Beveling Lace

[Timothy]

I've tried cutting a bevel by hand with an Exacto knife or a razor blade, but its time consuming and not very even. I'm trying to use thinner laces and it doesn't take a big slip to ruin a lace. I've never used or even seen a beveler, and can't afford $400 for one of the professional cutter/splitter/bevelers yet. (That's on my wish list.) I have built my own lace cutter and splitter so I'm open to ideas for a beveler as well.

Thanks,

Timothy

[Hilly]

First off, hello and welcome!

You can buy edge bevelers from Tandy and many other leathercraft supply places for about $8. They're just little wooden handled tools in different sizes that you push along the edge of your leather.

Why do you need to bevel lace?

You can also buy "round" lace already on a spool. The top surface is rounded and the bottom is flat.

Check out http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/ for starters. It could make your life a lot easier

Have fun!

[Rawhide]

Hilly,

You should bevel your lace, this will yield a cleaner look for a laced project. The object is not to round the lace however.

Tim,

you can make your own lace beveler with a block of wood and a razor blade. Drive a razor blade into a block of wood at a 45 degree angle and leave about 3/8 of an inch of blade sticking above the wood. Screw down a piece of leather on both sides of the blade at the width of your lace. now you can pull your lace between the two leathers screwed down and against the blade to bevel it.

If you get the book "Leathercraft Tools" by Al Stohlman, there are instructions on building one of these. Or you could just buy a ready-made beveler from Jim Downey @ about $75.

Marlon

[Hilly]

Hilly,

You should bevel your lace, this will yield a cleaner look for a laced project. The object is not to round the lace however.

Tim,

you can make your own lace beveler with a block of wood and a razor blade. Drive a razor blade into a block of wood at a 45 degree angle and leave about 3/8 of an inch of blade sticking above the wood. Screw down a piece of leather on both sides of the blade at the width of your lace. now you can pull your lace between the two leathers screwed down and against the blade to bevel it.

If you get the book "Leathercraft Tools" by Al Stohlman, there are instructions on building one of these. Or you could just buy a ready-made beveler from Jim Downey @ about $75.

Marlon

Wow Marlon, I've never heard that. I guess we can all learn something new. Thanks for the education.

[Timothy]

Rawhide,

Thanks for the reply. I'll start by trying to make one. I've got enough scrap wood to experiment a little and see if I can make it work. It was a very rewarding experience to cut cut my own lacing the first time on tools I made and then braid something useful. I am interested in Jim Downey's tool, though. I think saw his contact info on here somewhere.

Thanks Again,

Timothy