Improve Belt Making

[Davi]

Hi guys I'm after some advice on ways to improve my belt making and was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on things I could try?

One of the tricky bits is that I like to have the entire belt dyed. I really dislike it when only the surface is died so when you punch holes or look at the back of the belt its a different colour. Also I like to stitch the entire perimeter of the belt, to me that's what turns a functional strap into a belt. These make it hard as I end up dying the belt at the end so I can easier see my stitch marks and as I don't want the awl to cause any veg tan to show through. Its also hard trying to figure out what to stitch where so it all flows together with the perimeter stitching. I know I could use rivets to keep the buckle & keeper in place and this is fine on 'biker' style belts but for 'dress' belts I think stitching is the best option.

This is my current order of steps:
Cut tip end
Measure
Cut buckle end
Chamfer edges
Groove stitches
Mark Stitches
Wet form buckle end
Awl buckle end
Dye buckle end
Oil + seal buckle end suede side
Stitch buckle end
Awl and stitch rest of belt
Dye whole belt
Oil whole belt
Burnish belt
Seal belt
Buff belt

I have a wing divider and stitching chisels on their way to me to try instead of grooving and using and overstitch wheel.

I was also wondering if anyone had any templates for the buckle and tip ends? I have a friend who's going to help me draw up some cad images for these and get them laser cut so I can have some good reusable templates but some starting images for spacing ideas would be good. Eventually I want to build a collection of images/templates for all different combinations of English point, rounded, 5 holes, 7 holes, round holes, oval hole, buckle stitched, buckle riveted etc etc.

I know the stitching isn't fantastic but here is the most recent one I finished and the one which has really prompted me to want to improve.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Davi

[venator]

First, don't stitch across the belt, only stitch along (or across at an angle) doing it at 90 degrees like you did causes a perforation that significantly weakens the leather.

It's a pretty solid looking belt otherwise, pricking irons or a roller wheel with pricks would go a long way to evening out your stitches.

Personally for an english point I just use my wing divider, set it to the width of the belt, plant one end and draw a curve across the belt, then do the same on the other side, cut along the two lines and you have a great point that's proportional to the width of the belt (bisecting curves). To cut it I actually plant a corner of my round knife on the table then pull the belt into the knife, I find it works really well.

With dying the holes you can either dye the belt after punching them or go back and dab some dye into them with a q-tip or something similar.

[fivewayswelshcobs]

I agree with not stitching across the belt but I would also stop grooving over the bend in the leather at the buckle as it looks messy, you need to stop at a point fractionally past the last stitch and if wanted groove on the back but not over the bend, personally I never groove as the stitching is part of the decoration and if too sunk in it is a waste of time. In 15 years of saddlery and harness work I've not had a problem with worn stitches as when pulled up they are usually set well enough down.

[Davi]

First, don't stitch across the belt, only stitch along (or across at an angle) doing it at 90 degrees like you did causes a perforation that significantly weakens the leather.

If I do that won't I only end up with about 2-3 stitches between buckle and keeper and nothing to keep the 'flap' held down solidly?

It's a pretty solid looking belt otherwise, pricking irons or a roller wheel with pricks would go a long way to evening out your stitches.

I did use an overstitch wheel on the front to mark the stitches but I found it really hard to keep it straight when going through the second piece, the back, which makes the stitching look awful

Personally for an english point I just use my wing divider, set it to the width of the belt, plant one end and draw a curve across the belt, then do the same on the other side, cut along the two lines and you have a great point that's proportional to the width of the belt (bisecting curves). To cut it I actually plant a corner of my round knife on the table then pull the belt into the knife, I find it works really well.

Thanks for the tip, that sounds like a pretty good way of doing it. I am planning on getting strap end punches eventually but the templates i want to make should help me get everything even and central.

