belt rules?

[flyingcuda]

hello, i have been requested to do 10 belts for a wedding party. i've only done belts for hubby, i used his old belts for measurements. i know that going off pant sizes don't work. is there a simple way to do this or do i have to get each gentleman to physically measure his waist?

[Ferg]

I think you will find that most folks/men in particular won't give you the correct measurement. lol

There are guides for determining the length of belts on-line. I think if you punch the question into Google you will find what you need. You should measure the guys personally or have them remove their belt so you can measure it.

 

Ferg

[Mattsbagger]

This helped me. The pic is odd the post is for dress belts.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Mattsbagger

[flyingcuda]

thank you so much! this is a great help!

[NVLeatherWorx]

49 minutes ago, flyingcuda said:

thank you so much! this is a great help!

However, keep in mind that the only accurate measurement is that which is taken by physically measuring the person who will be wearing the belt.  Another point to mention would be to space your buckle holes for the tip end at 7/8" apart versus the noted 1" spacing; the human body does not expand/contract (grow/shrink) in full 1" increments.  The concept of spacing at 7/8" has been the recommended standard for decades and I have found it to be more accurate when fitting for comfort of the wearer, which is what we should be doing to ensure a satisfied customer.  I also prefer to have a tip section of 5" in length (measured from center of last hole to the actual tip center/point).

[plinkercases]

If you are making gun belts its one thing of you are making waist/pant/trouser/dress belts its another.

Stohlman's guide had always worked when I have customers wanting waist belts.

Get each groomsman to take their favourite belt and measure from the most worn hole to where the end of the tongue meets the buckle. The depending on the dimensions of the hardware you will be using  and if it has a tongue or hook etc. you work back from the bar to get the leather length to the middle hole of the new belt. this is the principle and can work with other buckle hardware paying respect to where the hole meets the buckle so speak. use this for locating the middle hole on the billet end then use NVLW's suggestion for adding 2 holes either side (+/-) 7/8ths apart or some use 3/4 apart. I leave 5 inches from the centre whole to the billet tip and 6 if there will be two keepers - also add length to the return fold on the buckle end.

Basically follow what is in Belts Galore by Stohlman - fantastic reference book. You can get eth PDF from Tandy cheap and it is worth it.

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1113-belts-galore-by-al-stohlman.aspx

Look forward to see the results.

 

Edited August 12, 2017 by plinkercases

[toe2short]

Get Al Stolmans book, Belts Galor

[Jbrandon]

I made eight belts for groomsmen wedding gifts recently. I couldn't get all the guys together to measure because they were spread out all over the state. So I told them to send me two measurements, one from the fold of the belt where it connects to the buckle, to the hole that they use on the belt they are currently wearing. Then I wanted a measurement from the same hole to the hook on the buckle that they will wear on this new belt. Yes switching buckles changes the center line of the belt. (They wanted names centered on the back) so obviously the measurement without the buckle will be shorter but amazingly two of them had them switched. When I questioned them on it they said not it was correct....... I then had them lay their belt on the floor with a tape measure beside it and something pointing to the correct hole. I made them off of the picture measurements. The worst part was that two or three of them had totally wrong measurements. Never heard from anybody about belts not fitting so I guess it worked.