veg tan for belts

[olie]

I'm doing a run of around 20 belts. I want to use 8/9 oz veg tan. It'll end up dark brown and I'm ok with dyeing them myself if it saves some money. My question is can I really save that much money cutting the straps myself? Where's the best deal on hides long enough for belts and/or pre cut straps? My local supplier gets about $8.20/sq. ft. Is that a good price? by my calculations, that will put me over $15 a strap and I'll have to cut and dye them myself. Doesn't seem worth it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[TomG]

Hi Olie,

 

I'm not sure how you came up with that figure.  You didn't say what size belts, but figuring a 1-1/2",  72" long strap, is 108 sq in. (72*1.5).  Divide that by 144 to convert to sq ft and it is .75 sq ft.  At $8.20 sq ft, that is $6.15 ea.

Tandy has 1-1/2" x 72" straps for $24.50 ea - wholesale pricing.  Which seems a whole lot high to me.  They have some precut belt blanks with snaps for around $15

 

 

[Sonydaze]

Weaver Leather has decent prices for their belt blanks.  They are available with different levels of finishing.

[olie]

But it ultimately depends on the width of the hide, the person at the shop told me they were appx 25" wide, and unless they're longer than  at least 80", I can't get two lengthwise. 25" wide will give me 16, 1½" belts. Of course I'll have a big piece to do something else with, but not more belts.

[Dwight]

An 80 inch blank when finished gives me a 70 inch belt, . . . 

I don't know who you are making belts for, . . . but I've really never made one for a 70 inch person.

OTOH, . . . double shoulders give good blanks for belts in the 44 inch and shorter category, . . . and when you quit cutting blanks off the one side, . . . the rest of the piece makes really good holsters.  And double shoulders are generally much less expensive than sides.

They are what I use, . . . with an occasional side thrown in so I can have the 50+ belt for my more rotund customers.

May God bless,

Dwight

[olie]

Thanks Dwight! That's helpful. McPherson's here in Seattle has double shoulders for $7.89/sq. ft. And a larger one is maybe 17 sq ft. That's $135. Any idea approximately how many 1½" belts I might get that are at least 45" long? I've never held and measured a double shoulder before.

[Studio-N]

Conservatively, you should have 24" width to work with which give you 16 straps out of that - around $9 /strap.  You should be able to get a good profit on your investment.

[Studio-N]

8 hours ago, Dwight said:

An 80 inch blank when finished gives me a 70 inch belt, . . . 

I don't know who you are making belts for, . . . but I've really never made one for a 70 inch person.

The largest I every made was from a 96" strap for an 80" waist.  Obviously it was cut from a side. I have saved off the longest part of that hide (maybe 10" width) for those special people that may need one that large again ('cause it sure is difficult to find them that large anymore).

[johnv474]

It's worth noting that any side or double shoulder will have some area of waste, though. A butcher mark on the front/back, or an open wound or hole will mean you have to skip that section. Additionally, any cutting error (such as the strap cutter sliding even after tightening) will lead to loss.

I'd say it's fair to say that you'd have $5 in leather for a belt blank selling for $7.25 or so.

If your need for belts/straps is such that they can be cut across the spine (such as cheaper straps used on light bags like tote bags), then double shoulders are usually cheaper for the area than sides.

Where I work we cut blanks, and find we make a little extra when sold as a blank than as the leather itself, not a whole lot of difference.

Weaver sells some nice blanks and the prices on some are good, but you'll get the occasional very short one.

Edited May 6, 2016 by johnv474

[JLSleather]

If you're making solid color ONE color belts, then certainly pays to use drum-dyed leather rather than dyeing it yourself.  Not only a cost savings, but the TIME is greatly reduced, and that's a lot of fumes you AREN'T breathing.

Dwight already stated, figure you'll need straps about 10" longer than the finished "size" you need.

I buy backs for belts and generally ends up being about $8 per 1" of strap width, so 1.5" is about $12-13 piece.  I line mine (with undyed veg tan usually) so that's another $12-13, and then glue, thread, snaps and/or screws,... end up with $26 NOT including cost of the buckle you choose.

 

[olie]

This is all really illuminating and super helpful. Thank you all! It's seems like my local shop's prices are competitive. I think I'll just go down there and look at a few different hides and hope for something that I like the color of and therefore don't have to dye. I'm not super into chemicals. Contact cement is about all I can handle :-)