Lace Cutting Question

[acox4t4]

Howdy All. I've got 3 roo hides that I've been to chicken to cut so far but with vaccation coming up I'm wanting to get them cut so that I can take the lace with me since I'll have a whole week being spent at the lake with time to braid. I'm wanting to make a pair of reins, so I bought some round leather to use as the core. My plans are to use 8 strands, the core for the reins is 7/8 inch and the romal core is 1 inch. I'm I correct that my strands should be 1/8 inch wide? My other question is when I cut the roo hide how wide should I make that first cut? I have the Gail Hought books and she says 1 1/2 inch wide then stretch it, then make your second cuts (which how wide would that second cut be since it would then need beveled)???? I've watched Knotheads video on how to cut, and it looks like he cuts something close to the final size on the first cut. Also have watched Youtube video showing how to cut roo and again from what I could tell it looked like that first cut was not very wide. So could ya all give me an idea of how wide I should make that first cut so that I'm not wasting hide??? I have the austie cutter and I don't think it would even go 1 1/2 inch wide, I also have the cutter/beveler that Beven got to me so if that helps with knowing what tools I have to come up with an answer.....oh ya I still have no Splitter so inless you think the reins will turn out really cruddy without splitting the roo I don't plan on splitting it.

Thanks for any help, greatly appriciate it in advance. Annette

[KnotHead]

For a splitter out in the camp area, I use a piece of 1/2 inch wood about 12 inches x 12 inches with a notch filed out on top at the thickness I want the lace to be at and then use a utility blade with tape or one that has a handle on it, and a small bench vise that can mount to any picnic table or a table in the RV or whatever to split with. Just an idea for you to use. Not splitting the lace will give you an inconsistent thickness which can cause some issues with the braiding and how it turns out.

I usually cut my rough cut at 1/4inch wide depending on what the project is. If I need 1/8 strings I will cut at 1/4 inch. You can of coarse cut your rough cut as wide as you want to, or what you're comfortable with. Some will rough cut at 3/8 inch wide and some will rough cut at 1/2 inch wide. It's up to you how wide you want to rough cut. The 1/4 inch rough cut I do will allow for me to bevel to the 1/8 inch width pretty precisely. But again it is what you are comfortable with doing and where your skill set is. Like anything else, prepare yourself for mistakes and lots of practice.

B...

Edited May 12, 2011 by KnotHead

[acox4t4]

Great well that gives me a idea of where to start, and since I should leave myself room for those mistakes I'll go with 3/8 inch. I wasn't sure how narrow the roo would get when I stretch it, so didn't want to cut it all out and then find out that once I put the stretch on it that it would be to narrow for my project.

Thanks again. Hopefully by the middle of June I will have a pair of reins to post a picture of.

[lilpep]

Acox

i agree with Brian 100%, Just my two cents i found that depending on the hide i will adjust the width of my rough cut. some hides have more stretch than others so i will cut a tester strand and try out how much stratch is in the hide. usually the outer end parts have more stretch than the inner parts of the hide even after you trim it, if the hide is not a great one. a great hide will have very little stretch but they all have some. so try it out first.

hope this helps

[KnotHead]

The important thing about stretching is that you don't over stretch the lace. This can really cause problems when you go to final cut. Like you say the strands can go narrow. But if you cut your rough cut at 3/8th then the lace wont stretch any narrower than a 1/4 inch wide. If the lace goes below that you still can get a 1/8th inch wide final cut and bevel. You just have to watch your final cuts.

You are right about one thing on my cutting. I rough cut at 1/4 inch because I am getting really good hides. My hides that I buy are not very stretchy at all. So the most stretch I get from a hide will only be about 3/32nds of an inch. I can then go straight to my beveling instead of the 90 cut like some do. I don't know which cutter/beveler you got from Bevan. So I am shooting in the dark on that part with you. After I am done beveling I then will use my splitter and NO you wont loose that much of your bevel by doing it this way. This is just what I am comfortable doing and you don't have to do it this way.

