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+--- Thread: Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) (/showthread.php?tid=21410)
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-09-2012
Salvete omnes!
Hello everybody
Here is the process of making my very first belt. I'll try get all the pictures together BECAUSE I KNOW HOW MUCH WE LOOOVE PICTURE BOOKS!!! :woot: Picture #1, cut the brass plates to size, annealed them to soften over my stove, and polished them up( larger than the finished ones,) please leave room for rolling edges, and for extra metal to prevent warping when stamped, and then instead of being left with a bent edge, cut a straight one with scissors. Please note that if you intend to use a polishing wheel, use wire wool first to get the dirt off! Crispvs had mentioned in another topic of mine that in a finding of stamps for belt plates, there were raised bars, for when male and female parts came together, they would hold the edges in place and prevent warping. I have not yet used that method for my stamping. SORRY!
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-09-2012
...okay I'm getting 500 internal server error on my desktop, gimme time to transfer pictures to laptop.
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-09-2012
...I'm getting the server error, I think my pictures are too detailed for the site's limits? I'll see what I can do :/ lol any ideas?
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-09-2012
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Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-09-2012
upload 1 pic at a time, seriously? haha I'll finish tomorrow :/... ( next year) Do the dimensions have anything to do with it? that one is 3000 by somin, others that wont upload are 4000... help?
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
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Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
...any questions ask. Used here the scissors to cut straight edges, cutting off the extra. It's pretty easy to place a cut plate on top of one uncut and draw a line for where u want it, with some extra judgement you can do a precise job. Also, cover all metal items that come into contact with the brass with tape. Or you'll get a damaging hazy scratch look on your polish.
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
here we have me making my buckle. Started with a plate of brass from a metal yard in town, and it's done all my hand, very, very hard work
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
Next we have the buckle sanded more, polished, cleaned, so now I was able to inlay it with a tin/silver bearing solder. It can get messy, so a pain!
Also, I have a washer of the correct diameters so I can put it on the end of a pipe and hammer it down on a flat surface into the impressions on the belt plates. This creates a smooth border between ring embosses, and flat surfaces. Um, I want to fine a very wide pipe so I can do it to the outside of the outer ring! UNABLE, HELP! haha. You get the idea?
illy: And when I received my veggie leather strips, I had fun at imagining my future belt
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Manius Acilius Italicus - 10-10-2012
You're doing a great job. Since I make most of my molds and tools, I know how much work you are going through. Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to your progress and finished work.
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
Hey Robert, thanks
Piece of advice, when going for cotton to sew your belt with, don't go for creamy or white
lol, it'll discolor faster that a light brown or something unnaturally white! Of course I looked ahead, and I have embroidered my belt so that you may un-stitch a few inches and re do it with clean white thread, so every week you may replace a little, and you have a nice clean belt. One thing to watch out for when putting the belt plates on, is having them being too wide, and they cover the thread in such a way that you can't get your needle past!!! ( through) so be careful. Of course I am learning too. I would be very careful of this next time, also, at least the plates on my belt cover just a bit, under half of the stitches, and you can pull the leather back and get at it. It needed be and you couldn't repair it, just unrivet it, and repair, and re-rivet it! lol...sounds like work but you gotta do what you gotta do certainly worth it! Here's pictures of the processes, sorry if there's missing time frames, sometimes I didn't have a camera at hand. ANY QUESTIONS ASK, OR COMMENTS!!! Sam
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-10-2012
..remember that last picture was in a mirror, so that belt is really on my right hip
Here's attaching the apron!!! Wasn't easy as they were all separate! Anyway I don't have a lot of time right now, so details later, also pictures on how I attached the ball bearing onto the rod in the loops of the plates!
I have in the past made a decent attempt at frogs, for the pugio, but I want a different style, a better one that I know is correct
that's what I'm doing with the metal plate. You can see a drawing of the design I'm after going to saw the plate into two half's, one for each frog! Sam
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - jvrjenivs - 10-10-2012
I certainly like that buckle. Well done!
One suggestion however. Better use no 'external' sewing on the strap end. You'll find this part will easily break when sliding the end through your buckle. Nevertheless a well executed sewing job and brass work. Looking forward to the finished product.
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - M. Val. Naso - 10-10-2012
Sam, this is amazing. I really like it, though I do not care much about the Principate era. I see you use the same method for the belt plates we tried, when we originally made principate auxilia.
All-in-all, if you keep this level on all of your equipment, you will look AMAZING!
Official Thread - Making of my 1st belt :) - Titus Marius Secundus - 10-13-2012
Here are some updated photos. I payed attention to Jurgen's comment, and yes, after a while it will tear and get very loose at the knots. But I have stitched it only every 3-4 inches, and tied a knot, so that if it does rip, I will be able to easily repair. I thought more about it though, and it doesn't look amazing the stitching in that area, so I re-did it and I hope you like it. I also want opinions on the apron stitching. Should I do the vertical lines like on the re-do I just did? Or should I have it in this fancier way... I suppose it isn't susceptible to tearing or wearing so much! What looks better would you think?
thanks in advance.
Sam