As a grade 11 high school student i often find myself on the internet looking for stuff to do when i get home. One of the problems i encountered was the lack of clarity that some of those instructables had so here is my attempt to create an easy to follow 'ible.

this belt buckle it the offspring of old diamond plate and some well deserved time in my shop. it is a very common shape and one of the better clothing articles i own.

Step 1: Things to Gather

TOOLS:
hacksaw
bench grinder
motorized wire brush
bench vice
rubber mallet or hammer
blow torch and solder
dremel tool (optional)
sand paper
drill
sharpie marker
ball pean hammer or mallet

MATERIALS:
3x4 inch piece of diamond plate aluminium
2 nails
belt new or old it doesn't matter

Step 2: Basic Layout

once all tools are gathered mark out the basic shape you want to have holding up your pants. be sure to keep it simple as aluminium isn't the easiest to cut and sharp points are very annoying when sitting. i chose to use the standard 3x4 oval for now and i may make other shapes if i find time. (a rectangle with rounded corners would be very simple but still good looking!)
all off the planing should be done on the back of the plate just to make is easy.

once the you have the pattern drawn you can begin cutting out the buckle. you can use a hacksaw or another tool i used my dremel with a small cutting disk so i could better follow the curves dont worry if you dont get the cut too close because you need to better round the edges with the bench grinder to get the correct profile.

Step 3: Curving the Buckle Without a Vice

if you have a vice go to step 4 if not continue. now that you have a blank disk you need to put in the curve. place two solid blocks just far appart to hold up the edges of the buckle
from there place a block of wood on top of it and hit it very hard with a hammer or mallet. you will need to do this a couple of times fo get the right ammount of curve in the aluminium.

Step 4: Curving With a Vice

To get the right curvature on the metal place the buckle in the vice like in picture then push down and tighten the vice. This method also works with a hammer remember it takes some workto get the right amount of curve.

Step 5: Making the Belt Loop

to make the loop cut the head and point off of a nail bent the nail at a 90 degree angle as in picture 3 then measure over just a little bit farther than the width of your belt and make another bend in the nail.

now measure out the width of the nail on your buckle and drill two holes that the nail ends will fit into. push the nail through and then pean or mushroom the nail on both sides so that it wont go back through and then slightly bend it over so that it wont wiggle.

Step 6: The Pin

the pin is basically the same as the loop but like i said a pin drill the hole mushroom the thing and bend it a little. and a small ammount of solder wont hurt either.

Step 7: The Finish

once you have the rest completed you can polish up the buckle with the wire brush or some 400 gris wet or dry sandpaper or a dremel with some fancy bits and there you have it a custom belt buckle.

my next step will be to make more patterns and designs if i can find a CNC plasma cutter or milling machine

have a gooder!