Lacing is a good fabricating tool

lacing a project together

That in the next thing on the endless list of leathercraft  .It was tough in the start to use lace as a fabricating tool other than small project like wallets and such because the lace just wasn't for sale any where.   It wasn't long that I learned that you always had to make your own to be happy.  That was cool anyway I had a braiding book by Bruce Grant and it explained the process easy enough.  What it didn't say or I missed it that it took a little practice and skill to do it .Ok a lot of practice and skill
  There are some handy tools out there that have made life easier for lace making and they work well and it's not tough to master.  I remember stringing up some rawhide with a onlooker watching , his comment was "That's medieval don't they have a better tool for that other than a knife" I haven't found one yet for rawhide but that's a hole other thing.
  So taking a quote for the great braider Bill Dorrance and it does apply to every thing in the shop is " The key is in the preparation" Life is so much easier when all the steps are done and when your project starts coming together there are no serious fights involved.
 Her are the steps I take
1: Leather selection  I use a lot of my scraps for this and being careful not to have any belly leather and cutting out any scores it the leather. this prevents stretching and breakage during the process .  
2:  Size of the lace.  The lace should fill the hole that is being laced. In making the lace you have to count on some shrink it's going to happen for sure so I solve this by making my lace before punching any holes just to time. you may also over size the lace and size it down to fit but if it is to small you are cutting more lace for sure.
3: Belvel  A nice belvel to the lace allows it to lay flat and is more I pleasing and flat out more sounds construction all around. The tools for this are a little harder to find and it does taht some time to master them.
4 Soaping  The soap allows your lace to pass through without harming the lace as you work. the longer the lacing job the more your lace takes a beating.

  Of coarse there are many ways to pull this off and lots of tips and tricks that help you along the way.  I'm not keeping any of them a secret I just don't write or type well enough to explain plus you kind of have to be at it to remember what they are for me anyway.  So happy lacing and sure I will answer any questions If I don't know the answer I will have a good story why I don't know