Semi-DIY Belt

[svc40bt]

A while back Cavscout posted about a buckle clearance he was having to clean out the shop. I had been thinking of getting an Oconee belt after seeing Mael Coluim's in person. Very nice piece of kit.

The buckles were offered either alone or as a belt kit. I contacted Cavscout to order a single thorn brass roller buckle with a brick strap. I also had him add the edge banding on the strap for a small additional charge. He had it in the mail within 2 days and the package arrived in another 2.

I didn't take pictures of the raw materials, but they consisted of a 3" x ~7' strap of heavy full grain leather, the 3" single thorn brass plated roller buckle, and several brass rivets. I decided for such a hefty strap I wanted two thorns on the buckle, so I pried the thorn off an old belt buckle, rebent and trimed it to approximately match the existing one and put it on the new buckle.

Then to the strap. I measured, punched, and slotted for the buckle thorns, then installed two brass snaps to hold the buckle. I used snaps so I could change out the buckle (my next DIY project).

Then to the most nerve wracking part: cutting to length and punching the holes. Finished up by beveling and slicking the edges, very time consuming.

There was almost enough strap left to make another belt. I used some of the left over strap to make sporran hangers. I havent put a keeper on the belt yet as the hangers provide this functionality.

A couple pictures (not the best)

Closeup of the buckle and snaps. You can see the bottom thorn doesn't quite match, but it is not too noticeable when wearing the belt


Pretty good representation of the color, at least on my monitor, and the sporran hangers. I need to get some 1" eye trigger snaps to finish them off, but they got the job done at the Frederick Celtic Festival last Saturday.


There are pics of me wearing the belt and hangers in this thread.

Frederick Celtic Festival

[Tartan Hiker]

Good work. Attention to detail really pays off in leather working, and your pieces look great.

[JolyStNicholas]

Thumbs up on the belt and hangers. They looked grand in the photos!

Well done lad, well done!

[Mael Coluim]

You are quite the craftsman, John!

[A Hay]

That 3 inch belt is really substantial!
It makes the standard belts on the other gentlemen in the pictures look kind of puny

Nice work. I bet it feels good around the waist also. May have to look into it.

Regards,

Tom

[svc40bt]

Thanks for the kind words, and let me thank Cavscout, who provided the fine materials and some of his excellent handiwork. There are a few goofs I made, but they don't stand out glaringly.

I really like the proportions of the 3" belt. I plan to make a different buckle for it, similar to a Sam Browne style. I also thought about a brass waistplate style buckle. Anyone do etching or engraving? I can curve the plate after the design is on.

[The Barry]

Looks great, well done!

[meinfs]

Well done John! It looks great in person too!