Up Cycled Bicycle Tire Fashion Belt

A cheap and durable way to hold up your pants. With the cost of belts out the roof, this is a great alternative to spending money needlessly. About 17 years ago I came across this by accident when I was experimenting with using tire rubber for rejuvenating / enhancing bike brake pads ( failed experiment) in my bike shop and I had this strip of tire left over. At a glance looked like a belt and Bang!!! the idea was born. I'm sure someone else probably came up with it before me, who knows. So now I'm going to show you how to make one for yourself.

To make this belt you will need the following items

1- Mallet or hammer ( something with a bit of weight to it, is better)

2- 1/4" leather hole punch

3- 3/16" leather hole punch

4- Case cutter / carpenters knife with fresh sharp blade

5- Hooked carpenters knife fresh sharp blade

6- black pointy marker

7- piece of chalk

8- standard desk paper stapler

9- thinner work gloves

10- Slot Screwdriver (flat head)

11- Good sharp scissors

12- Used bicycle Tire ( make sure it's not too knobby It makes it hard to put through the pant loops)

13- Measuring tape with Imperial measurement on it

14- 2x 1/4 Chicago Bolts (craft store or old hockey helmets have them) I use these so you can change buckles

15- Vice

16- Used belt buckle ( get them from used stores for cheap if the holes on the belt are ruined but the buckle is still good)

17- Something to punch holes on, plastic cutting board, piece of wood or what I use is a chunk of recycled plastic sheeting

First you will start by making a cut with the carpenter knife from the outer one side of the tire where you want the cut line to start. You can sometimes see lines or part of the tread you can follow. Now take the knife from underneath and bring the blade up through the starter hole you just made. Then hold the blade tight with one hand and pull the tire away from you as its cuts with the other. Go slow to keep on the line that you decided to follow. Don't worry if you mess up this is the hardest part and is not easy and can take a bit of practice to master.

Now that you've cut the one side off make a slice on the other side .on the line you've decided to follow. Clamp a hooked carpenter knife blade in a vice tightly, with the hook sticking out and facing away from you. Now have the tire with the blade in the vice piercing through the starter hole you made and then start pulling the tire toward yourself as your cutting on the desired line. like before, go slow to stay on the line.

Ok now your left with the middle of the tire, so take your scissors and trim off some spots that are sticking out and find the roughest part or a spot that you made a mistake by cutting too far in, and with the scissors cut across at that point to make a flat strip.

First you are going take your measuring tape and draw little line marks with a marker on the board that your going to punch the holes on or with chalk on the tire (now if the tire is a directional tire make sure the tread is pointing away from the buckle area). Starting on the left edge placing marks towards the right at 1" , 2 1/2", 3 1/2", 4 1/2", and 6"

Now punch the marked holes with the 1/4" punch and mallet, up the center of the tire. Now that you have the 5 holes, the hole in the middle at 3 1/2" needs to be widened by punching holes over lapping the middle hole on each side of it to make a longer oval hole to allow the buckle pin to move back and forth.

Take the buckle pin and put it through the middle hole and fold the tire around back. then install the first bolt through the two layers and tighten it with the flat head screw driver.

• You are going to lay the belt out flat and take your measuring tape starting from the end of the buckle pin and you will measure your waste size towards the other end then make a mark with chalk at your size line. Then you will take your 3/16" hole punch and punch a hole on the chalk line in the center of the tire and continue to punch 5 more holes on either side of the first hole at around 3/4" apart don't punch them too close together you want a bit of material between holes to prevent the buckle pin tearing from one hole to the other.

Once you are done with the holes measure about 4" from the very last hole and cut the excess tire off at that point and round it off to make it easy for insertion.

Ok the final part, were almost done. You will take the leftover cut off and lay it on top near the buckle so you can gauge how big of a loop to make. Now take your scissors and cut off a few inches of the left over tire and wrap it around and mark it where you need to cut off the excess from the loop. Once you have the size you need then staple the bottom of the loop together then slide the loop on all the way towards the buckle and then install the final bolt in the left over hole. The overlap loop can be made of all kinds of stuff (see examples in the photos) For the final touch spray a bit of Armor All on let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe off the excess for a nice new look Now your done and you can wear your new belt with pride.

By Timothy A. Como