Making a Raiders Belt

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 1:49 am

I'm going to make one. The leather is easy enough, I even found a brass metal keeper. But am going mad looking for the rounded 1-1/2" heel bar buckle (or end bar buckle). I've been to a bunch of places on the web, anyone want to look with me?

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:12 am

ba-a-a-a-awk-bk-bk-bk-ba-a-a-a-a-awk!

indiana_dudley · Post by **indiana_dudley** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:43 am

Buckles, why'd it have to be buckles......

ID

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 10:46 am

Take a look at the A11/2:

http://www.acornbeltbuckles.co.uk/bplain.htm
That's the one, and it's 1-1/2"! It's only $2.25 to ship it here, HA!

indiana_dudley · Post by **indiana_dudley** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 11:36 am

I actually got one of the 1" variety for the bag strap from here. Nice buckles just not right.

That belt buckle however, looks pretty good...

Steve

Scandinavia Jones · Post by **Scandinavia Jones** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 11:40 am

Looks really good. It only needs that metal keeper.

Shishak · Post by **Shishak** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 11:43 am

Believe it or not, Wal-Mart sells a leather work belt with a very close buckle. They sell for $10 and come in black and brown. The black one has a silver-colored buckle and the brown one comes with a brass-colored buckle. They even have the floating leather keeper. I told the lady working the men's department that what I really needed was a brown belt with a silver buckle, so she let me switch buckles with a black belt. I got a close-enough gun belt for $10!

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 11:51 am

Scandinavia Jones wrote:Looks really good. It only needs that metal keeper.

I'm all over it:

http://www.sdtradingco.com/buckles/400k.htm
It'll have to be "roughed up" for production...

Scandinavia Jones · Post by **Scandinavia Jones** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 12:16 pm

Way to go, Flanders!

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 1:50 pm

FYI- I didn't know this but an "ounce" when dealing with leather is equal to about 1/64" thickness. So 8 ounce leather is 8/64" or 1/8" and so on.

indybill · Post by **indybill** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 6:04 pm

indiana_dudley wrote:Buckles, why'd it have to be buckles......

ID

My thoughts exactly!

I have one of the Wal-Mart belts meantioned and the buckle would be very
good on a nice piece of leather.

Regards,
Indy

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:26 pm

anyone care to post a pic of the wal-mart special?

Shawnkara · Post by **Shawnkara** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 5:04 pm

Shishak,
You ASKED to switch buckles?

I guess I'm not as polite and cultured as some. I just did it.

indybill · Post by **indybill** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 6:21 pm

Jack Flanders wrote:anyone care to post a pic of the wal-mart special?

Here you go:

Regards,
Indybill

Scandinavia Jones · Post by **Scandinavia Jones** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:03 pm

Hmm... looks nice, but I believe the one from Acornbeltbuckles is closer to the original...

indiana_dudley · Post by **indiana_dudley** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:08 pm

Photos are deceptive I know, but that Wal-Mart buckle looks like an alloy metal.

I know the acornbuckles are solid brass, and would be much harder wearing if this is the case.

ID

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:14 pm

The Acorn buckles are out of stock, it may be a month before I can get it! If ever!

indiana_dudley · Post by **indiana_dudley** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:22 pm

Well, it might be worth the wait if that wal-mart is a light alloy.

The only other info I can offer is that acornbuckle are actually:

http://www.pickeringairguns.co.uk/

This I found from their CC charge at my bank, check postal addresses on the two sites.
So this is a side-line they have obviously adopted. However, if does mean they have been
around for a while...

ID

indiana_dudley · Post by **indiana_dudley** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:28 pm

If you also check the first picture on Pickering website you will see some of those
buckles....

ID

Renderking Fisk · Post by **Renderking Fisk** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:37 am

Jack, are you going to order up a bunch and make a few gunbelts to sell to the group?

Jack Flanders · Post by **Jack Flanders** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 1:02 pm

That's an interesting prospect.
I plan on making it as close to the one pictured on the main page. I don't want to go to the trouble of hand-making the grooves on the keeper and belt (unless I find stock that works, but it's not important to me), and I don't plan on making a whip holder as I don't plan on ever getting a whip. So it may not be accurate enough for some people. I haven't found a pre-dyed belt to suite my taste so I'm going to do that myself with some 1-1/2" stock. The stitching will be done by hand- my machine is for fabric only. I plan on posting the results- this may take at least 2 months. As with all of the things that I build, I believe in sharing information and intend to post sources in case others want to do it themselves.

belloq · Post by **belloq** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:57 pm

Is the A11/2 buckle available in nickel silver finish?

Texas Jones · Post by **Texas Jones** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:40 pm

Boy, I think I've been to just about every web page that possibly sells any variant of a belt buckle and I can honestly say--I can't find one that matches the buckle just right. There are some very close matches, however, but they either don't have the correct width--or the finish is incorrect. Believe me Jack, i'm as frustrated as you!

