Strap Cutter Options

[tonyc1]

I just had a look at Leffler's price lists and a new Dixon plough gauge is $1085 over the counter and wholesale it is ONLY $945. Pretty expensive these days!

Tony.

[celticleather]

A 5" Dixon plough gauge, bought direct from Abbey Saddlery in the UK is £287.43 (AUS$591.00, US$470.00) plus shipping. Surely it would be better to buy direct, than pay this enormous mark-up? Abbey are quite happy to ship overseas.

[tonyc1]

A 5" Dixon plough gauge, bought direct from Abbey Saddlery in the UK is £287.43 (AUS$591.00, US$470.00) plus shipping. Surely it would be better to buy direct, than pay this enormous mark-up? Abbey are quite happy to ship overseas.

Yes, they are certainly ripping us off down here, Terry!

[rsrepair]

This place sells the lace cutter, http://www.rudedogleather.com/id188.html

[gtwister09]

Bob,

A lot of people swear off of draw gauges because just like plough gauges the blade needs to be beveled more or less on the side nearest the guide. There are just as many gauges that bind up as wander. Beveling more as in the case of Bob (Jim gave this tip as well) allows the leather to pull up against the guide and preventing the blade from coming out of the material or wandering. The outside bevel in this case generally has little impact on the gauges.

Now for caveats when sharpening to fix a blade (SOMETIMES the gauges are garbage and no amount of tweaking the blade fixes their wandering or bunching ....... GET RID OF THESE ASAP). This is not a fix for every gauge (draw or plough) but can help if the problem is slight.

• Excessive (or let's just say "too much") bevel on the blade facing the guide will likewise make the leather gather and bind against the guide. This will make the work difficult if not impossible to get through the gauge.

• Too little as already discussed and blade will wander.

A good rule of thumb for any blade is increasing the bevel will make it dig deeper. Likewise shortening it will make it rise. As in the case of the gauges increasing the bevel on the blade side towards the guide will make it bite deeper. Only do that if it is wandering out of the material. Likewise as stated above if it binds against the guide (biting too deeply) then decrease the bevel. I generally only add or subtract bevels about 1/64" at a time and test.

Several draw gauges that people said were garbage and one plough gauge were fixed in a matter of 10-30 minutes with one or two tweaks to the bevel of the blade.

One such plough gauge was an old Barnsley in VERY GOOD condition and it had been given to this guy. Anyhow he brought it to me to trade because it was a piece of garbage (his words). He sold it for $25. I looked at it and asked what he intended to do. He wanted to get something to do belts and other strap work. I asked what his issue was with it and he said "It was a bear to pull any straps through. Worst design he had ever seen...his wooden one did better". I tested a strap and lessened his blade bevel by 1/64" and SHAZAM it slipped right through there next time. He was sick and upset at that point. Needless to say I told him how to keep it tuned up and got my $25 back. Too bad it was a GREAT plough gauge.

Regards,

Ben

[Leerwerker]

Siegel sells them for $690.00

I have one (got it for a few bucks from an old saddler that taught me hand sewing.) - it has to be super sharp and then it works really well.

Look here to see it.

Hello,

I recently saw a video of some bridle making business in England (can't seem to find my saved link) and they used a strap cutter that was pushed instead of pulled. It appeared to be in a box and did not look adjustable. I make watch straps and the widths are pretty standard so I wouldn't mind owning a few custom ones. I would prefer something like this versus the standard tandy strap cutter. Can someone tell me where I can find one of these strap cutters or how to make one?

Thanks,

Brent

[mike1967]

Ben, just the info I was looking for on tuning the blade of a plough gauge.