pete Report post Posted February 12, 2017 Is there a "standard" to tapering belts? I am making a 1-3/4" belt and want to taper it to fit a 1-1/2 buckle set. How far from the tip or center hole does one begin the taper? And how far in from the bucke end? Please- any " belt makers" replies would be most appreciated!!! pete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 12, 2017 I did my first tapered belt from plans in Al Stolmans (sp)? belts galore book. I wasn't pleased with the results. The billet end was fine, but the buckle end needed to to be tapered further from the buckle, in my opinion. Also, his dimensions for a ranger belt I felt didn't take into account the added thickness of the ranger style belt, but I listened to the master, turned out I was right, and I had to re-do the billet attachment to account for, you guessed it, the additional thickness of the ranger style belt. I've found that without a template, getting the starting point and taper absolutely correct is a challenge. In answer to your question, I'd say make up some templates of your own, check out for fit, and then start cutting leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tommyboy Report post Posted February 13, 2017 The "standard" taper is a minimum 1/2" smaller than the rest of the belt. Depending on buckle styles, you can adjust from there to have the outside of the buckle flush. As far as belts galore is concerned, his designs work best with end bar buckles and need to be adjusted for center bar and trophy buckles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete Report post Posted February 13, 2017 what I meant was is there a "standard" for where the taper begins before the buckle. ( i.e. 1st belt loop, half way between 1st loop and buckle etc...) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VMTinajero Report post Posted February 13, 2017 (edited) On your billet end leave approx 1 inch from the last hole, so if you make a 38in belt with 7 holes (38 being the center) that would be 1 inch from the 35in hole where the taper ends, or 4 inches from the center hole. On the buckle side leave approx 4 inches, so that if worn on the center hole you have equal length on both sides, making the belt look centered. Edited February 13, 2017 by VMTinajero Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete Report post Posted February 13, 2017 thank you so much pete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tommyboy Report post Posted February 13, 2017 I agree with VM on the billet side, but the buckle side needs to be adjusted to the buckle you are using or if you are using double keepers. With that i recomend making a paper template to adjust for variations. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 14, 2017 You can't really say "from the loop", as the loops are in different placed on different pants. Is that the loop you were referring to? On my Wranglers, there always seems to be a loop right where the keeper ends up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
