A nice combination of woodburning and jewelry can create nice hand crafted belt buckles with various themes. Some burners like to burn silhouettes and they look great on the face of belt buckles, as well as ornate letters. Since the area is small, detailed work can be a challenge. The belt buckles I use ( click here for information) take a round 38mm ( about 1 3/8 inches) diameter insert. The inserts can be just about any type of wood, including paneling, plywood, and hardwoods. I use mesquite for some of them. Mesquite is a beautiful wood and is extremely hard,
which is desirable for a durable insert. Softer woods would dent easily and quickly take on a "distressed" appearance.
However, if you begin with a distressed effect then a softer
wood should be fine. I haven't
done any "distressed" textures on wood, but have heard that small stones, small ball of chain, or BB's can be placed into a small bag, and then the wood is struck several times to get the distressed effect. The bezel around the insert is attached with 2 slotted screws and is easily removed with a screw driver to install the insert. The thickness of the inserts are about 3/16th maximum. If a piece is smaller than the required thickness it is easy to build it up with some cardboard placed in
back of the wood.

Nicely finished Mesquite Eye Belt Buckle, ready for sale

Back of a Gold Belt Buckle showing the screws (silver), which are threaded through the buckle to hold the front bezel piece on.

The 3 simple burns to the right
, are on a 38 mm round piece of
birch and show how simple burns
can actually make a nice belt
buckle. I finish them with an
application of tung oil and then
when that is dry, I use a little paste wax and buff with a soft cloth.

You can see what a nice profitable item can be made using some simple woodburning, a little wood, and a "made in the USA" belt buckle. You can buy the blank buckles for $7.99 each. Contact me for any quantity discounts. The belt buckle inserts above take wood the thickness of a dollar coin. There are thicker bezels that will take 1/8th inch and 1/4 inch. Click here for details on all the buckles and for ordering. CLICK FOR ORDERING INFORMATION