FINISHING the Waistband riveting and adding D-rings
First off, lay out your waistband for the CENTER BACK strap. You need to measure off your MAIN POST hole, and the receiving end hole on the other side of the waistband. Take a straightline measurement, divide by half, then measure that off from your MAIN POST hole and make a centerline mark on the back of the belt. IF you want your MAIN POST to be on the RIGHT SIDE when you hook it (I like it that way), then you mark an UP arrow away from you as the right side sits to your right as you look at the OUTSIDE of the belt (on the floor). Reverse that for other way.
Take that measurement and divide it by half again. That is your CENTER OF HIP, and that is where you will place your D-ring. Just get close to the nearest hole, count the number of holes from your CENTER BACK to mark your other side. MARK UP ARROW on each of these too. it is very important not to put a D-ring one way on one side and reversed on the other. That would just look stupid and make you appear careless on your work.
NOW, fill in ALL the rest of your rivet holes with fancy stones, rivets or whatever you are using EXCEPT FOR THE TWO on EITHER SIDE of CENTER BACK, and the hole you are putting your D-ring onto. (D-rings purchased HERE: http://www.strapworks.com/D_Ring_w_Clip_p/ssdrc.htm
Once all your holes are filled except for the ones you are NOT supposed to fill on CENTER back, place your D-ring on the OUTSIDE face of your waistband, D-ring strap flush with belt surface and facing UP. This way, when you wear your belt, the D-ring will fall flat against the waistband and not dangle off the lower edge to get snagged on things.
Prop your work up on a metal plate, or some very hard wood. You do not want to try and rivet it laying flat, or you will mar and crush the curl of the D-ring strap and it will sit all stupid-crooked. You have to shim your work. I recommend a heavy copper burr for this, as you KNOW you will never be able to pull it loose. Ever. You'll pull your arm out of socket before that copper burr gives way. Use one of the supplied copper washers, clip the excess copper rivet about 1/8 above copper washer, and use your 8 ounce ball pein hammer to flatten and dome the cut nicely. If you do it right, you will not feel any edge of the squished over copper stem. It is better to hit is MORE times softer than to strike harder less times.
- D-ring installed with copper rivet (burr)
- Leave empty the holes on CENTER BACK. you will attach the rear strap after all your work on the front shield assembly is done and then you glue down the waistband liner! If you glue liner first, you will not be able to rivet it together! (or you will find yourself trying to strip the lining off again.
That done, time for the MAIN POST attachment...
FINISHING OFF MAIN POST AND LOCKING ASSEMBLY
Remember those angled beveled slots you cut into each of the 4 corners ON THE FACE of your waistband where the MAIN POST goes? Time to install it ...
Place the modified carriage bolt from the back of the waistband into your square hole. Now, take your hardwood block and hit it HARD with the round side of your ball pein hammer. You want a really nice dome shaped dent right in the middle of your board. That will cup and hold the domed carriage bolt as you struggle to set your post.
Take a cold chisel, a #2 straight tip screwdriver, a junky old butter knife, whatever you have that is stiff and has a bevel on it that will deform the sliver on the corner of the carriage bolt over onto and INTO your beveled slots. Pick a corner, bend it halfway, then go to the OPPOSITE side corner and work that one over half way, Then to another, finally the last. Now go back to the first corner you started on, give it a bit more bend, hitting more straight down rather than obliquely. Go slow, if you hit stainless too hard and try to bend too quickly, the thin metal sliver will get what they call metal fatigue and break off. Break off BAD. So work it a bit at a time. You are finished when each sliver is squished down into your slots you cut. This is tricky because the waistband wants to bounce off on a skew angle when you are trying to set your corners. Working off the floor, USE YOUR FOOT to hold the waistband down, use your thumb to press against the tool and guide your blows in directed ways. Take control, if your strikes are not giving you the results you need, rethink and consider what is happening. Too much bounce and vibration will weaken and skew your hits, so block and brace to direct that force into those sliver cuts and also down into your bevel slots. It is totally doable because I have done it, and your end result needs to look like this:
- Sliver tabs bent over into your bevel slots you cut before into your waistband outside face.
- Finished setting the MAIN POST. Notice how it stays in place and the carriage bolt head is flush and tight against the back of the waistband? This is a VERY SECURE and tight connection. Mine has zero wiggle to it, and yours will too if you peen your slivers into those bevel slots.