I split my lace last for one reason only. I like to have the material thick enough to bevel with first. I have more material on the surface of my cutter this way making it a bit easier for me to bevel to the size I need and achieving a much cleaner cut & bevel.

Remember, you can always ask questions anytime you like. We are more than glad to help you out as much as we can on the net.

B...

[roo4u]

have you watched bernies youtube vids? i really liked his vid on how to cut up a roo for lace and then stretch it prior to cutting for width....i always cut wider, about an inch id say, then stretch then cut several strands out of it as that creates less waste. i do agree on the splitting, needs to be done...i posted a link a while back for a little wooden splitter, its not hard to make, works great for roo and just uses utility knife blades.

in this vid bernie says he wants to end with 6mm strands so he cuts them at 8 mm then stretches and by the time he bevels it he is down to the size he wants.

[rcsaddles]

Wow, talk about information overload! This is such great info I am really glad to be a part of this. I have cut lots of rawhide lace but am just starting on the roo lace. I cut all my rawhide with the Aussie Strander and love that little tool. I now have the Dene Williams lace cutter and splitter. They are great. Not sure how they will work on rawhide but they are the ticket for roo. I also have a cutter beveller from Bevan. I really like using it to cut my lace to size but honestly, I have not been smart enough to figure out how to make the beveling part work. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Brian, thanks for the thoughts on bevel and then split to thinkness, I would not have thought of that. I also really enjoy seeing your work here Brian.

Annette, I have learned that you can make most of the tools you need for preparing your lace to braid. Tracy's idea for the splitter has been done by many people and works very well. I just happened into a deal on the Dene Williams splitter that I could not pass up. Otherwise, I have a couple of homemade splitters that work just fine.

Once again, thanks to everyone that puts in to this forum.

[KnotHead]

I thought I would share these photos with you all on the way I bevel and how it turns out for me. This is just the method I use and I get good results for myself. This is what I am comfortable with and doing on a regular basis. The beveling part is where I believe every braider has their way of accomplishing the goal. This is just one way I use and I have been using it for awhile now and like the results that I get.

From left to right in the photo. The blue is beveled but not split. On both, I beveled at 30degrees. On the right(Black) this one is beveled and split. As you can see, the only thing that is removed is the left over surface that I used to bevel the lace on.

The black did not loose the bevel at all. It is still a 30 degree bevel on both sides of the lace. The black lace will braid just fine and provide me with the results that I am looking for when I braid.

I hope that this will give a better picture of what I mean by bevel first, then split the lace. This is just one method to use and this is the one I like to use and am comfortable in doing.

Brian, thanks for the thoughts on bevel and then split to thinkness, I would not have thought of that. I also really enjoy seeing your work here Brian.

Thank you John and thank you very much for the very kind comment.

I hope that this will help out a few braiders in their path.

B...

[Bevan]

]

My plans are to use 8 strands, the core for the reins is 7/8 inch and the romal core is 1 inch. I'm I correct that my strands should be 1/8 inch wide?

[

Gday Annette

Now just to be sure did you say and mean your core for the reins is 7/8 of an inch dia ???? that is about 22mm dia if so to cover a core that is that big you would have to have 32 strands at 3mm or 1/8 which ever you fancy !!!

but if your core is about the 22mm mark and you want to use 8 strings to cover it you should be looking at 12,375 mm or about the 1/2 inch mark .

Cheers for now will post you some stuff soon

Bevan

www.bwrwhips.com

ps

Bryan

I made the cutter beveler that Bernie uses in the you tube post

[entiendo]

So many ways to cut roo!!!

Use gail's book to find out what you need to cover your core. 8 strands1/8" calls for 3/16 core. I only know that because I use it a lot and did the math long ago. Oh 8 strands 3/32" takes 1/8" core, that one was given to me and I use it the most. I hate doing the math and try to avoid it at all costs. Beven seems not to mind though so pick his brain as much as you can and write it down. Google will change his aussie mm measurements into inches for ya. The only thing I would suggest is you not cut your strings any larger than 1/8". Kangaroo is just to beautiful and strong to cut larger than that in my opinion. The smaller, the more detailed, the more beautiful. Of course this is only my opinion.