Currently I’m working on a plaiting project.  I’m braiding over copper tubes.  This is the second time I’ve done this specific project.  Basically I have 95ish copper tubes of various diameters and lengths (2 inches to 15 inches).  I then do an 8 plait braid of the top of them.

The key to this is finding the most efficient way to do plait them.  I’ve found that I first sort them by size and leather color.  Then I work with them as a batch of that color.  If I was cutting out and braiding them one at a time, it would take forever.

Once I have a group of the same width and color I cut the lace and start plaiting:

When I get to the end of the first tube, I put the second tube end to end with it and keep braiding.  The goal is to not really stop braiding.  Every time I stop, or change tasks I slow down, and as they say “time is money”.

Once I have all of the tubes braided over, I then use tape to mark off where the ends are:

Then cut the leather through the tape to leave some of the tube exposed.

The final step is tying the knots.  Unfortunately the knots are very labor intensive and I really haven’t found a way to speed them up. As Lauren Wickline once told me, “Knots are a time suck”.  And fully agree!

The best way I’ve found is to cut the lace I’ll need for the knots, so it’s one long strand.  The I tied the first knot and tighten it, then using the other end of the lace I tie the second knot and tighten it.  Finally I cut the knot off the lace and trim the loose end.

Doing the cutting two at a time instead of after each knot save me about 10 seconds per tube.  While not a ton of time, when you multiply it by 95+ knots it will save me about 15 minutes over the course of the project.

Once this is finished the next project will be a bullwhip!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org