question on doing a mexican round braid

[Halitech]

Do a search on youtube for Chief31794 and you'll find 5 videos on how to start, finish, do the corners and splice

[Windrider30]

6 hours ago, Halitech said:

Do a search on youtube for Chief31794 and you'll find 5 videos on how to start, finish, do the corners and splice

Thanks and gawd how I hate splicing!!!! I tend to work with a LOT of lace in one go to avoid splicing!!

[NVLeatherWorx]

18 hours ago, Windrider30 said:

Thanks and gawd how I hate splicing!!!! I tend to work with a LOT of lace in one go to avoid splicing!!

But just remember, every time you are dragging that long run of lace through each hole/slit you are applying friction to it and the more friction that is applied, the more wear that is being applied and it will weaken the lace as you get closer to the end.  The reason that it is recommended to work with no more than 2 to 3 yards at a time is that the amount of wear that is applied over a short length is not enough to create the risk of premature failure of the lace because the fibers have not been overly stretched or stressed.  I agree, splicing is a pain in the 5th point of contact but it is there for a reason and I learned my lesson on that long ago when I decided to just do an entire wallet with one super long length of lace; after about 4 months I had to undo it all and replace it because it failed and the failure was because the fiber structure was basically worn out as a result of all of the friction that had been applied during assembly.  Now I just bite the bullet and splice every 2 1/2 yards and I get over it; and I do the wet splicing technique.

[Windrider30]

4 hours ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

But just remember, every time you are dragging that long run of lace through each hole/slit you are applying friction to it and the more friction that is applied, the more wear that is being applied and it will weaken the lace as you get closer to the end.  The reason that it is recommended to work with no more than 2 to 3 yards at a time is that the amount of wear that is applied over a short length is not enough to create the risk of premature failure of the lace because the fibers have not been overly stretched or stressed.  I agree, splicing is a pain in the 5th point of contact but it is there for a reason and I learned my lesson on that long ago when I decided to just do an entire wallet with one super long length of lace; after about 4 months I had to undo it all and replace it because it failed and the failure was because the fiber structure was basically worn out as a result of all of the friction that had been applied during assembly.  Now I just bite the bullet and splice every 2 1/2 yards and I get over it; and I do the wet splicing technique.

wet splicing what is this? first time I have heard of this term.

[Northmount]

5 hours ago, Windrider30 said:

wet splicing what is this? first time I have heard of this term.

Skive and glue or cement.

Tom

[NVLeatherWorx]

northmount nailed it for you.  The wet splicing method is not commonly used but it produces a much more natural look and doesn't require any additional thinking or technique (aside from making sure that you skive the correct sides of the two pieces that you are cementing together that is).  

[Windrider30]

42 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

northmount nailed it for you.  The wet splicing method is not commonly used but it produces a much more natural look and doesn't require any additional thinking or technique (aside from making sure that you skive the correct sides of the two pieces that you are cementing together that is).  

Ah ok that is how i do my splicing anyways did not know there was a term for it!! Still hate doing it with a passion but will bite the bullet on this on and work with smaller amounts of lacing. 

[Windrider30]

Ok one more question, this time about the distance between holes. Now the lace that I am going to use is 1/8th inch so will be doing an 8th inch hole as the garment leather will stretch a little to allow for two or more passes, but what is a good distance between holes to really show off the braid work? Or is it more of an eye ball kind of thing? I am going to go 1/4 inch from the edge all the way around instead of my usual of an 1/8th of an inch from the edge as I think the 1/4 will help protect the edges and bottom a bit more.

[NVLeatherWorx]

That is one where you may find your answer by doing a test run with some scrap leather and a little bit of lace to find out if your adding extra depth will still allow you to get the braided look and feel.  The results of the look and feel are based on the original idea that your lace line will be about 1/8" from the edge and that you are using a 1/8" thonging chisel which is already proportionally spaced.  Once you start changing any one pre-defined dimension the results will change as well.  On this specific stitch you may not be able to see and the feel the braid effect as much as you may like.  I personally would do the practice run on it to see for myself if that is what I am looking for and if it would even work.  I would not recommend messing with the spacing from hole to hole though as it will look odd with such a thin lace and I am not aware of anyone who makes 1/4" chisels or lace of the type that would be used here.  Everything here is proportional so the only way to find out if any adjustments would work is to test it out for yourself.

[Thor]

If you want to make your life a little easier. There's a 4-in-1 punch made by Ivan Leather and sold by Tandy. This will speed up your process.