Cheers venator

[Davi]

I agree with not stitching across the belt but I would also stop grooving over the bend in the leather at the buckle as it looks messy, you need to stop at a point fractionally past the last stitch and if wanted groove on the back but not over the bend, personally I never groove as the stitching is part of the decoration and if too sunk in it is a waste of time. In 15 years of saddlery and harness work I've not had a problem with worn stitches as when pulled up they are usually set well enough down.

Agreed on it not looking very good. The one I'm currently working on Ive managed to stop the groove before the bend and start again afterwards.

When my wing divider arrives Im going to try using that instead of a groover. Glad to hear it doesn't affect longevity of the stitching too badly not to sink it, Ill be switching to ritza 25 in the future which should help as well

[Tugadude]

I dye first, never have to touch up but if I did, follow the q-tip recommendation above. Wing divider is a good idea but you can also make a fine line by easing up the pressure on your groover. Scratch, don't cut. Chisel will help too.

Watch Nigel Armitages video on Youtube on stitching a belt keep, good tips in there. Watch his stitching iron vids too for tips and technique.

[Halitech]

In most cases, you will be using a leather keeper so you can actually sew through the keeper. With the metal ones like you are using, makes it a little more challenging but you still want to avoid going across at 90degrees.

you don't need to groove the front and back, just do the front. Once you are done stitching, tap them down with your maul.

And honestly, you really want to dye before you stitch, especially if you end up using white thread or you are going for a contrasting color look.

[Olle P]

If I do that won't I only end up with about 2-3 stitches between buckle and keeper and nothing to keep the 'flap' held down solidly?

Increase the distance between the buckle and keeper. A 10-15 cm "flap" won't be held down when the keeper is that close to the buckle.

I have 3.0-3.5 cm between buckle and keeper on my belts.

(Have the keeper closer on my hat band, but then I rivet instead of stitch the buckle in place.)

[Davi]

I dye first, never have to touch up but if I did, follow the q-tip recommendation above. Wing divider is a good idea but you can also make a fine line by easing up the pressure on your groover. Scratch, don't cut. Chisel will help too.

Watch Nigel Armitages video on Youtube on stitching a belt keep, good tips in there. Watch his stitching iron vids too for tips and technique.

Wing divider arrived today but I'll bear in mind varying the amount of pressure with the groover.

Yeah I've watched pretty much all of Nigels videos a couple of times. Fantastic teacher and I'm thinking of booking a days lesson with him next year to help me further improve but the problem is nearly all of my keepers I've used are metal ones.

In most cases, you will be using a leather keeper so you can actually sew through the keeper. With the metal ones like you are using, makes it a little more challenging but you still want to avoid going across at 90degrees.

you don't need to groove the front and back, just do the front. Once you are done stitching, tap them down with your maul.

And honestly, you really want to dye before you stitch, especially if you end up using white thread or you are going for a contrasting color look.

Actually nearly every belt Ive made I have used a metal keeper but I'm probably only going to do that on 'biker' style belts from now on. The 'biker' style belts I'll probably use rivets, press studs and chicago screws so that should work out fine. The 'dress' belts I could make leather keepers and stitch those in.

I don't groove the back but the stitching does seem to sink in after a while. The belt I'm wearing now is the first one I ever made, been wearing in nearly every day for about 6 years and the stitching on the back has kind of sunk in.

I'm going to have to give that a go. The only time I've ever dyed first was when I wanted a black belt with red stitching and I don't remember it being too hard to see my awl'd holes.

Increase the distance between the buckle and keeper. A 10-15 cm "flap" won't be held down when the keeper is that close to the buckle.

I have 3.0-3.5 cm between buckle and keeper on my belts.

(Have the keeper closer on my hat band, but then I rivet instead of stitch the buckle in place.)

I'll try moving it a bit further away.

When I first started the straps I was buying were a little shorter and my waist was a bit bigger (not that its that much smaller now lol) so I had to try and maximize the length and Ive always used the same template I made for that first belt. The reason I started leather working was because it was hard to find belts I liked in large sizes.

I appreciate all the help guys.