and the hook part is on the holster clip. The loop part is most of the time the thickest part of the velcro.

If you are wondering why a two layer belt for concealed carry is better then a single. The two layers glued and stitched together will give you a much stiffer firmer belt with far less stretch over time then a single ply belt.

As I was typing this someone else posted so if I duplicated any part of their answer I apologize.

Edited March 6, 2014 by camano ridge

[skootx]

Thanks all, that confirms I'm thinking down the right path.

Dwight, I love your work- I'd buy it if I didn't enjoy making it so much! The holster attachment I'm thinking of uses these clips http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/VClips.aspx. But the holster itself is still up in the air. Primarily the belt will be used to conceal carry a Beretta Nano (or similar, I haven't picked out the gun yet), but also to carry a Beretta 92fs and two mags OWB, which is quite a bit of weight.

Just to clarify, the velcro I have is narrower than the belt width, so I don't watch stich lines running down the middle of the belt. I know I'll have them around the outer edges. I think backing the entire width of the belt with velcro would add a load of bulk to an already thick belt. So yeah, I think Red Cent's advice on the thickness is where I'll go.

Edited March 6, 2014 by skootx