Guitar Strap With Laced Edges

[Cyberthrasher]

It took me about 4 hours to lace the whole thing.

Man... theres got to be an easier way......

NOPE!! Consider the size of the product. Good lacing takes time, just like good stitching. That's why I don't do a lot of laced/stitched guitar straps. It's a labor of love that should be valued accordingly and most people don't want to pay the price. 4 hours lacing would be an additional $80 on my product. It takes me 5 hours to hand stitch a guitar strap and that's an additional $100. Very few are willing to pay for it because they don't put as much value on it, so they go with a basic single layer tooled strap instead.

Now, some tips on your lacing. First off, watch the angle so they all match up nice and cleanly. That way you don't get different spacing and stuff. For splicing, do a dry splice by tucking the lace in between your leather. Steps 6 - 8 here will show you how. This is for double-loop lacing, but the concept is the same regardless of the lacing style you choose. If you're not doing 2 pieces of leather laced together, cut a slit (or pocket) in the edge to make two layers to tuck the lace into.

http://www.kingsmere...com/page96.html

Oh yeah, and don't listen to what the folks at the Tandy store tell you to buy. The whole company is only out for profits and many of their people are only experienced in what they're told - meaning most have never worked with leather outside the store. It's a shame considering everything they've done in the past for our field.

Edited September 25, 2013 by Cyberthrasher

[geckostraps]

NOPE!! Consider the size of the product. Good lacing takes time, just like good stitching. That's why I don't do a lot of laced/stitched guitar straps. It's a labor of love that should be valued accordingly and most people don't want to pay the price. 4 hours lacing would be an additional $80 on my product. It takes me 5 hours to hand stitch a guitar strap and that's an additional $100. Very few are willing to pay for it because they don't put as much value on it, so they go with a basic single layer tooled strap instead.

Now, some tips on your lacing. First off, watch the angle so they all match up nice and cleanly. That way you don't get different spacing and stuff. For splicing, do a dry splice by tucking the lace in between your leather. Steps 6 - 8 here will show you how. This is for double-loop lacing, but the concept is the same regardless of the lacing style you choose. If you're not doing 2 pieces of leather laced together, cut a slit (or pocket) in the edge to make two layers to tuck the lace into.

http://www.kingsmere...com/page96.html

Oh yeah, and don't listen to what the folks at the Tandy store tell you to buy. The whole company is only out for profits and many of their people are only experienced in what they're told - meaning most have never worked with leather outside the store. It's a shame considering everything they've done in the past for our field.

Thanks for the input.

I don't see myself making alot of these. I just wanted to try it.

The Kingsmere site looks like it has alot of info.

Unfortunately, Tandy is the only local place I know of to get products.

The woman there is either EXTREMELY helpful, or not at all

[Cyberthrasher]

Springfield Leather is a good choice. I'm all for buying local, but if the quality/help isn't there, then it's off to someone else online. I don't even have a Tandy local, so it's all online for me. Kevin and the girls at Springfield will treat you right. Just give them a call and ask questions. They're always there to help.

[geckostraps]

Springfield Leather is a good choice. I'm all for buying local, but if the quality/help isn't there, then it's off to someone else online. I don't even have a Tandy local, so it's all online for me. Kevin and the girls at Springfield will treat you right. Just give them a call and ask questions. They're always there to help.

I've used Springfield numerous times. J'ne was very helpful.

I stand corrected. Tandy told me to use Deertan lace

Heres another question.

In the third picture of my original post. How do you achieve that two-tone finish.

Black on the outside, redish tone in the middle?

[Cyberthrasher]

That one's hard to tell exactly since the picture is so small (I suggest using the forum's picture attaching features). But, that looks similar to another strap maker I've seen a lot of. Most of what he does his block dyed and resisted. For a strap like that, he probably stamped the letters, block dyed the "reddish" color, and then went over the perimeter pattern with a brush - at least that's what I would do with a basic idea like that, but I wouldn't do one like that. I've actually seen a video of his work before where he block dyes everything. That said, he gets some good color contrast, but other than that I'm not a fan of his work (assuming it's the same guy I've viewed before).

Now, how I would do it.....

AIRBRUSH. It's a very powerful tool for dying and you'll get ooohs and ahhhs all day from it. Apply your light color, then go around the perimeter with a darker color. Here's a good example I have uploaded of a cool airbrush fade job. This was actually the first time I had ever used one.

Edited September 25, 2013 by Cyberthrasher

[geckostraps]

Third attempt. I discovered a big problem with the first two.

I was using a 1/8" punch, and 5/32" lace.

I bought a 5/32" punch and the results were MUCH better.

Edited October 3, 2013 by geckostraps

[Cyberthrasher]

The lacing is looking a lot better. You'll want to treat the tip like a corner and go through the holes there at least a couple times each to try to make it look more uniform. Cut of a practice scrap that matches the shape of your tip and give it a few shots to make it look nice. Another thing you can do, which will help the overall feel of the lacing, is to start at the other end (where you have more of a flat tip) and then come down one side and stop at the bottom tip. Then, go back to the other end, and come down the other side, ending both at the same spot. That will make your lace symmetrical so it all points in the same direction.

[geckostraps]

Great tips. Thanks