# Home made fighting belt. what do you think.



## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

I teach high school band and was cleaning out a closet that I rarely go into and found a marching drum carrier that we no longer use or even have a drum for. I decided to try my hand at building a good fighting belt from it. The bottom was squared off so I cut it out to fit my legs a little better, cut the bracket that held the drum and fitted it with the top 3" of the top of a 1.5" sand spike, built a gimbal out of a landscaping nail that perfectly fits my rod butt and cut some slots for a 1.5" belt. I've got some 1" thick neoprene padding that I'm going to glue to the back side. I'm thinking liquid nails or gorilla glue. I'm going to use some 1.5" webbing and build an adjustable belt for it.

What do you think?


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)




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## AndyS (Nov 22, 2011)

johnf said:


> ....
> What do you think?


What do I think? Well, I think it's great! My hat is off to ya, sir. Good ole American ingenuity. I'm a biig fan of recycling & re-purposing stuff.

I also happen to think we should pay teachers more so they don't have to cobble together fighting belts out of leftover band equipment.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Right on Andy!*

Man you nailed that one.


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

Looks good! I wonder how mad NHS band would be if the old equipment went missing


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

AndyS said:


> What do I think? Well, I think it's great! My hat is off to ya, sir. Good ole American ingenuity. I'm a biig fan of recycling & re-purposing stuff.
> 
> I also happen to think we should pay teachers more so they don't have to cobble together fighting belts out of leftover band equipment.


I can afford a belt, but I just can't justify the $100+ belt I want. I live in Arkansas and shark fish 3-4 days a year. This one will cost me about 2 hours and $10 worth of webbing and buckles.


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## TFRIZZ30 (Jun 26, 2014)

I don't know much about fighting belts but I am all about making my own equipment instead of paying retail. Looks great to me. Glad your project stayed cheap mine usually start cheap then by the time I finish tweaking it I have spent as much as it would have cost to just buy the item. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

johnf said:


> I can afford a belt, but I just can't justify the $100+ belt I want. I live in Arkansas and shark fish 3-4 days a year. This one will cost me about 2 hours and $10 worth of webbing and buckles.


$4.85 fishing belt.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

I only have one criticism.... I'd knock those corners off of the angle aluminum. In the heat of battle, you could lose a knuckle there. haha

Once done, I's spray that thing with a light coat of paint or polyurethane. Get a littel salt water on that bare aluminum and put it away for a year... It will be all chalky looking. The salt will eat at that aluminum.


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## johnsonbeachbum (Oct 1, 2007)

You can use that existing hole down low for a safety cable and anchor it to the boat!.
Maybe run the belt thru the slots, fold it back on itself and back thru the slots?
With an alum rod, etc. in the loop so the belt loop can't come out on slot?


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

NoMoSurf said:


> I only have one criticism.... I'd knock those corners off of the angle aluminum. In the heat of battle, you could lose a knuckle there. haha
> 
> Once done, I's spray that thing with a light coat of paint or polyurethane. Get a littel salt water on that bare aluminum and put it away for a year... It will be all chalky looking. The salt will eat at that aluminum.



Those square edges bother me too and really serve no purpose. What kind of paint would you recommend? 

Thanks for the suggestions. That's why I asked.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

johnsonbeachbum said:


> You can use that existing hole down low for a safety cable and anchor it to the boat!.
> Maybe run the belt thru the slots, fold it back on itself and back thru the slots?
> With an alum rod, etc. in the loop so the belt loop can't come out on slot?


I do most of my shark fishing from the beach, not sure any of the guys I fish with have any anchor points,on their boats. Wouldn't that restrict your movement a bit? 



Could just cut another slot in the plate instead of doing the bar thing? Still need to get a fine file on the slot to smooth it out a bit.

Should I use contact cement for the padding or velcro?


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