IF YOU ARE using a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel, wear safety glasses and be careful, cut off by your mark. IF YOU ARE using a hacksaw and a vice, CLAMP the end of the carraige bolt on the OFF FALL side, DO NOT CLAMP your waistband!!! That will mar and mangle it. Hacksaw off the excess.
Having a Dremel makes this next step sooooo much faster. Otherwise, its the Old World Style file work for ya, girlie!!! LOL, yeah, I am laughing at you if you do it this way. I know, I know, been there done that. I've got months of my life gone from having to do filing work. So, I totally LOVE the Dremel. (super handy tool for almost ANY arts and crafts projects, I may add. This chastity belt is a craft project, yanno? )
File off the threads, keep filing it ROUND. You have to work around it. If you are hand filing, take nice even strokes in an ARC like pattern, taking about 60 degrees for each stroke around the circumference. Now turn your work 60 degrees and repeat, again turn 60 degrees...blah blah, you get the point. KEEP IT ROUND. Frequently check to make sure the shackleguard will slide onto your post NICELY. NOT too tight, not too loose. also, DO NOT FILE AWAY YOUR SLIVER TABS at the bottom. File them down so they are not a nuissance, but do not try and make them totally flush. You need the meat of the metal there for strength. We'll take a countersink and lightly buzz the backside of the other center main post hole on the mating end of the waistband. That will give you some extra room for any bulge down there.
If you are using a Dremel, just git er done. Keep it round, be mindful of your speed of cut. I used a carbide single cut barrel burr and I was done with this step in 3 minutes.
Now, take the tiny round burr and buzz the center hole on the other side. It is not critical to get the other hole to fit perfectly, only concern yourself with the shackleguard fitting. You can buzz that inside hole to get it to fit, easier than piddling with more post grinding.
Lightly bend your belt round and fasten the ends onto your MAIN POST. Check your front shield center hole too. Lightly give that a buzz to get it to slide down the MAIN POST. Now, put the shackleguard on top of that. IS IT TIGHT to the front shield? Sits too high? GREAT!!! File down the top of the MAIN POST until you have a tiny gap of play. I kept my clearance about the same as the cardboard stock because later on, I may want to fabricate a LONG SECONDARY SHIELD, and it will need to fit under that shackleguard. So calculate the material thickness room NOW.
CLAMP IT TOGETHER. NOW ...
- Photo of these steps...
- Spring clamp holding it all together so I can mark the cross pin hole elevation on the MAIN POST
- Marking that difficult to reach spot. Be sure to keep your shackleguard cut out parallel with the bottom edge of your waistband when marking.
Just a NOTE: Your cross drill hole NEEDS to be HORIZONTAL as you wear your belt! That means you need to drill it from the right or left side as it would be as if you are wearing the waistband.
Take a concrete nail, a prick punch, an old drill bit, anything hard and pointy, and tap a little starter point for your drill bit in the center of your paint mark on your MAIN POST SIDE.
BEFORE YOU DRILL YOUR HOLE, find something you want to use as your cross pin. I used the chuck up side of an old 1/8" drill bit as my cross pin. First I used the drill bit to drill my hole through the MAIN POST, then I placed the drill bit in the shackleguard where one end was flush with the inside face of one web and stopped it on the other side outside edge of the round part of the shackleguard. I used the Dremel cut off wheel to cut this off. Now I have my cross pin! If you want to use a nail, that is fine, just find a drill bit that is a bit bigger than the nail, drill your hole, then cut your nail same way I did my drill bit.
LAST STEP!!! YAY, almost done here...
Lock your belt. Put your waistband end onto your MAIN POST, place your center hole of front shield onto MAIN POST, put shackleguard onto MAIN POST, slip your cross pin into your MAIN POST hole, then slip your padlock down and around. CLICK (if you dont hear click, time to do some adjusting!!!)
Wiggle and squirm your parts into alignment. The side holes of all three parts need to line up nicely. Once you have that done, take a drop of superglue, or Loctite threadlocker RED and dabble a bit onto the threads of one small screw and some into the threads of your factory shipped cheesy lil locking posts supplied. This belt came with TWO. I am pretty sure yours did too. Screw your side security seal posts (that is their new purpose now!) onto your waistband around your lined up pieces. Place it where the hole of each security seal post is facing UP AND DOWN, or perpendicular to the waistband. This way, your security seal cable can feed up through one and down through the other and clip together under your padlock assembly. When you are done, it ought to look like this:
- Security seal post holes lined up and ready for posts!
