Lace maker tool

[Grihm]

Hi.

I have been working with the standard Tandyleather lace tool.

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-lace-maker

I am not very satisfied since i feel it´s not very sturdy and i have problems making both thicker or thinner lace than from 2.5 mm thickness. 

Some time age, i saw a tool made fully in metal. It looked more like a round pen sort of. That tool also seemed to be able to create round lace and not only flat.

 

My question is, do anyone have a tip on where to purchase another better tool?

I need it preferably to be possible to bring with me on my travels. It would be superb if it could make both flat and round lace, and of course, easy to replace or sharpen the blades in it.

[KMJares]

I use the Australian strander from Tandy. I'm just a recreational worker but this tool both feels great in my hands and switching out blades are easy. I cant speak on round lace though.

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/australian-strander

[Grihm]

3 hours ago, KMJares said:

I use the Australian strander from Tandy. I'm just a recreational worker but this tool both feels great in my hands and switching out blades are easy. I cant speak on round lace though.

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/australian-strander

Interesting product. I can see a use for it for my basketplans, but if it would be possible to make 50 meter rolls of lace is another thing. I appreciate the tip =)

[McCordSG]

On 8/22/2018 at 2:54 PM, Grihm said:

Interesting product. I can see a use for it for my basketplans, but if it would be possible to make 50 meter rolls of lace is another thing. I appreciate the tip =)

This style could make that much as it easily follows the outer contours of the hide.

Tandy does carry a pen style lace maker that you have mentioned only made of plastic. It works great for mid weight leather. The softer or thinner leathers it really struggles with. I also think it wastes a lot of leather as you need to cut a square (4"-6"), cut a quarter sized hole in the center, pull the lace and then discard the corners that you cannot then use.  

Each tool has its pros and cons.  I have all three and use each quite a bit, though the "pen style the least". 

Hope this helps. 

[Grihm]

I have that plastic tool and it´s the only one i have sadly. It feels a bit off when i am at Viking markets etc tho...so hoping to get a replacement. Thank you =)

[Steve75]

I started out with the lace maker, and recently acquired the Australian Strander.  Of the two I prefer the Australian Strander.  I feel like I have more control over the cutter as I cut the lace.  The more I use the strander the better I get at controlling it and getting the results I want.  The only other strand/lace cutter I know of is the Osborne No 1000 Lace Cutter https://osborneleathertools.com/product_details.php?pid=439.  

[Grihm]

37 minutes ago, Steve75 said:

I started out with the lace maker, and recently acquired the Australian Strander.  Of the two I prefer the Australian Strander.  I feel like I have more control over the cutter as I cut the lace.  The more I use the strander the better I get at controlling it and getting the results I want.  The only other strand/lace cutter I know of is the Osborne No 1000 Lace Cutter https://osborneleathertools.com/product_details.php?pid=439.  

The Australian Strander. Can you control the thickness of the lace and does it take a lot of thicknesses or preferably only one or two?
The plasticy one i have is basically only useful on the biggest size with my Veg tanned leather. I would love to be able to make more sizes than just the one.

[Mark842]

I guess it depends on the type of leather. I have the Tandy handheld cutter, the Australian Strander and some gizmo lace cutter I bought at the Sheridan trade show for about $300. Unfortunately that was wasted money. For me the tandy cutter is the best tool. I cut chrome oil tanned hides to lace, 1 whole hide per week. The only problem I ever had with the Tandy lace cutter is the leather would eventually cut through the plastic making your lace wider and wider till eventually it would cut through all the way cutting the tool in half. I have since remedied that issue but lining the inside of the lace cutter with aluminum from a pop can. problem solved. I buy high carbon steel blades as they last about 20 times longer than the crap blades Tandy sells for them.

I cut my leather hide into 1 foot squares. Cut a hole in the center and start cutting lace. I can cut a full 45 sqft 6-7oz hide to lace in about 3 hours using the Tandy cutter. The Aussie Strander is a waste of time with oil tanned leather and the 300 dollar gizmo cuts at about a 1/4 the speed of the tandy cutter. I guess I'm just a cheap date.

[Grihm]

1 minute ago, Mark842 said:

I guess it depends on the type of leather. I have the Tandy handheld cutter, the Australian Strander and some gizmo lace cutter I bought at the Sheridan trade show for about $300. Unfortunately that was wasted money. For me the tandy cutter is the best tool. I cut chrome oil tanned hides to lace, 1 whole hide per week. The only problem I ever had with the Tandy lace cutter is the leather would eventually cut through the plastic making your lace wider and wider till eventually it would cut through all the way cutting the tool in half. I have since remedied that issue but lining the inside of the lace cutter with aluminum from a pop can. problem solved. I buy high carbon steel blades as they last about 20 times longer than the crap blades Tandy sells for them.

I cut my leather hide into 1 foot squares. Cut a hole in the center and start cutting lace. I can cut a full 45 sqft 6-7oz hide to lace in about 3 hours using the Tandy cutter. The Aussie Strander is a waste of time with oil tanned leather and the 300 dollar gizmo cuts at about a 1/4 the speed of the tandy cutter. I guess I'm just a cheap date.

Kudos for the info!
Il be trying out the Strander one i feel. If it´s not what i hope for, il probably go for the old antique one that makes rounded lace, but they too are quite expensive. Oh well... trial and error i suppose. Also, may be different with my veg tanned leather so i´l be sure to take note on it.

