Brass Belt Buck Repair--Lesco 60s/70s Motorcycle Jacket (styled like a Schott 618) the buckle tongue is a tad too short.

[Oldanalogbonniefrump]

I just acquired a wonderful Lesco Motorcycle Jacket in the Schott 618 / 118 style. It has brass zippers and a brass simple buckle. I had to learn all the parts of a buckle to begin finding a solution to what hopefully is a simple problem.

Problem: The tongue of the buckle falls off the frame after being threaded through the belt hole, it's a tad too short. This particular buckle looks like it does not have a roller (a round cylincer that a tongue on many buckles may rest on). The tongue is connected to the endbar (that's where the tongue would be curled around the frame to retain it / hold it onto the frame. This part is covered in leather, as is the buckle. It's where the buckle is sewn into the belt.

At this early stage, I don't want to take it to a leather tailor who can right it --if there's a few things I can try without damaging the jacket. My three solution ideas:
1) Needlenose pliers--See if I can simply minimize the bend in the tongue and that extends it 2-3 cm. It (the jacket or buckle) may have been stepped on, squished somewhere over the past 40, 50-60 years
2) Needlenose pliers --see if the connection of the tongue and endbar needs a squeeze. Maybe the jacket was stepped on or something ---can I get the tongue to extend 2-3mm? The needle nose would be going in the leather fastener where the tongue is affixed to the buckle frame so it's a bit like working in the dark. I am not the type to force the leather and I have some common sense to quit while I'm ahead --if that means not even trying that.
3) has anyone ever installed a "roller" themselves. I can see it would be purchasing a brass cylinder if they exist, that has an open side (i.e. can be placed on the frame, squeezed and voila I've covered my 2-3mm problem or maybe I size and cut piece of brass from a sheet, file a tad, shape, squeeze and voila problem solved.

Any experts here?

If I have to go "leather tailor" I've got someone I've used that does good work but it seems I should be able to fix it

 

[Oil Tanned]

There's almost always a hillbilly / blacksmith / metal art character not far from any of us that can fix this and a zillion other things without breaking a sweat. Were I you I'd get a pair of tin snips out of the garage and cut up a tin can then form it around the buckle where the original roller would've been. If you can do a good job of that grab a sheet of brass from a hobby or craft shop and knock a real one out.

You can do this.

 

[Oldanalogbonniefrump]

Thanks---great suggestion and great reminder. When ever I talk to people about woodwork or getting a new tool, I always tell them to get some hand experience with scraps etc.

I ended up using a long nosed pair of needle nose pliers and squeezing on the tongue , it removed some of the curve of the tongue but it allowed the tip of the tongue to sit on the frame properly. If that gets loose we're on to creating the metal cylinder--and you're right--there's a bundle of leather/tin smith types where I live, in addition to maker spaces.