Belt buckles

[PS_Bond]

Having seen the belt buckle referenced here, I'm wondering if there is an idiot's guide to construction - what thickness of silver is thick enough for the buckle, do you make the tongue out of silver as well...? Any hints?

 

[KCSteve]

On Don Glaser's Engraving video (see here) he shows making a belt buckle from scratch.

 

[PS_Bond]

That looks like it could be fun, thanks. I've been picking over Ganoksin to see what there is - and surprisingly, I'm not finding much on the fabrication side.

 

[monk]

my friend, i've made and engraved about 1400 or so buckles. not the big giant fancy ones. as with anything else, i would practice making a few from less expensive metals at first. copper, brass, and german silver. cutting out shapes, engraving, parts forming, fitting together, and soldering. all these operations are just about the same as when done on silver. except, mistakes and huge booboos aren't too bad when done in say copper.

 

[PS_Bond]

The Nike approach? Probably more sensible, all told! I had been wondering about work hardening the silver - burnishing it will only go so far; if I was using Argentium I could precipitation harden it, but not sterling AFAIK.

I've got quite a lot of copper at the moment - no thick wire, so I'll have to cast some & draw it down.

 

[John B.]

PS Bond.
Thick copper wire?
Electrical wire, 10-12-14-16 GA and pretty cheap.
Also many other sizes.
Just a thought.
John B.

 

[John B.]

Copper wire

I've got quite a lot of copper at the moment - no thick wire, so I'll have to cast some & draw it down.

Strip the vinyl off of some electrical wire.
It's available in 10-12-14-16 GA and many other sizes.
Just my thoughts, John B.

 

[PS_Bond]

I was thinking in terms of 6 GA or thereabouts (4mm ish)... Bit of a habit of mine to try and build things bomb-proof!

(even when it isn't strictly needed)

 

[monk]

part of your question referred to gage. the main body of any buckle i would make would be a minimum of about .050 for the ladies and .060 for the gents. and even more if the folks were real active types. i always make stuff at least 2-3 times as durable as it has to be. in the 1400 or so buckles i've made, 1 was returned for a d-ring failure. it's more costly to overbuild, but in the long haul i think it's a far better policy for an item that can be put under stress in daily use.