My First Gun Belt- All Advice Welcome

[Emmo]

I’m fairly new to working with leather.  So far I have made a dozen or so gun holsters, mostly using whatever materials I had on hand and using Tandy for anything I was missing.  I’m going to make a gun belt for my next project, but I’m trying to be a little better prepared before starting.  I’ve spent the past few weeks reading back through old discussions and watching videos on making belts.  Here is what I have and plan to order, along with a few details.  I’m going to cut my own blanks 1 ½ inch wide.  I have two pieces from Tandy, 5/7 oz double shoulder and 8/9 oz side.  I’m planning to cut two blanks from the double shoulder and glue together and stitch.  I’m going to hand stitch the two layers, 6 SPI using an overstitch wheel to layout the pattern.  My needles are from Tandy and based on and old discussion I found here, I would say they are comparable to a size 2 (002) using the John Jones chart (55 mm long x 1.02 mm dia).  For thread, I had planned to order .8 mm Slam from Lekoza, but I don’t see they have it in black.  They do have .6 mm in black so perhaps that would work.  I’ll be using an Osborne awl for the holes.     I’d welcome any thoughts or suggestions you would care to make.  Would the .6 mm Slam be a good choice for the thread or is there something else I should consider? Thanks.

[bikermutt07]

(Chewing on the popcorn, just waiting for replies)

[CaptQuirk]

I haven't heard of that thread, but lots of folks really like the Tiger thread. There is a fella here that sells it... search feature is necessary, I can't remember who off the top of my head. You also never mentioned what style of gunbelt, so it is hard to comment on that as well. Soooo... pass the popcorn Mutt, don't be a Bogard

[bikermutt07]

I'm totally bogarting the popcorn.

[CaptQuirk]

4 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

I'm totally bogarting the popcorn.

The popcorn you are eating, has been pee'd on... film at 11.

 

Go ahead and name that movie... I dare ya

[Mattsbagger]

15 minutes ago, CaptQuirk said:

I haven't heard of that thread, but lots of folks really like the Tiger thread. There is a fella here that sells it... search feature is necessary, I can't remember who off the top of my head. You also never mentioned what style of gunbelt, so it is hard to comment on that as well. Soooo... pass the popcorn Mutt, don't be a Bogard

Nigel Armitage did a review of Slam. It's comparable to Tiger apparently at about half the cost. Tandy needle eyes are HUGE though. 

[CaptQuirk]

@Mattsbagger- I like the big eyes, makes it easy for an old fart to thread. Ok, easier, I still miss sometimes. Alot.

[Dwight]

Emmo, . . . FWIW, . . . I stitch my belts on a Tippmann Boss machine, . . . using 346 size polyester, waxed thread.  

It is .0258 in diameter which works out to .656 MM.  

There's also a lot of thread info here:  https://www.thethreadexchange.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TTE&Category_Code=Nylon-Thread-Information

Uhhh, . . . good luck on that hand stitching a belt.  Used to know a guy who did em with his wife, . . . him at one end, . . . her at the other, . . . took em 4 hours together to do one belt.  But you should have a really good belt if you are making it from a double shoulder.  I like to make mine from shoulders, . . . but sometimes the customer is bigger than the cow's shoulders, . . . lol.

May God bless,

Dwight

[garypl]

I've been buying Tiger thread from Egyptian Leather - search for that company name on Etsy.  Excellent service and good prices on the thread.

[Emmo]

The sewing thread I listed (Slam)was the thread that  Nigel Armitage  reviewed, that's were I became aware of it.  The source where I found it, Lekoza, was from a discussion thread that I read here on leatherworker.net.    When I said gun belt, what I meant was just a belt heavy enough to support a gun.  What I was thinking was two layers of the 5/7 oz glued and then hand stitched.   I believe the Slam thread is suppose to be very similar to Tiger.  Is the .6 mm a reasonable choice or should I have heavier?  Also, is 6 spi a good choice?  Thanks for the replies.

[Emmo]

Thanks Dwight, sounds like the .6 mm Slam would work.  Perhaps I'll drop down to a Size 4 (004) needle.  I probably should order a pack of size 4 & 2 John James needles.  garpl, I'll check out Egyptian Leather as well.  Thanks everyone for the advice and comments.  

