Frequently Asked Questions:
Buckle
Restrictions:
How do they work?
Each buckle is incredibly personal and expensive to set up. All buckles that are not meant to be sold to just anyone are put into the restricted section of our online store. This is the first layer. The second is the restricted logo for the thumbnail. Again, keeping the general public from browsing through buckles they shouldn't be pining for. The final layer is the passcode protection. This is a simple keyword or name that is attached to your buckle on the backside of our system. We will check all orders that come in to ensure they have proper credentials to order a restricted buckle. If they don't, we contact them for validation. And if they cannot provide that, orders are refunded.
These can be changed as folks are known to move to new locations and jobs. Just email us from your organization's official email with your buckle name and new point of contact requst: art@westernheritage.com
BUCKLE PASSCODES are NOT the same as your login password. What you use to log into the system to place orders is different from what you need to order restricted buckles.
Productions times take
how long?
Creating a new mold takes time. Depending on the complexity of your design, it can take 5-6 weeks to make a mold for a simple design. If your design has 3D printing or sculpting, that can add another 4-6 weeks. Casting the free buckle is another 2-3 weeks once the mold is completed. There is not much we can do to rush any elements of the molding process.
Normal production is 6-8 weeks for bronze and silver alloy. This is particularly true during our busy season from August through October. Specialty metals like white bronze and sterling can take 10-16 weeks to cast based on volume at the time your order is placed. Those metals might only be cast once a month. We have to have enough to fill a full casting can to make the swap to different metals. We cannot have short pours, or risk cross-contamination of metals in our machine.
Plated buckles are 6-8 weeks to cast the bronze, and then another 4-5 weeks for a 3rd party electroplater to do their thing and ship them back to us.
Your free prototype that is included in the mold fee is a Foundry Proof buckle. This buckle is made to ensure the mold is flowing properly. We can only see the full extent of any issues if we cast AND finish a buckle fully. We can then make any pin hold vents to the mold as needed. In the meantime, we now have a fully working belt buckle that we don't have any space to hold on to. That's why we send them to the customers as a prototype. If there were any issues from the mold, they will be addressed, and future orders will not have those flaws. If the issue you are not happy with is anything other than that type of casting flaw. Ex: size, spelling, or general design changes. Those are all things that can be fixed. However, those require a new mold fee to do so. We will make sure to go over all the details and have you sign a final design approval form prior to production to help avoid issues and remolding charges. If there is a goober on your design that you didn't sign off on, and we didn't see that, and it got molded. Don't worry, we'll replace the mold, no cost to you.
I got a free sample, but I don't like it.
The FINAL DESIGN APPROVAL FORM is a lot! In 50 years of doing this, we've learned what to try and cover to keep issues from biting us or customers. The process is long and expensive. We want to avoid wasting anyone's time or money. If you have any questions about the form, please reach out to us before you sign or initial anything. We'd be happy to walk you through and help you understand if things really apply to your situation or not.