Making a belt?

[TheOfficialBren]

Guys, am I on the right track?

[ronin6290]

Please keep us posted. Looking forward to photos. I'm considering the same thing so will follow along with great interest. I'm thinking about using horse bridle leather to make a sporran belt as a way to get a practice run first.

[TheOfficialBren]

Will do, Ronin.

I trued my hand at sporran-making a while back. It was a bit too advanced for me. I figure that a belt is a nice place to start to learn the basics. I am, obviously, a beginner.

[A Hay]

Bren,
You did a pretty good job of drawing the design if you did it yourself.
To transfer the design to the leather, dampen the leather slightly with a wet sponge. Don't get it too wet. Then center the pattern and tape it to the belt to keep it from slipping. If the pattern comes loose while you are tracing it, it is almost impossible to put it back in the right place. I use a small diameter ball point pen, normally red so I can tell where I have marked and where not. Don't use a gel pen or anything that bleeds though! Press just firmly enought to be visible on the surface of the leather. You can raise the pattern off the leather from time to time in a small section to ensure that you didn't miss a line, but make sure it is firmly attached so it goes back down in the right place.

Once the pattern is transferred, remove it. Use a sponge to dampen the leather until it turns slightly dark and then start cutting the lines when it almost has returned to its natural color. You might try dampening and waiting on a small area just to see how it works. When you are ready to start cutting with your swivel knife, try to get it as sharp as possible (Tobus recommended jewler's rouge, available at Tandys).

In cutting the lines on this design, it is very easy to cut too far! Work in short sections, dampen, let dry a little, carve, then move to the next section and repeat.

If you have a scrap piece of leather (perhaps the end of a belt blank you cut off to fit you) suggest you practice on it first.

Good Luck!

[TheOfficialBren]

Awesome! Thank you, Mr Hays, for your advice.

I traced this basic design from a random Celtic weave that I found on Google...but I did have to redraw it several times.

I intend to do some tooling around the design as per Tobus' advice after I get the main design established.

[TheOfficialBren]

Okay, gents. I have transferred and imprinted my basic design onto my belt blank. What is my next step?

I intend to use a dark antique finish eventually but I know that my belt is not ready for that stage yet.

The basic knotweave. I will add tooling around this for texture later, as per Tobus' suggestion.




The end of my belt. I decided to try a different than normal shape.

[Nighthawk]

Awesome! Thanks, Tom. I poked around and I think I found a stylus and an edge slicker in my box.
Btw, PM sent to you, Tom.

What is my first step to making my belt? Edges? Tooling??

You asked about edges. I have an edge finishing tutorial posted to my FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9169454&type=3

I also have a tooling tutorial.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9169454&type=3

I hope you find these of some use!

[TheOfficialBren]

Nighthawk, YOU ROCK!!! Thank you!!

Here is an update. I have carved out my basic design with my swivel knife. Please don't judge me too harshly. I have never carved ever before. I know that it is flawed. I didn't gouge it as badly as I moved further down the belt. I plan to tool around it a bit to clean it up.

[A Hay]

The next step would be to use the beveler to depress the leather next to the lines you have cut. Nighthawk's tooling tutorial shows some pictures of how this is done. You want the thick lines of the design to stand out, so always bevel the outside of the line with the deepest part of the depression closest to the thick band. Where two lines cross, you bevel across the one that goes under the one on top. Overlap the beveler strokes so that you don't see each individual stroke. Your goal is to leave a smooth trench. I overlap my beveler strokes by about half and then move on. If the trench is still a little rough, you can use the stylus with the spoon end to rub along the trench and smooth the marks out. Work in small areas, around 4 to 6 inches at a time. Of course, you have to prepare or "case" the leather before starting the tooling. This means dampening it and then letting it dry to the right moisture content before it will take good impressions. A belt is going to take a long time to do so you will get a lot of practice by the time you are at the other end.
When I started making sporrans, I told myself that the first 10 were practice. I kept the first one and gave another seven away before I sold my first one that I felt was good enough. I think I've come a long way since then, but still have a lot to learn.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

Tom

[TheOfficialBren]

Excellent! Thank you for your advice, Tom. I really appreciate it.
So I use the spoon end to rub and smooth. Cool. I was wondering how to use that tool and now I know.

I think that your leatherworking is top-notch!