[CaptQuirk]

6 spi should be fine. same for the 2 layers of 5-7oz leather. Make sure you use a good glue, as the layers tend to shift and separate with weaker contact cements. And what Dwight says about hand stitching is true. Hand stitching belts is a chore. Pick out several good movies, or cds... you're going to be there a while. I started doing a 58" belt the other day. Only 4' left to go.

Another thought that might not have been mentioned, is cutting your belt on a curve. My first western gunbelt was cut straight, and it tends to slide straight over my hips. Cutting it on a curve will give it a bit of a tapered effect, helping to keep it in place.

[Emmo]

Thanks CaptQuirk.  I have Weldwood contact cement and had planned to use that.  I had not read anything about cutting the leather on a curve, I'll have to read up on that.  Thanks for the heads up.  Ya'll are starting to make me a little nervous about the ambitious sewing project.  Maybe I'll switch and make my first belt just a good heavy work belt and use one layer of the 8/9 oz side.  Sooner or later though, I'll have to sew that belt.  As my old boss use to say, as he left my with new project, "no step for a stepper".  Thanks agian all.  Emmo

[Eddie Q]

Emmo, I,ve hand sewn a few belts, 10-11 0z lined with 1.5-2 Oz oink oink with eithe artificial senew or 1mm waxed linen. it's not bad at all took me about 3hs everytime .

I just acquired a Singer 111W153 which seems good for belt, just have to make table for it.  Good luck Buddy !!!

[LumpenDoodle2]

I refuse to hand sew belts on the principle that I have a life (somewhere).   I have no objection to hand sewing holsters, but belts............     

I admire those with the patience to do so, though.

[snubbyfan]

I've got a belt stitcher, it's called my wife:

 

[silverwingit]

I think you'd be better off using 0.8 mm or even thicker on a heavy-use item like a gun belt. The thread the lady is using in the video is probably 1.0 mm in diameter.

Michelle

[byggyns]

I'll agree with the above that you may want a heavier thread. I used the twisted Tandy thread on the one I did, in about 1.0mm. I think the slam thread will be good, I enjoy using Tiger thread & Nigel's review tells me it should work similarly. I have a 40" waist, & I took about 4-5 hours to do mine. I was binging "Orphan Black" at the time to keep me entertained.

[CaptQuirk]

On 1/25/2017 at 2:05 AM, LumpenDoodle2 said:

I refuse to hand sew belts on the principle that I have a life (somewhere).   I have no objection to hand sewing holsters, but belts............     

I admire those with the patience to do so, though.

I used to have a life... it's amazing how much more time you have on your hands when you move to the wilderness.  @byggyns, I just did a 56" belt by hand, all in all, it took me about 5 days.

[Sorcerer1]

I hand sewed one , by the time I was done I had gained 10 lbs and it did not fit .

[Emmo]

sliverwinget and byggyns, thanks or the thread size.  I haven't ordered yet and think I'll go with 1.0 mm.  Sorcerer1 that made me laugh.  Thanks again everyone for all your help.

[Mattsbagger]

On 1/12/2017 at 2:46 PM, bikermutt07 said:

 

[Mattsbagger]

On 1/25/2017 at 0:05 AM, LumpenDoodle2 said:

I refuse to hand sew belts on the principle that I have a life (somewhere).   I have no objection to hand sewing holsters, but belts............     

I admire those with the patience to do so, though.

I sewed 2 belts this weekend. Hands and wrists are a bit sore.lol But since I don't have a machine ain't got much choice.

[byggyns]

On 1/27/2017 at 9:24 AM, CaptQuirk said:

I used to have a life... it's amazing how much more time you have on your hands when you move to the wilderness.  @byggyns, I just did a 56" belt by hand, all in all, it took me about 5 days.

I'm not sure my total construction time was on mine. I know the basket weave took several hours. Just the stitching was the 4-5 hours. I did the stamping on the belt blank first, then it sat for months before I glued the second layer on , stitched, dyed, punched holes, & finished. The second part of the process was about a week of working on it every so often. The stitching was a single marathon on a Saturday.

[Bigfoote]

I have stitched a lot, like the rest who have given good advice here. At 6 SPI I would go with 1.0 mil thread but I would toss those Tandy needles and get some John James needles, in my mind no comparison. I use size 1/0 for .8 and 1.0 thread, hope that helps.