In honor of Earth Day, I thought I’d share one of my favorite projects with you guys. I upcycled some old bike tires by turning them into belts. Unfortunately, I did this a while ago, so I can’t remember where I got the original info from. I do know that I researched quite a bit and pulled from multiple sources.
Anyway, it’s not all that hard…and the belts are actually pretty cool. It’s kind of a neat way for an ADHDer (or anyone, really) to celebrate Earth Day.
So, here goes…in eight easy steps.
Consider the size of your belt loops and the tread when you pick the tire.
Add 2.5 – 3 inches to the total length, so you can attach the buckle.
Use knobs as a guide for more precise cutting.
A rotary hole punch makes this really easy.
Place the holes close to the actual buckle.
Use a hammer with the rivet setter if you don’t have a mallet.
A permanent marker works, depending on the tire. Use trial and error.
Again – a rotary hole punch makes this really easy.
Seriously, guys, I was pretty excited about how these turned out…and I’ve gotten a lot of compliments when wearing them. Happy Earth Day, guys!
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A belt made from the tread of a Surly Knard that rolled over 7,500 kilometers of African dirt…
compose Logan Watts
time Oct 13, 2014
comment 4
Nostalgia is a funny thing.
Sometimes, it makes us hoard away concert ticket stubs or hold on to old T-shirts as if they were prized trophies. I’m not a packrat, but I am admittedly sentimental. I often save stupid little mementos that represent banner experiences of times past (that I eventually purge and throw away). Over the weekend, I swapped out the tires on my ECR and retired the Knards that carried me through Africa. They actually still had a bit of life left in them, but the lure of foreign soil calls for a fresh set of rubber. I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of both of those tires. After all, there’s a long story etched in that rubber. So, I decided to give one of them a second life.
I coerced a sexy model to flaunt the final product.
See captions below thumbnails for instructions…
1. A close up of the fairly worn tread, complete with dirt residue. I trimmed the Knard at the center tread using a heavy-duty pair of shears; 2.
Supplies: An old cloth belt yielded two rectangular rings to make the “buckle,” two small rivets (approx. 1/4 inch), a manual rivet set, and a small leather punch; 3. The final strip measured about 92 X 1 5/8 inches, enough for two belts for my 32/33 waist.
The rivets were placed about an inch from the fold to allow a little play in the rings. This allows the belt to slide through and lock when cinched.
So now I have a total hipster, kinda punk, Africa post-ride belt.
Prior to constructing the belt, I dropped by our local beer store for a little added inspiration. Turns out, its proprietor had paid a recent visit to my old home, over 200 miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina, and returned with a load of Hop Drop n’ Roll, the signature IPA from NoDa Brewing Company. The brewery is named after the hip urban area where it’s located, the same neighborhood where I developed friendships, lived, and worked for the 12 years leading up to the moment when Gin and I liquidated a chunk of our belongings, packed the rest in storage, and set off on a bike tour from Mexico to Panama.
I’ll make the beer review short and sweet. The Hop Drop is a remarkable and beautifully hopped IPA which deserves every bit of the gold medal it took home from the World Beer Cup in 2014 and the 96 rating it has on Beer Advocate. Evidently quite a few folks living in the small eastern North Carolina town I’m temporarily calling home agree. They had not only heard about the Hop Drop, but they had also been requesting it. And nearly as soon as Marcos, the owner of Brewmasters, had returned from Charlotte with the goods, it was gone.
So, beer in hand and a head full of memories, I cut, hammered, and slapped myself together a memento that I may wear a few times, then put in a box, then one day when the sentiment has lost its luster, I’ll probably give it to Goodwill. Or like the rest of the crap I happen to own when I take the big dirt nap, one of my nephews will have to deal with it. Ah, nostalgia!
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September 19, 2021 Likbez Tips
Whichever option you choose, the process will take no more than a couple of minutes.
Let's say right away: if you are not a home jack of all trades, then the most competent option would be to bring the belt to a shoe or sewing workshop. There are the necessary tools here, so that specialists will punch a new hole in just a second and practically for free. Moreover, they will make sure that it coincides in diameter with others, and its edges do not fray and do not crack. nine0003
But if there is no time for a workshop, and a new hole in the belt is urgently needed, you will have to act on your own.
