Some Tools I Made

[Lasse C]

Having a workshop equipped with a small metalworking lathe that can be set up for milling, a standing drill, a machine sander/grinder etc, I am able to make most of my tools myself, sometimes from scrap metal. This way I can get tools at a low cost, and also suited to my style of working. As far as possible I use what I have lying around the workshop, so most of the material come from my "Might-come-in-handy" drawers, which contain pretty much anything I can pick up... This makes some of the solutions a little unorthodox, perhaps, but they do get the job done - even if I have to admit some of the tools will not achieve an award for good looks. Anyway, I´d like to show you a few I have made and use:

The gripfid is definitely one of my favourite tools for both ropework and leather braiding!

I make them from steel with a hardwood handle, and in smaller sizes than most do. The smallest I make have a 1.5 mm slit (inner diameter), that grips thicknesses down to about 0.7 mm. Gripfids are absolutely excellent for splicing (which I as as a knotter call it - many leatherworkers call it backbraiding). I have made a set with 0.5 mm steps from 1.5 to 3 mm, and from that 4 mm, 7 mm and 10 mm. The bigger sizes are used for ropework, rarely for leather. (The 1.5 to 3 mm ones I have begun making for sale)

A lace cutter is absolutely necessary for a leather braider!

All of it except the C-clamp is stainless steel. The large knob on the screw allows me to adjust width very quickly, and fixing it with a clamp lets me use both hands to handle the piece of leather. For thin leather I use a piece of a razor blade, and for thicker leather I use small scalpel blades. With this cutter I have cut from 2 cm wide straps in 3 mm leather down to 1.5 mm wide in 0.7 mm leather, all with good control. In other words, it cuts all dimensions I have any reasonable use for in my braiding. I have worked on an angled blade holder, but so far I have not come up with a satisfactory solution. (Ideas, anyone?)

A splitter is handy, if not necessary.

A store-bought splitter costs about 1200 to 1500 SEK. This splitter cost me 80 SEK, the cost of the mini plane!

The rest of the stuff came from my workshop. The roller is precision turned from a bar of brass and set in ball bearings. The blades are ordinary industrial grade razor blades, which means they are pretty cheap to replace.. It can be adjusted both by moving the roller up or down, or by moving the plane back or forth. The maximum width is limited to about 4 cm, but as I do not use wider strands than about 10 mm in my braiding this is not a problem

Lasse C

[dirtclod]

Lasse i like all of your tools !!! You have made some mighty fine tools. I've made a few things but none ever looked as nice yours. I really like your lace cutter and splitter their my favorites.

John