Make a Leather Belt

1. Introduction : Hey, going can't buy belt that fits your exactly these days, and it seems as if quality craftsmanship has slid down the dunny. So in this video, I'll teach you how to make your own 38 millimeter men's belt for 32 millimeter women's. Have you Crofton like a champ. Even if you're a simple Australian like me, this'll belt will out loss year and your grandchildren. 2. Tools: This is a quick run down of the basic tools you'll need. I'll get into the detail of how to use them during the steps When required to start, you'll need a cutting mat. Virtual 10 leva belt blank. Solid brass buckle. Two sets of solid brass. Double capture of its Let the staple for the belt loop a Niland mallet, a ruler. Rotary punch an edge bevel slick. Oh, optional saddle soap for the edges of the belt. Bees wax for the edges of the belt. Craft knife. A dining tool to set the riverbeds. Scrap leather to cut a belt loop. Optional Avi belt and cutter optional slot punch Some gum stain for the bottom cutting board. Strep cutter for cutting on belt blank, old to mark your leather, a sharp pencil and another optional tour. Finally, is an alphabet stemming set if, um, boss your initials or name on the belt. So that's all the basic tools you need to get started. If you have them all, that's great. But if you don't show you some ways to work around having limited tools 3. Template making: next, we want to print out the templates, making sure to print 100% of the page said that the templates of the right size to templates are included. 1 38 millimeter men's belt with a matching belt keeper template and a 32 millimeter women's belt with a matching belt keeper template. You will need your cutting mat, ruler knife or some scissors. Stop by roughly cutting out the template shapes. If you want your templates toe last longer. You can use some craft glue to stick the templates onto one mil cardboard. This will result in a more durable template, which is especially good if you plan on making multiple belts from the templates. You can also use a glue stick for this. Just make sure that the glue dries before cutting, as this can ruin your templates. Then just simply cut out the templates with a ruler. An eyeful with this is is I recommend using scissors to cut out your template. But if using a craft knife, I find it easiest to place your finger on the God of the Blade and make Scheller cuts instead of trying to force your way through this creates a clean a cove, but do not put your finger on the back of a nice plate unless it has a guard. If it doesn't keep your fingers on the handle at all times. Once you've cut out all of your templates, use you all and push right through the template to mark the first. Prove it the second rivet Andy, this side of the buckle slot. Repeat this on the 32 millimeter women's belt, and you'll now have templates that are ready to use. 4. Cutting Belt Blanks: to get started, we'll take a quick look at the different parts of the cow. Hard is the whole hard aside bend double Ben, but double but belly, double, belly, shoulder and double shoulder, for this example will be using a double shoulder to cut our belt blanks as as good length and his economical but feel free to use any cut of leather you have that has sufficient length. Once you've chosen your cut using all or a lead pencil and mark a straight line near the edge of the inside of the double shoulders down the entire length, then using a ruler is a guide. Apply shell a knife cuts. Stand the marked line until you cut through and until the entire piece separates, we now have a nice straight edge in which we can cut. I belt blanks from. We can now use a strap cut on our prepared level. A strap cutter usually comes in two pieces, set of draws with a blade inside and a handle to insert the jaws so that it can be pulled. Simply insert the jaws in the handle with the rule of facing you and choose your belt with Once you've chosen your width or the back of the jaws of a finger and tighten the knob further. Tighten with supplies, and we're now ready to cut all that, though, while holding your lever, pull the strap kata slightly inwards onto your straight line so that the leather edge rests on the handle. This will ensure that your cut is completely straight continued down the entirety of the length until you have your belt blank. Good job, human. You now have a belt bank, but if you're only making one, I suggest you just buy a pre cut belt blank to save on costs. 5. Tip Cutting: prepare a sturdy work surface in which you can cut your belt upon. I'm using metal plates, but a study workbench before will be fine laid on a chopping board. Then you built blank sent to your belt. Encarta evenly on the belt, blank on the edge and hammer throw. You've now cut your belt end. If you're cutting a belt, end with a knife. Place the template to the edge of the belt blank mark with an ole or a pencil. Then, using a curved knife, apply shallow cuts into you. Cut all the way through. If you only have a straight knife, restive finger on the knife, guard as a guide and apply shallow cuts to you. Cut through. If there is no god on the knife, never put your finger on the back of the blade as this can cause injury. Instead, hold on at the handle and then you have a curved bill tube. If you're cutting a straight belt in tip mark with a pencil, and using a ruler is a guide cut straight through with the knife. If you're cutting the belt end by hand, I recommend cutting with this side of the template of straight lines are a knife's best friend and they have some different ways of cutting belt tips 6. Belt Punching: line the tip of your template and the tip of the belt blank up. Once