Buzz
Investing in a WWE wrestling championship belt can be quite pricey. However, fear not, for fashioning your own replica is an affordable and rewarding endeavor. By utilizing leather and readily available materials from craft and hardware stores, you can fashion a belt that suits your needs perfectly. The process involves sizing your leather and constructing the face plate before finally assembling the belt.
Step-by-Step Guide
Determining the Size of Your Belt
Gather Your Supplies. To begin this endeavor, you will require leather, measuring instruments, and tools for cutting leather.
- Procure a piece of scrap leather from craft stores, rural supply outlets, or stores catering to motorcycle enthusiasts.
- A measuring tape is indispensable for accurately measuring your belt.
- You will need a sizable piece of cardboard to create a prototype of your belt.
- Both a box cutter for the cardboard and a leather cutter for the leather are essential tools for this project.
Take Measurements of Your Waist and Hips. Utilize a fabric tape measure for this task.
- Jot down your measurements prior to purchasing your leather.
- Add approximately 6 inches (15.2 cm) to your measurement. This additional length will be necessary for attaching velcro to your belt later on.
- Ensure that the piece of leather you purchase is at least as long as your waist measurement plus the adjustment for the velcro. It should also be wide enough to accommodate a belt that is 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm) wide from top to bottom.
Create a Cardboard Mock-up of Your Belt's Shape. This will serve as a template for tracing onto the leather.
- Use your waist measurement plus 6 inches (15.2 cm) to determine the length of the mock-up.
- Employ a measuring tape, ruler, or yardstick to make accurate markings.
- Ensure that the belt's width at the center is at least 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm).
Acquire the Metal Plate for Your Belt's Face Plate (refer to Part II). Position it centrally on your cardboard belt.
- Consider deviating from a standard rectangular belt design to something resembling those worn by professional wrestlers.
- Opting for this style will result in a tapered belt shape.
- Outline the face plate with a pencil to create a rounded center for your belt.
- Use a ruler or measuring stick to draw straight lines for the belt's sides, ensuring they are slightly narrower than the thickest part of the face plate.
- Once traced, use a box cutter to carefully cut out the cardboard template, which will serve as your leather-cutting guide.
Transfer the Shape of the Cardboard Mock-up onto Your Leather. This will provide the outline for cutting out the belt.
- You can use a white marking pencil or pen to trace the cardboard template's shape onto the back of the leather.
- Ensure your tracing lines are clear and smooth.
- Inspect the tracing to ensure consistency and clarity throughout.
- Remove the cardboard template and use your marks as a guide to cut out the belt from the leather using a leather cutting tool.
Crafting the Face Plate
Collect all necessary supplies. To create the face plate, you'll need a few specific items.
- The face plate is the gleaming metallic centerpiece of a wrestling belt, typically adorned according to championships and wrestling federations.
- Purchase a round or oval brass plate from a hardware store, which are usually affordable.
- You'll also need cardboard to fashion your decoration stencil, along with a box cutter or x-acto knife for precise cutting.
- Acquire spray paint in your desired colors for the face plate.
Apply spray paint to your brass plate in the metallic hue of your choice. Traditionally, this is gold, but feel free to experiment with other colors.
- Ensure proper ventilation when applying the paint.
- Begin with a generous initial coat of paint and allow it to dry thoroughly.
- Follow up with a second coat of spray paint once the first coat has dried, allowing the plate to dry completely.
Construct your decoration stencil using cardboard. This stencil will facilitate the application of letters and symbols onto your face plate.
- Trace the shape of your face plate onto the cardboard and cut it out.
- Utilize a box cutter or x-acto knife to cut out letters or symbols from the template.
- Ensure smooth, even cut lines to achieve clean edges for your design.
Position your stencil atop the face plate. Ensure proper alignment of the designs according to your preferences.
- Generously spray over the stencil with black or dark-colored spray paint.
- Perform this task in a well-ventilated area due to the strong fumes of spray paint.
- Remove the stencil to reveal your design left behind on the face plate.
- Allow the face plate to dry undisturbed in a suitable area.
Assembling Your Wrestling Championship Belt
Organize all your supplies in your workspace. You'll require the following items:
- Your cut-out leather belt.
- Your face plate.
- Small screws and screw caps.
- A drill.
- Industrial-strength velcro.
Position the leather belt with the faceplate facing up. Now, it's time to affix the faceplate to the leather.
- Place the faceplate, facing up, in your desired location on the leather belt, ensuring it's centered and positioned as desired.
- Using the drill, secure the faceplate to the leather using small screws along the edges of the plate.
- The drill will drive the screws directly through the leather.
- Ensure you hold the faceplate down with one hand while screwing it into the leather to keep it in place.
- After securing the screws, attach screw caps to cover the exposed ends. This area will be in contact with your skin, so you want to avoid sharp screw ends.
Fasten the velcro to the belt straps. This will serve as the mechanism to secure the belt when worn.
- Opt for industrial-strength velcro from a hardware store for better grip compared to what's available in craft stores.
- Attach a 5–6 inch (12.7–15.2 cm) piece of velcro to each belt strap.
- Most velcro comes with an adhesive side for easy attachment to the belt. Alternatively, you can use hot glue or sew it on if necessary.
- Your belt is now assembled and ready for wear!
Helpful Tips
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Work meticulously and cautiously, ensuring accurate waist measurements for the belt.
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Exercise patience when dealing with leather. It can be tough to cut and may require some strength.
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Ensure your workspace is well-lit and properly ventilated.
