How to Shorten a Belt [pictorial]

How to Shorten a Belt




Most of you probably know how it's done, but you might be interested anyway.


You need a belt with a screw at the buckle end:






This belt even has a screw that you can (un)screw without a screwdriver:




The Tools



(What's that red thing called in English? In Dutch it has the beautiful
name 'revolver-pons-tang'.)


The Procedure

Put on the belt and see how much you have to shorten it. Most belts
have five holes; the pin should go in the middle (third) hole. This one
didn't need much shortening. It's in the fourth hole here:




Unscrew:






Mark off:





Cut:






Mark off hole:




Time for the revolverponstang (it can be done with a drill, but this
is more subtle...):






Check the size of the hole:




And put it back together:




Done






So if you come across a belt you like, but which is too long: don't worry,
just shorten it...






The End

Awesome.

Nice job.

Originally Posted by NOBD

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Looks too short. Just kidding!

Originally Posted by TRINI

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Looks too short.









































Just kidding!

Worked perfectly... my first thought was 'what an ass'



















Then I scrolled.

Originally Posted by idfnl

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Worked perfectly... my first thought was 'what an ass'



















Then I scrolled.
















































Then I lol'd

what if it doesnt have that screw - none of my belts do... =)

Originally Posted by ThinkDerm

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what if it doesnt have that screw - none of my belts do... =)

Then you're...um...screwed.

Nice pictorial - I did this a couple of months ago with a belt that needed to loose a couple of inches, and I was happy at the time to discover how easy it was to do!

I've never seen a belt with a screw like that in 'merica.

Originally Posted by ThinkDerm

Click to expand...

what if it doesnt have that screw - none of my belts do... =)

The you need to know how to rivet. Many belts also have snaps so you can change buckles.

^ Italian belts sold here have 'em.

Originally Posted by ThinkDerm

Click to expand...

what if it doesnt have that screw - none of my belts do... =)
It's still possible, just more difficult. Probably best left to a professional. Nice job, NOBD.

Thanks NOBD. It was very 'educative'.

Originally Posted by emptym

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^ Italian belts sold here have 'em.

It's still possible, just more difficult. Probably best left to a professional.

Nice job, NOBD.

i have numerous italian belts - borrelli, testoni and "made in italy belts" - brooks brothers and the like - all are stitched, none screwed.

leaving it to a pro is what i'd do, for certain, and I do need to shorten some belts. in NYC - any recs?

Originally Posted by ThinkDerm

Click to expand...

what if it doesnt have that screw - none of my belts do... =)

The belt I am wearing was not screwed but I managed to shorten it

On mine, the end was folded back over it self and sewed down (with a hole for the tongue) with 4 loops of thread--both sides of the loop on top and bottom.

I cut those threads, cut off a few inches, used the utility knife to cut a new hole, folded it back over, opened up little holes with an awl and then used approximately as much thread as was originally used to sew it back up.

Only snags were as follows: somehow I managed to get the hole for the tongue slightly off center. It is not noticable when the belt is on (since the end of the belt covers it). Other snag was that the belt was lined which mad folding it over look bad. To solve this, I actually cut out the back of the part that would be folded over and stripped out the lining (but I own other belts where you could get away without doing this).

It was a pretty quick job...but I would bet a cobbler could do it much nicer for pretty cheap.