First mark the point where you want to make the hole with a pen or marker. And then choose one of the four ways and act.
The full name of this tool is a leather hole punch..jpg)
It can be purchased at craft and DIY stores, or ordered online. nine0003
The tool is a pincer-like hole puncher. As a rule, it has cutting elements of different diameters, so that you can make a hole of the right size - so that it does not differ too much from the "native" holes. If you can't decide between two options, choose the smaller one.
Position the belt between the two moving parts of the punch so that the spike covers the marked point on the belt. Squeeze the handles of the tool sharply and strongly.
Photo: Pixel-shot / ShutterstockRelease when you feel the piercer has completely passed through the material. The hole is ready.
Or a punch nail if you have one: it is a metal tube with a sharpened edge, the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the required hole.
Place the belt on a block of wood at least 1.5 cm thick. A cutting board will do.
Place a nail or punch with the point at the predetermined point.
With one hand, hold the rod vertically, in the other, take a hammer and hit the hat several times until the metal passes through the belt. nine0003 Footage: @Liubov Zabara / YouTube
Fit a drill with a suitable diameter in the drill - about the same as the diameter of the existing holes.
Lay the belt on a block of wood. Set the tip of the drill to a predetermined point and drill until you pass through.
Shots: @Хlamina TV / YouTubeThen turn the accessory over and repeat the operation on the other side, placing the drill in the hole made.
Please note that the hole after this procedure will not look very neat. nine0003 Shot: @Хlamina TV / YouTube
To give it a finished look, take the drill out of the drill and heat it over the stove. Hold the metal with pliers, otherwise you can burn yourself.
Footage: @Chlamina TV / YouTube Then insert the hot drill into the finished hole in the belt. Thus, you will solder, make its walls smoother.
Place the belt on a block of wood. Set the tip of the awl or screwdriver to a predetermined point. nine0003
Press the tool into the accessory. If necessary, turn the awl or screwdriver without releasing pressure until you pierce the material through.
For accuracy, the finished hole can be processed with a hot tool by heating it over the stove.
Read also 🧐
You can't play the guitar in a standing position without a strap. The only option is to put your foot high enough so that a right angle forms in the knee joint. But you can't stand the whole concert or rehearsal with your foot on the monitor.
The way out is to make a belt yourself.
This will be cheaper than buying ready-made, although it will take time and effort.
A strap can basically be any piece of material that is long enough to slung over the shoulder and strong enough to support the weight of the guitar. For a bass with a solid body, the weight is quite impressive. It remains to solve the issue with the attachment to the guitar, and you're done.
However, in addition to the reason when there is no belt at hand, but you need to play something, there is another option: a musician may not be satisfied with what is on sale, he wants individuality. Well, a young performer does not always have money for an expensive leather accessory. nine0003
Making a guitar strap is not that difficult, the main thing is to find the right materials and not be afraid.
Factory-made guitar straps are usually made from three types of material: woven fabric, genuine leather, and faux leather.
All of these options are also suitable for home-made production, but with some caveats:
To start making a strap, you still need to decide on the material. If getting a long enough piece of natural leather is difficult, you can use the following ideas:
If you are embarrassed by the embossing on branded belts, you can take army officer belts at the “voentorg” or on second-hand sites - they are wide, thick and do not have any embossing, only a line.
Preparing the base . Measure the section of the desired length, cut with a sharp knife. At the ends, it is necessary to make loops for attaching to a “fungus” or strap lock. To do this, a piece of leather is folded in half and stitched to the base. A hole is made in the middle with a slot so that it can be put on easily, but after that it does not come off. nine0003
The easiest way to decorate a fabric belt is with prints, embroidery, inserts sewn or glued to the base. With a leather product it is more difficult. The best way is to emboss. For this, a metal impression is taken, heated, and then carefully pressed into the skin. You can additionally press on top of a hot iron.
Aspiring guitar accessory makers should copy factory ideas. To do this, several rectangular cuts are made in the base at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. After that, a narrower strip is made with a loop at the end.