you've sent it, it usually all and mark the first rivet. Second revert and then either side of the back of slot. When choosing the rivet hole size, you want the rivet to fit the whole nice and snug cannot be to lose. This will ensure it sets correctly once you've got the correct size punched through the first rivet hole and punch the second rivet hole. Then, on a study surface, place your chopping board down, then your belt blank. Then your belt punch on the buckle guide marks. Then, with your fingers out of the way, I'm a straight through. Luckily, most buckle punches will come with a handle that you can hold. Then place the buckle in the buckle hole and make sure it fits. If the buckle hole is too tight, simply extend the whole by placing the punch underneath the hole and punching through. Do not extend the whole towards the roof. It as you may have trouble riveting later, and this is what a rich person punch looks like. Definitely worth the investment, though. Oh boy, what a time saver and finger saver. If you don't have any kind of buckle punch, simply user rotary punch and punch the top and bottom marks. Make sure to use a bigger hole size for your buckle fits in nicely, but start small because you can always go bigger, but you can't go smaller. Once you've got your holes, use a ruler as a guide and cut either side of the holes to create a slot. You can then use your role to help pop it out and simply fit in the buckle to test the size . And if it's still too tied, use a bigger hole and cut your slot accordingly, and you now have a nice buckle slot to fit in your back home well. 7. Embossing : This is an optional set for those that want to m boster initials onto their belt. For this example, I'm embossing on the inside off the belt between the rivets. Start by getting a damp sponge in winning the entire surface of the belt Shouldn't be soaking, but you should cover the entire surface on wait for it to almost return to its original color before, um, boss. Next True's your letters to him. Boss sets usually come with a handle that you simply insert into the letters now on a sturdy service. But you're just about dried leather belt bank down and have a firmly down to em boss. Oh wow, that looks amazing for those of you that have a maker's mark such as this one, prepare the leather accordingly and choose were to em boss and position your stamp on the lever. The news of press such as a six ton hydraulic press as more pressure is needed to press a stamp it could get away with a one ton are bad press for a small stamp. If you'd like a higher contrast on your own boss, you can use a heat gun to heat the stamp until it's hot to the touch before your boss and that concludes in bossing good job, son 8. Flesh Side: As you can see, the flesh side or underneath the lever is fairy, so we will correct this now. While this is a completely optional step, it will result in a more professional look, so it's attained the fairness. I will be using natural gum stain. I will apply only what I need to the back of the belt bank with a finger to cover the entire surface. I will then use a slicker too slick down the Harry nous. Make sure you don't put on too much gum stain as if you get any on the grain side. You can stain it. You can also use a glass liquor, but anything flat will do. Your main goal is to flatten the hairs. You could go any direction you like. Just do whatever works for you. And here's a nice finish back with gum stone. As you can see, the hairs of all flattened and once dry, the color should even out just tried applying even code of gum stain 9. 8: beveling: This is a bevel, which will bevel off the sharp edge off the lever, so weaken, burnish it and create around edge. Start by putting the group off the bed flow into the edge of the leather at a 45 degree angle that apply constant pressure down the entire length of the belts Edge. A good even bell should come off in one piece. If it doesn't no biggie, as you could be using a bevel with the final group, I like to use one that's about 1 to 1.2 mil. Make sure to do all sides of the belt, including underneath the belt. Once you've done all the sides, you can then do all the tips of the belt, and you'll now have a nicely beveled edge ready to burnish. 10. Burnishing: Now that we've beveled the edges, we can get to banishing this ban. Isha has different sized groups to truce from depending on the thickness of your level. Place the belt into the grooves until you find one that just fits. You don't want it to be too big or too small as run. Great good friction. This one's about right. For this thickness of level, you can start with your leather on a solid surface standing up than applying water in a damp cloth to the edge. Then, with your burn show, apply pressure onto the edge of the belt. Blank into the corresponding grew vet fits in an up and down motion. Just be careful not to what the grain side with sponge as you can stay in the front if you're not too confident, dampen the entire belt front as well as the edge you're working on to stop staining. You can also use saddle soap to burnish Edgers. Simply rub onto the edge and burnish. This will give you a nice, shiny, smooth look. Now you will probably remember the gum saying we used on the back of the belt. You can also use this for burnishing the edges of the built. You can use some wool to apply it, but for accuracy, I just like to use a finger. I would simply apply it and wait for it to dry as it can stay in the front of the belt if burnished wet. Also don't use to much as less is more in this case, and I'll go ahead and burn ship. Then finally, to seal our good work will use some trusty bees. Wax rubs them in and burnish it, making