wooden leather strap cutter

[esantoro]

I'm growing a bit disappointed with my wooden leather strap cutter. It doesn't consistently give me the measured cut I need. For 11/4" straps it's fine, but for the 4" gussets I need it seems to be off frequently by about 1/8".

Here's a link to the strap cutter I'm using: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=3080-00

Does the draw gauge perform better?

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=3084-00

Thanks,

Ed

[Johanna]

The wooden Tandy strapcutter has never been accurate for me. I usually insert a strap of the same width I want to cut, adjust the tool, and ignore the measurement lines entirely. It's a handy tool, especially for the money, once you have a straight edge for making straps, but the ruler on it cannot be trusted.

Johanna

[Luke Hatley]

STRAP CUTTER....i KNOW THE FEELING ABOUT UN EVEN STRAPS..

EITHER ONE OF THOES STRAP CUTTERS WILL CUT UNEVEN.

" IF YOU ARENT USING A VERY SHARP BLADE. WHY NOT CUT A

HEAVY DUTY TEMPLATE OF THE GUSSETT, LAY IT ON THE LEATHER

THEN CUT. THIS WORKS FOR ME.

[esantoro]

STRAP CUTTER....i KNOW THE FEELING ABOUT UN EVEN STRAPS..

EITHER ONE OF THOES STRAP CUTTERS WILL CUT UNEVEN.

" IF YOU ARENT USING A VERY SHARP BLADE. WHY NOT CUT A

HEAVY DUTY TEMPLATE OF THE GUSSETT, LAY IT ON THE LEATHER

THEN CUT. THIS WORKS FOR ME.

I may go this direction. I already use a 9" wide template for this very purpose. I use the strap cutter to strip off 4" for my smaller gusset. This was supposed to be a time saver, but now I've got to go over the gussets with a straight edge to even them out.

I'll go make a 4" template and lay that over what I cut off from the 9" template.

I should be fine using the strap cutter for anything under 2".

Thanks for the help,

Ed

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

The wooden strap cutters sold by Tandy used to be made by someone else. The old ones I have seem to work fine. They track true, the numbers are reasonably accurate (made in a country that still uses inches and not metric), and they stay where set with just the thumb screw and hand pressure. A while back I bought a couple new ones on a manger's discount deal, thinking I could just leave them set to a common width. On both of these there were problems. They don't track true, one tends to bind and the other rides out. I use a razor blade in mine, so it is not a bevel deal on the blade. It is the blade slots are not cut exactly perpendicular to the bar. It takes a pliers tightening the thumb screw or the setting loosens as you pull. The advantages of these are the top cross bar holds the strap down and you are a little more protected from blade cuts as well. They will only cut up to about 16 oz, if that is an issue. It is with my doubled reins.

The draw gauges bring other advantages. They will take thicker than 16 oz. You can cut slits with them coming up from the bottom that the crossbar on the wooden cutter prevents. If they are not exactly true, you can shim the blade or change the bevel on side to the other to true up the blade. Shimming is easier for me. Disadvantages of draw gauges are the exposed blade asking to eat your knuckle feeding a strap in. One of those cam-action fence-stretcher holders for the strap end looks like a good idea. Draw gauges tend to drag a bit if the blade is not absolutely sharp, and you tend to pull the handle towards you vs. the blade, and get off line. I focus on the blade and not the handle as I pull it. The longer the width, the more this "pivot arm effect" is a factor. When I use my 6" gauge full width, I really have to concentrate to keep it straight. I like the blades Bill Buchmann makes for the draw gauges. I bought one from Bob Douglas at Wickenburg, and have since bought another for my other draw gauge. The older draw gauges seem to be better than the imports sold by the craft suppliers. I like a fatter handle, and have an old Osborne with the wood inserts I mostly use. The 6" one I have is one of the metal old cavalry issue models. It is good for cutting blocks of latigo to glue up and then stitch for reins. They made a million of them, but I still feel like I am holding a piece of history in my hand.

Both of these cutters work best for me on vegtan leather, latigo, or diamond tan. Softer leather tends to bunch, and I get uneven edges. For the soft leather like chap or pig, I like to use a rotary cutter against my pattern material. I use printer's press blankets for patterns. It is firm enough to cut against, and the rubber side down really keeps it in place. I make up gusset patterns from it.

Bruce Johnson

[barra]

I think we all cut our teeth on those wooden strap cutters. I am not familiar with a draw guage but am curious to get one just to see how it performs. I have an old Joseph Dixon Plough guage. It must be over 100years old and will definately outlast me. With a plough guage you push rather than pull. The blade never has to be replaced as it is removable and is sharpened/stropped just like my head/round knives. The blade which sort of looks like a meat cleaver with the front edge being the cutting surface. It has an adjustable roller that sits just in front of the blade. This can be lowered to hold the strap down as you plough through.

Even though it is a fantastic old tool, I do not trust the ruler measurements. I do one of 2 things. I do like Johanna suggests and place a scrap of leather I know is the correct measurement and adjust to that or I use the ruler and push the blade just enough so I can see a small mark and measure this with a ruler or use the buckle to see if it will fit. Any adjusting scale on the best tool in the world is only as good as the width of the modern buckle you want to attach to the strap. What the plough guage says is 3/4" does not mean it is the same as the 3/4" buckle I want to attach. The strap only needs to be a smidgeon off from the buckle to be a major pain.

[Faridz Muhammad]

I would prefer using template too, its safer that way than risking the leather to be uneven and not accurate.

Cheers.

Faridz