Holster belt input

[bikermutt07]

1 hour ago, TinkerTailor said:

Do you have a 1 foot ruler with 24 inches on it as well??/ Should sell it to JLS, for the journey to fishing country.....

Haha. I guess it's technically a 2 yard stick.

[rickybobby]

 

To get you sewing holes punched look for "Pricking Irons" They are used in english saddle work. You use them to make the holes and may only need to widen a little with an awl on occasion. 

My belts are two pieces of 7/8oz. Glued & Stitched (Cobra 4) I have hand stitched belts but that was many years ago and don't anticipate going back to it.

To straighten the edge on a hide for belt strips I have a 8' X 1.5" X 1/4" piece of aluminum stock. The edges were all sanded "round-ish" so it doesn't scuff the leather and a piece of Gorilla Duct Tape on the back.

I lay it on the hide, put a weight on each end and the middle. Mark the straight edge with a pen. (yep, I use a blue marking pen) Then remove the straight edge and make your cut. No guide, no fence, no training wheels! Use the Force. O.K. that is a bit much. Trust yourself and your sharp knife.

A couple tricks about a straight line...

• Don't try to make a quick correction while cutting, just keep cutting.
• When done with the knife, Take your draw gauge (strap cutter) and set it for 1/8" that will "clean up" your edge. Set your strap cutter to the strap size you need and go!

This is by far the quickest and cleanest way I have found to get straps cut from a new hide or double shoulder.

Hope this helps

Rick

Edited December 17, 2016 by rickybobby

[steelhawk]

I hand stitched a belt once. I also drilled all 560 holes with a dremel tool and a 1/16 drill bit. I won't do it again. Fortunately, with the Cobra 4 I don't have to. But, if you don't have a machine and want a belt, you do what's needed.

[CaptQuirk]

1 hour ago, steelhawk said:

I hand stitched a belt once. I also drilled all 560 holes with a dremel tool and a 1/16 drill bit. I won't do it again. Fortunately, with the Cobra 4 I don't have to. But, if you don't have a machine and want a belt, you do what's needed.

I did a western gunbelt once. I didn't have a dremel, but I did have a carpenter's hammer and finishing nails. Despite the extremely amateur approach, it came out ok for my first attempt at leather working.

[byggyns]

I hand stitched my first and only belt. I have an ample waist, and mine took me around 4 hours.

I won't do it for any belts to sell, because I wouldn't be able to charge enough for it to be worth my time. I will probably do more for myself and for gifts.

 

Also, I used a comfortable length of thread and spliced it. Mine took 4 pieces. To do my joints, I just start the new thread about 4 stitches before I decided to end the prior thread. Both threads run through those 4 stitch holes. Cut the ends off the prior thread & a little spot of superglue to make sure they don't pull through.

Edited December 29, 2016 by byggyns