I am currently looking into CUSTOM MADE buckles to EXACTLY match the buckle from the movies. I will be producing these in mass to provide to everyone (like me) who is settling for the Wal-Mart belt, but is not willing to drop over 50 bucks for the Noel Howard belt. I will keep everyone posted!

Pyroxene · Post by **Pyroxene** » Sat Aug 14, 2004 12:11 am

Custom made buckles sounds great! I can't wait to see them when they are done.
Pyro

Indiana Texas-girl · Post by **Indiana Texas-girl** » Sat Aug 14, 2004 1:14 am

Texas Jones wrote:settling for the Wal-Mart belt, but is not willing to drop over 50 bucks for the Noel Howard belt. I will keep everyone posted!

Nuttin' wrong with the Walmart Work Belt with a few modifications. The brown leather belt comes with a gold toned buckle; the black leather comes with a silver one...both are easily changed out. I, however, got silver fingernail polish and painted my gold buckle to be silver and then found a silver keeper off of one of my other belts.

But Tex, I think it's great you're going to the lengths to look at getting custom jobbers done.

Texas Jones · Post by **Texas Jones** » Sun Aug 15, 2004 12:33 pm

I've got the Wal-mart buckle, and they even let me change it out for the silver buckle, but it seems to only match the TOD and LC styles, especially because it comes without a metal keeper. The Raiders style, however, resembles a "D-ring" with a metal keeper.

Just my 2 cents, but like I said, I don't want to settle for the "close-enoughs."

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 1:11 am

I asked and they let me switch buckles, so I got one of the Wal-mart specials.

Bad Dates · Post by **Bad Dates** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 9:04 pm

This place sells a buckle that is very close: www.leatherunltd.com/026.asp

It's a lot cheaper than buying a Walmart belt, and it's nickel, not gold in color. Most leather places sell belt blanks with black snaps already in, just like Lee's belt. They usually run around $13. You get some dark brown dye, some sealer, the metal keeper from above, and you have a pretty accurate belt for around $20. Of course, then you have to find something that will work with the whipholder-I still can't find hardware that satisfies me.

Texas Jones · Post by **Texas Jones** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 9:32 pm

That looks to be exactly like the wal-mart buckle, but like you said, now we can get just the buckle instead of the whole thing.

I am going to offer a replica custom-made gunbelt with adjustable whipholder soon, check out these pics and tell me what you think:

http://www.geocities.com/texasactiongea ... nbelt1.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/texasactiongea ... nbelt2.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/texasactiongea ... nbelt3.JPG

I am just waiting for a glitch in my supplier to be worked out before I post the website and open for 'business.' The whipholder is adjustable via a slide-ratchet so the whip doesn't slip.

http://www.geocities.com/texasactiongea ... older1.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/texasactiongea ... older2.JPG

I also am working on custom-made bagstrap buckles that I believe is more screen-accurate than any out there.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 9:39 pm

Bad Dates wrote:This place sells a buckle that is very close: www.leatherunltd.com/026.asp

It's a lot cheaper than buying a Walmart belt, and it's nickel, not gold in color. Most leather places sell belt blanks with black snaps already in, just like Lee's belt. They usually run around $13. You get some dark brown dye, some sealer, the metal keeper from above, and you have a pretty accurate belt for around $20. Of course, then you have to find something that will work with the whipholder-I still can't find hardware that satisfies me.

I got the silver buckle on the brown Walmart belt for nine bucks and some change. How is buying all this stuff for around twenty dollars, cheaper than the nine dollar Walmart belt? This modern math, I just never understood it.

Bad Dates · Post by **Bad Dates** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 9:01 am

Well, that didn't come out well, but the original poster only wanted a buckle and was doing the leather himself. In that case it is much cheaper buying a 50 cent buckle than spending almost $10 on a belt you probably won't use.

The belt is cheap, but it's also not accurate. The buckle is very close, if you get them to change over to nickel, and the color is good enough, but the leather doesn't look right and the stitching just ruins the whole look for me, makes if look more like a dress belt than an adventurer's utilitarian gunbelt. You could pay just a bit more and be a lot more accurate, and that seems to be a priority for most. It really boils down to what you can live with, like with the rest of the gear and various venders.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 7:49 pm

Okay Bad Dates, that makes more sense. I was beginning to believe that I was just easily confused. (Bink, don't you dare say a word) I now have a gunbelt and an Indy style holster and they didn't cost me much, but I probably won't wear them that often. For some funny reason, I'm not that wild about wearing gunbelts anymore.

So, screen accuracy on those two items is not a biggie for me.

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:58 am

Can I pantomime my response instead?

bink

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:43 am

Yes Bink, that's acceptable.