Belts are one of the easiest leather-working crafts to complete and make a terrific present for anyone.
Steps:
For your belt, go with leather and a buckle. Belts are most typically made from vegetable-tanned leather, which can be easily tooled and coloured.
Make a belt out of the leather. See “How to Cut Leather” for further information. The belt should be one foot longer than the waist measurement and have the same width as the chosen buckle’s inside width.
Make a decision about the shape of the free belt end. It can be pointy, rounded, square, or any other shape you like. To gain ideas, look at a range of current belts. Mark the belt end and cut it to the appropriate form with a razor knife and straightedge.
Fold the uncut end of the belt backwards 1 1/2 inch from the belt end to create a crease. Place a slot punch on the belt such that the punch’s end intersects the crease at its center point equally.
Strike the top of the punch with a wood or rawhide mallet while holding the handle portion. Rep until the leather is thoroughly punctured by the punch.
Make four rivet holes in the leather with a rotary punch or a drive punch and a mallet. The rivets and punched holes should have the same diameter, and the holes should be evenly spaced around the slot. Each hole should be 1/4 inch from the belt’s edges, and the first two holes should be 1/4 inch from the belt’s end.
Place the second set of holes on the opposite side of the slot so that both sets of holes match up equally when the belt end is folded back along the crease line.
Trim all of the belt edges with an edge beveler. At this phase, you can also do any tooling or decorative stamping.
To color the belt, use leather dye. For instructions, see “How to Dye Leather.” Allow the belt to dry completely before rubbing neat’s-foot oil or saddle soap along the length of the belt with a clean white cloth. Using newspaper or rag paper, polish the surface and remove any extra oil or soap.
So that the buckle is properly positioned, insert the buckle prong through the punched slot. Fold the uncut belt end back to align the rivet holes, then insert the rivets from the bottom. Place the belt end on a level work surface and use a mallet to attach the rivet covers to the rivets.
Determine the location of the holes through which the buckle’s prong will be put. Place the belt around the wearer’s waist with the buckle in the center of the waist. Mark a hole position on the underside of the belt that will offer the wearer a snug belt fit.
To the belt’s free end, mark a series of holes 1 inch apart from the place indicated in the previous step. Use a rotary punch or a drive punch and mallet to make the holes. Check to see if the holes are centered.
Tips:
If you’re only going to make one belt, consider buying a precut belt blank. This is a less expensive option than buying a whole piece of vegetable-tanned leather. Make sure the belt blank is wide enough for the buckle you want to use.
If you plan on making a lot of belts, you should have a strap cutter. This tool makes it simple and quick to cut leather into a variety of strap sizes.
While working with the leather, keep it uniformly moistened. This makes it easier to work with the leather. Using a spray bottle of water, lightly mist the entire item or dampen it with a sponge.
Look for rivets and punches that are about 1/8 inch in diameter.
The rivet holes should be arranged around the slot hole so that a square or rectangle is formed around the slot if a line is drawn connecting the holes.
