Materials, STEM: attaching belts end to end

Self-tutoring about everyday materials and how to work with them: the tutor mentions a situation he faced yesterday.

I recently went through my belts to assess which ones weren’t fit for purpose anymore. Some, the finish was cracking around well-used holes; others, the closure didn’t work anymore. It turned out about seven had to be retired from the wardrobe – but not to the garbage.

I like to repurpose things, so hung the worn-out belts on a hook in the garage. Yesterday, building a homemade heavy bag, I had to hold the wrapping fabric around the contents (old bean bag chairs) in order to sew the bag together. I realized the belts could be used.

As they were, the belts weren’t long enough to encompass the heavy bag. I realized, however, that if two belts were strung together to make one, the resulting length could be enough. Yet, how to attach the belts end to end? I wanted a temporary, nondestructive solution, so I could separate them afterwards and use them for something else.

I overlapped them by about 4 cm, then fastened them with Alien Tape (see my post here about Alien Tape). Next, I wrapped the overlapped segment with duct tape. From there, I re-wrapped outwards once to either side, overlapping from the already-taped part to the not-yet-taped part of the belt.

That attachment method effectively held the two belts together as a single one. I was able to pull the resulting single belt around the heavy bag, then tighten it to compress the cloth in place around the contents. So held in place, the cloth can now be sewn together.

I don’t doubt there will be more posts about how this project develops.