sure toe work in small sections. Some people like to sand the edges before vanishing or apply golden Alexis's, but I suggest you just do what works for you. Look at the edges. An experiment. Just do what you need to do for a good old round edge. And as you can see, we've got a nicely rounded edge that looks fairly professional while surround 11. Belt Loop: get yourself a piece of scrap leather and cut the template size. Or, if you're winging, it just makes you got a bit of length to work with. You can start by beveling the top and bottom and burnish the edges of water, a saddle soap and then finish with bees. Wax and place the belt loop underneath the belt, then fold the built in half so you have to lays over the belt loop and bring the belt loop together, then mark with your fingernail or a pencil were they have made so, as you can see of marked with a belt loop would meet. If it encompassed two layers of the belt, you can then cut your belt loop to size over cutting that this is 11 staple toe. Hold your belt loop together. It measures one cent tomato, so holding your belt loop together, mark several 0.5 millimeters on either side off the join. Then, using a slot punch in all or a sharp tipped tool punched through your marked leather belt loop, just make sure the slot is big enough for your staple tips. If you're using an all just work gradually on increasing the slot size. Now they have your slaughtered whole place the leather staple inside of the hole, then place the other end into the adjoining hole. Once a stable is in both holds, use a hard preferably metal tool to bend the stable inwards toe, lock it into place and once spent into place, it is now essentially permanent. 12. Riveting : there a few different kinds of rivets doubled, capped rivets, singled cap rivets, Sadler's rivets. But for this example, we will be using two sets of solid brass double capture of its to match Arbuckle to settle rivets. We'll need a dumbing toe or rivet. Seto and old setting is is hammering the rivet cap into the rivets stem, so grab your buckle and fit it centrally into the belt. Blank. One centralized, punched through the existing whole, nearest to the belt slot out through the other side off the level you should now have three holes. Next, insert your belt loop into the level with a staple facing underneath than insert and re centralized your buckle, and will now get ready to set off First River. To set our rivet. Insert the stem side into the bottom of our belt. You want about two mil protruding from the top for the right height. As if that seems too long, you revert consent incorrectly. Then, on a solid surface, place the rivet cap into the stem till it's as far as it can go on. Then with your dining tool, place a dome surface over the river, it cap and set rivet into place with a few firms. Strikes now with your first rivets set, slide the belt loop up towards the first rivet out of the way to punch the second rivet hole. When punching a rivet holes, you might find that you're getting some marks on the level to negate this place from cardboard. A paper on the underside of what you punch to stop the marking, then punch. You'll second rivet hole. And as you can see, there are no marks on either side of the belt. Once you've got your second hole, place the stem of the rivet on the underside off the belt into the hole. Then place the rivet cap onto the stem and push it as far down as it can go. Then, using your dining tool, apply some thumb hits with your mallet to set the rivet, and you now have a nicely assembled belt 13. Sizing Belt: put the belt around your chosen pants, then pulling tightly. Adjust your desired tension. Then, with a pencil mark on the inside of the belt, buckle centrally to the belt. This will be your sent a whole now the rotary punch and all a pencil and a ruler will now mark and punch the holes. Firstly, will punch the center hole to find the size of the hole's place. The problem off the buckle into a hole that fits you don't want the whole too small as you could damage your crack, the leather around the whole. So a bigger hole could be better once you've figured out the whole size punched through your marked center hole. And as you can see, I punched centrally so the belt buckles. It's nice and evenly now that we have our center hole mark, two holes three centimeters apart on either side off the center hole, all to sent me. This is your like, a more accurate fit when going between sizes, then punched through old four holes. You should now have good flexibility downsizing if you gain or hopefully lose weight. Otherwise, feel free to make the holes closer together for a minute sizing. I do find, however, that the belt will stretch a bit, so keep this in consideration when sizing. Then try on the belt, see how it fits. They might have a bit of belt overhang, so in order to cut the size will put the belt buckle into the last hole off the belt. Now, if we ever get fat enough to the los hole in the belt, we just still want the belt to go through the belt loop. So we'll measure and cut about an inch and 1/2 past the belt group. But you could go longer a shorter. If you're gonna add more holes, just choose your aesthetic bra. Then just use your punch to cut it out. Once cut, you can then bevel and burnish the tip. 14. Finished Belt: sweet You finished about because it belts made from vegetable leather, it will age like a fine wine. You can use leather condition every couple months to Narcisse. Loathe oils and waxes will keep it flexible, resilient in eternal. This'd tutorial is only a basic starting point of how I do things, but you'll find your own way to do things. Use your imagination in belt creation. OK, bye.