Does the "diameter x 4.6" rule of thumb break down at smaller diameters?

[Brianna]

Hey folks,

My understanding is that a good rule of thumb for "how wide should the strands be/how many strands do I need?" to plait around a given diameter is "multiply the diameter by 4.6 and that's how much width the strands should total to". For some reason I also had "multiply it by 4.0" floating around in my mind, but I can't remember if that was for something else or if I just imagined that one.

Anyway, I started doing some tests with 4-4.5 mm lace I cut from 4-5 oz single shoulder cowhide, and the numbers aren't adding up. I'm trying to plait around something that is around 3 mm in diameter with a 6 plait, but I'm still somehow coming up short with the coverage. Even at a conservative estimate of the laces being 4 mm wide, that would come out to 24 mm of coverage for 6 of them, and the equation only calls for about 13.8 mm. My coverage is really uneven, with tight plaits on one side and wide ones on the other, which I feel usually happens when there's not enough coverage.

Is there something I'm missing? Maybe the thickness of the laces is throwing off the measurements? They're about 2 mm thick each. I want to do this quick sanity check before I start planning out the rest of the whip. I don't want to get all my laces cut, tapered, and conditioned only to realize I messed up the math, you know?

Thanks!

Edit: I've done quite a few paracord whips, but I've only recently gotten into working with leather. Still getting used to the differences.

Edited July 19, 2024 by Brianna

[bucksnort]

I’ve not heard that formula before, I’ll have to test it. I times the circumference by 1.5 & divide by the number of strings I plan to use.

[Brianna]

Diameter x 4.6 (actually closer to 4.71)  comes out to approximately circumference x 1.5, so it's essentially a "six of one, half a dozen of the other" situation. 

edit: Thanks, also! (where are my manners?)

Edited July 20, 2024 by Brianna
added a thanks

[bucksnort]

Always good to learn something new, i tried both formulas & results are close to the same. Yours is less complicated. Have you considered keeping the same width & going to 8 strands?

[Brianna]

That's actually what I ended up doing, and it worked out pretty well. The part that confuses me is *why* it worked as well as it did, because according to how it's "supposed to" work, the 6 plait should have already been more than enough.

I'm gonna be doing a 12 plait with approximately 6 mm wide strands for the overlay, which will be a lot closer to what the formula calls for than the 8 plait of 4.5 I did for the belly. Just hoping that it doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.

Pictured is the 26 inch belly of a 3 foot snakewhip I'm making.

[bucksnort]

Am I looking correctly at the pics of you 6 strand braid? It appears you did an under one over two braid which is a half round braid.

Edited July 21, 2024 by bucksnort

[Brianna]

I think I did under 2 over 1 for that.

[bucksnort]

I missed that at first, I think your formula for width is fine. The coverage is good, just an under 2 over 1 on one side & u/o 1 on the opposite side.