[Mark842]

2 minutes ago, Grihm said:

Kudos for the info!
Il be trying out the Strander one i feel. If it´s not what i hope for, il probably go for the old antique one that makes rounded lace, but they too are quite expensive. Oh well... trial and error i suppose. Also, may be different with my veg tanned leather so i´l be sure to take note on it.

With veg tan being stiffer I can see a strander working OK on it but I still wouldn't want to cut any kind of high volume with it. That and you are restricted in length of the lace to the length of the hide. With the Tandy lace cutter I can get about a 30 foot length of lace out a 1 foot square. I curious about this antique lace cutter you're talking about that makes round lace. never heard of such a beast.

[MikeRock]

No one has mentioned the old cobblers lace maker.  I have one and it works fine.. stole a photo off the net.

[Grihm]

16 hours ago, MikeRock said:

No one has mentioned the old cobblers lace maker.  I have one and it works fine.. stole a photo off the net.

I thought that was the Australian Strander O_o

[Grihm]

17 hours ago, Grihm said:

Kudos for the info!
Il be trying out the Strander one i feel. If it´s not what i hope for, il probably go for the old antique one that makes rounded lace, but they too are quite expensive. Oh well... trial and error i suppose. Also, may be different with my veg tanned leather so i´l be sure to take note on it.

Rein rounder ity was called. I call it lace maker in Sweden but i hope it makes sense anyways. Adding a pic.

9323_-_Randall_15_hole_rein_rounder__450 (1).jfif

[MikeRock]

Australian lace maker.....  you are right!!  I'd gotten mine so long ago I forgot the name.   They came out of an Amish harness shop in southern Wisconsin. 

[Grihm]

10 minutes ago, MikeRock said:

Australian lace maker.....  you are right!!  I'd gotten mine so long ago I forgot the name.   They came out of an Amish harness shop in southern Wisconsin. 

Awesome! I like the look of it as well since it´s no plastic.

Question. Can you use it as the Tandy plastic one as well? I mean to make leather cord from a round piece starting from a center hole?

[JLSleather]

But the REAL question is, WHERE is the tool that reliably BEVELS the lace?

 

[Grihm]

10 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

But the REAL question is, WHERE is the tool that reliably BEVELS the lace?

 

Any version  of these? Or do you mean bevels it at the same time?
 

[JLSleather]

nah, I mean so that the lace,

instead of being this

 

 

 

gets to be this

 

 

 

So when I lace with it (not  braid with it) it lays FLATTER (for buckstitching)

 

 

 

[Grihm]

Then that´s the tool you use. At least as i see it from your pic. Could also be this one as it works on a broader surface.
 

[JLSleather]

That would be quite a trick considering that the lace would be less than half as wide as that tool.  I don't doubt it would make the cut, but you'd need a way to reliably hold the lace straight without stretching ...

[JLSleather]

just watched videos of some of these tools. I've owned those plastic things.. not looking for another one.  They do wear quite quickly and even when new they aren't much good for cutting leather under 3 oz, and chrome tanned obviously worse than firm leather.

The osborne model looks to be the most reliable (i 'get' it.. a guy can get good with any tool if he uses it enuf), but even that does nothing to bevel the edges of the lace.

Bruce Cheaney got a y-tube showing how he sorta 'free hands' this process - if you can wade through all the "plugs" he does for various vendors of 'things'.  Still, his process uses fairly heavy leather (he didn't say, but that latigo looks to be about 4/5 oz) and is a "feel", not a repeatable process.  I mention it because viewing it could maybe give a fella an idea on how to improve on it.

 

[Mark842]

18 hours ago, JLSleather said:

But the REAL question is, WHERE is the tool that reliably BEVELS the lace?

 

That would be this. This is the $300 gizmo I bought years ago at Sheridan although I didn't buy it to bevel lace it does. Would I spend what they want for it just to bevel lace? I feel foolish spending what I spent for it to cut lace since I can go faster with the $5 Tandy tool. If I was looking to bevel lace I would just make a beveler. 2 Pieces of 2x4 , sharp razor blade mounted at the desired angle between the pieces and a adjustable piece of metal on top to hold the lace where I want it in relation to the blade. I made one before in the past but have no idea what became of it as it was made just to see if I could...never had a need for it.

https://www.gfeller.us/lacemaster.html

[MikeRock]

Mark,

That Gfeller site sure brings back memories.  In the late sixties every geology student at the several mining colleges out west had at least one item made by 'Roy  Gfeller--Casemaker--Polson, MT'. 

I had a Brunton tripod case and the field case with belt.

Thanks, and God bless

[Northmount]

Ernie Cox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_22mBsfiQO0 lace cutter that was supposed to go into production some years ago.  You may be able to build this yourself. Also demonstrates a beveler.

A comment to the video above refers to " Y-Knot Combination Beveler and Lace Cutter. Not sure if Ernie invented and sold to them or if he took theirs and modified it. Go to Y-Knotlace.com "

Simple cutter from DavidMorgan.com  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7LV8IHU7lw

A DIY version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbdEvLOLpCo

Lots of interesting contraptions you can build for cutting, skiving, and beveling lace on the web and on youtube.

Have fun

Tom

 

 

 

[JLSleather]

Yeah, see - I'm a gimme the stuff already beveled type.  But I suppose if they cut teh lace AND bevel it, then they can't sell you a beveler?