Another couple of "firsts" for me...

[JazzBass]

 A friend asked me to make a belt for her husband for Christmas...my first "commissioned" work.
Since he likes "simple", I endeavored to make my first "dressy"/nice casual belt. ...but it gets better!
I showed the final product to my next door neighbor, and upon examining and feeling it, he immediately asked me to make one for him too!

W&C English bridle, solid brass buckle and rivets.
I spent a LOT of time on the edges on this one (and special thanks to @battlemunky for the beeswax suggestion as a sealant after gum trag)
These edges are the best I've done, but the pics don't really do it justice. Can't wait to make the next ones!

 

 

 

[battlemunky]

Looks classy Sir! Well done!

[rodneywt1180b]

Everything a belt should be and nothing that it's not.

Great job!

[JazzBass]

Thanks, guys - it was fun to do. Looking forward to more!

[Tugadude]

Very nice.  Feels good to get positive feedback, doesn't it?  

[JazzBass]

1 minute ago, Tugadude said:

Very nice.  Feels good to get positive feedback, doesn't it?  

Of course! What I really like though, is how any and all criticism of ANY work on the site, is ALWAYS constructive (and gratefully instructive). I can't say enough about the folks here, from beginners like me, up to the master craftsmen and women.

[Rockoboy]

It looks great, but I prefer Chicago Screws instead of rivets. I do think those oval holes improve the look of the finished belt.

[JazzBass]

I had considered Chicago screws to make the buckle changeable, but wanted to try rivets.
Agree about the oval holes - darned tough to line up, but they don't deform as much on a thick belt.
Thanks for the comments.

[Rockoboy]

1 hour ago, JazzBass said:

Agree about the oval holes

I think the main consideration is, round holes will become oval holes as the belt is used, but only the hole(s) being used. Having one different shaped hole detracts from the appearance IMHO.

 

1 hour ago, JazzBass said:

darned tough to line up

Absolutely, way harder to get right. Just one hole, a whisker out of line or tilted askew, and it can really draw the eye.

[JazzBass]

My method for lining up the punch takes some extra time, but it works -

I punch a single hole through a piece of cardboard, not worrying about "straight".
Then I draw a line through the center of the punched hole, and use that centerline to mark and cut the template to the width of the belt.
I can now place the hole in the template over the mark on the belt, knowing that it is straight and centered - BUT -

Since driving the punch all the way through the leather with the template on it would open the template hole too much to be usable more than once, I hit it just hard enough to pierce the surface of the leather, marking it enough to feel the punch seat in it, then I remove the template and punch all the way through.
Takes a few extra minutes, but it works.

I'm wondering what other methods folks use here - there's probably a better or more efficient way, but at least they come out right, which is what counts.

[ScoobyNewbie]

Could you mark the center of the punch, like you would a letter stamp, so you can see the lines, then mark a straight line on the back of the leather for punching, and then just line up the marks on the punch with the straight line you have drawn?

Edited December 26, 2018 by ScoobyNewbie

[Rockoboy]

On ‎26‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 5:25 AM, JazzBass said:

punch a single hole through a piece of cardboard, not worrying about "straight

This IS my new method, I love it! It will be dead easy to make a new template each time rather trying to have every size template ready made, which is what I had previously considered.

 

On ‎26‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:40 PM, ScoobyNewbie said:

mark the center of the punch, like you would a letter stamp

I think the problem would be the size of the punch. Because the punch is only about 6 or 7 mm long, it's still very easy to have it misaligned by a tiny fraction, which might still show up. 

[ScoobyNewbie]

Fair enough.