Custom making a 3" belt

[PuliMorgan]

Hi, I am trying to get a 3" belt. In India, I could find only the 4" wide, double prong ones. I am just 5'4" tall and the 4" belts we have in our gym bite into my bones even during a squat. Deadlift is worse. I am into my 2nd month of novice LP and I have been lifting beltless so far. But the weights are getting heavier and I wish to start using a belt.

I explored the option of getting a 3" belt from US, but shipping and customs duties are prohibitively expensive (almost double the cost of the belt itself!).

So I am.planning to get the belt made by a cobbler I know. I am going for 3" uniform width, 10 mm thickness, single prong. Any tips on the leather material, fabrication process, or design before I place the order? Has anyone done this before?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Get a one-ply belt. Cheaper, easy as hell to make, works just fine.

[PuliMorgan]

Thank you for the reply, Coach. Since you suggest to go for a single ply belt, I have another related question.

My guy has a stock of 4.5 mm thick leather (the thickest that he usually works with). So I was planning to go for a double ply belt that would be 9 mm thickness. I can check if he can get thicker material for making single ply belt as that would be much cheaper as you told.

I understand that the recommended thickness is 10 mm - 13 mm. But what would be the minimum acceptable thickness for a single ply belt if the thickest hide we can source locally isn't as thick as 10 mm?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If your guy has some 4.5mm leather, make it out of that. It will be fine for a while. Once you get your lifts up, take it back to him and have him add another layer. Spreads the expense out.

[PuliMorgan]

Then 4.5 mm single ply it is.

I will post the design drawing and a picture of the final product soon.

[TwoFours]

I've heard a few people say that the suede doesn't do much in terms of support, so I think you will be fine with single layer or double layer of the cobblers leather. However, the main question is on the leather he is using. If he's using garment leather or leather used for shoes, single ply might not be enough. if I was you I would double it up from the start.