New To Strap Cutter. Question.

[Gump]

I have the wooden strap cutter from a Cali. company and it works great. I have a metal draw gauge and if you don't have a thick, stiff blade, the blade will lay over a ruin your cut, but with a blade thick enough to be rigid, it is to thick to cut properly through anything over 6 oz. I have tried several different types and thicknesses of blades, but in my opinion the wooden strap cutter is far superior to the metal draw gauge. Just my experience but I have ruined a lot of leather trying to use the draw gauge, and never a piece with the old reliable wooden one. Gump

[mrtreat32]

I have the wooden strap cutter from a Cali. company and it works great. I have a metal draw gauge and if you don't have a thick, stiff blade, the blade will lay over a ruin your cut, but with a blade thick enough to be rigid, it is to thick to cut properly through anything over 6 oz. I have tried several different types and thicknesses of blades, but in my opinion the wooden strap cutter is far superior to the metal draw gauge. Just my experience but I have ruined a lot of leather trying to use the draw gauge, and never a piece with the old reliable wooden one. Gump

I have heard this from a few people that they prefer the cheaper wooden one to a metal draw gauge.

[Colt W Knight]

I use this metal one from Tandy

It isn't real high quality, but with a sharp blade, it makes quick work of cutting straps. I like that it will take cheap utility knife blades.

I bought this wood top work bench to work leather. I like to make a straight edge cut first

Then I hang that fresh straight edge off the side of the table, and run my draw gauge down the edge to the cut the strap. The table supports the weight of the hide so I can hold the draw gauge in the one hand, and hold the strap I am cutting in the other.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[Gump]

Thats the metal draw gauge that I was talking about. The blade that came with it was as thick as an axe bit, and the gauge had to be filed to shape so the crossarm would stop rocking back and forth. Not one of my favorite tools. Gump.

[RavenAus]

The thing I found with the Tandy gauge is do NOT use the strap cutter blades! Use the super skiver blades. The little strap cutter blades are about as hard as tin and lose their edge in one cut, the skiver blades are much better at retaining an edge, you just have to watch they don't catch you since there's more blade exposed. On the plus side, more blade means more use before binning it

[keplerts]

Sooo... What is the BL Gauge?

[ClaireAshton]

Im not sure I understand where you glue the card to keep the leather against the frame better but the strap cutter I purchased came with a small booklet of modifications people make on them to fit certain tasks. It also mentions that some adjustments were left out so they could keep the price down and the customer could DIY.

Sorry for slow reply to this. What the card does is to angle the blade slightly outwards, ie tries to cut wider than it is set at. Now this would seem to be a problem until you realise what it does is push the 'guide' edge is forced against the body of the strap cutter. This keeps the strap at the fixed width. If you don't put the card in then there is a tendency for the leather to 'wander' away from the body making the cut length narrower than intended.

The card is more effective when cutting narrower strips than wider as the angle of the blade reduces the wider the strip cut. which will save you one of hands that you seem to need three of........

Claire

The other modification that I personally haven't got round to is to put guides on the body

[keplerts]

Here is a link with a good explanation and pictures.

http://www.johan-potgieter.com/ll/?p=102

[jfdavis58]

I have the wooden cutter-well used. In fact I was advised by a Tandy manager that the metal draw gauge was largely a waste of money-go figure. I find a couple of Irwin Quick clamps help when you need a third hand and using a good knife to cut a 'start' for the strap cutter often remedies the initial pucker. Another shout-out for the Black River guide-where the handout that comes in the package states they can be 'sanded' to remove sharp edges (or be custom resized). Thanks for the 'card' tip!

[billybopp]

I agree with all above, a sharp blade being the most important - without that all the other precautions will be in vain.

While talking about strap cutters, the best tip I had for these (wooden tandy type) was to glue some card within the frame to keep the edge against the frame. Why this isn't designed in at the start is a mystery........

Claire

I modified my strap cutter this way yesterday, and LOVE IT. I cut a piece of cardboard bag liner about 1/4" wide and glue it in. Today, I was able to cut a good number of 4" wide straps from 3/4oz leather with far less effort than ever before. In the past, I've had problems with the cutter wandering off-course. No more!

Thanks for the suggestion! It really helped.

Bill