page 1   page 2   page 3   page 4   page 5   page 6   page 7 The construction of this whip is primarily based on the procedure used by Bernie Wojcicki in his "How To Make A Bullwhip" tutorial DVDs. For more info on the DVDs, click here. 6 Plait Belly - Initial Calculations Saturday January 24, 2004 Step 5: The handle diameter is 8mm. Unfortunately, with the excessive binding at the handle/thong junction it measures 10mm there. To calculate strand width needed for a 6 plait belly take the 8mm handle diameter, multiply by 4.5, and divide by 6. According to the calculation, the strands should be 6mm wide. However, because of the extra thickness at the handle/thong junction I decided upon going with 6.5mm strands to allow for the extra. At this point, the whip measures 32" in length. So, we want strands approximately double in length that are 64" (5' 4") long. I'll make them an even 5' 6" long. Because of the stretchiness of the hide (these strands are cut from the weaker outer layers of the hide), I'll cut the strands twice the final thickness I want (6.5mm) to end up with 13mm wide strands *before* stretching. 6 strands x 5 1/2' = a single 33' long strand that needs to be cut (at 13mm wide) NOTES: Are my 5 1/2' strands going to be long enough? Jerry R. will typically cut his laces 1.75 times the length he needs. On the overlay set the rule of thumb is about twice the length but just a hair shorter. Since this first belly is going around a much thinner diameter than the later plaited layers, the length doesn't get eaten up as much. I'll actually want to make this belly about 36" long, not 32". This will give a bit more taper. 6 Plait Belly - Cutting the Strands Saturday January 24, 2004 Step 6: I ordered an Australian strander but it won't be here until sometime next week so I decided to cut the intial strands for my 6 plait belly using the "thumbnail" cutting technique as outlined in Ron Edward's book "How To Make Whips" on page 58. Essentially, the thumbnail runs along the edge of the hide and acts as a guide while you cut. Was this a mistake? HA! We'll see. Because this belly will be covered by other layers I figured this would be the right time to try this technique in case I royally mess things up. I took my time cutting and measured frequently to make sure I was close to the 13mm width that I wanted for the strands. I think for the most part that it worked out okay and I cut the strand close enough to the correct width. After stretching the leather and using the lace cutter to pare it down it should be good to go! Be sure to cut laces wider in the stretchy areas such as the armpits so they will be the proper width after stretching.            NOTES: If you have access to a grinding wheel, get a buffing wheel and jeweller's rouge. It will put that extra fine edge on your cutting blades and will make the cutting easier. When cutting out for the strands, turn the hide over and cut it. You will be looking at the bottom of the hide, but the knife will be cutting through the hair side first and seems to travel smoother. Next time instead of cutting one long strand, try cutting the sets on gangs. 6 Plait Belly - Stretching the Leather Saturday January 24, 2004 Step 7: Take the 33' length of leather that was cut for the 6 plait belly and tie securely to a hook (or in this case, a door handle). Take a heavy duty screwdriver and wrap the leather around it once. Pull back on the screwdriver to stretch out the leather, going the whole length of the strand. If the leather is bound to break, it will probably do so at this stage. After the initial stretch, go back and do it again but this time wrap the leather around the screwdriver twice. Unfortunately, the second time around the leather did break while I was stretching it. It broke approximately 4' 8" from the end that was tied to the door. The hide prior to cutting the 33' strand for the belly, measured at its extreme points 26 1/4" wide and 36" high. The hide after having cut the 33' of leather measured 21 1/2" wide and 31 1/2" high. That means that a little less than 2 1/2" of leather was taken from around the outside of the hide.       The leather for the 6 plait belly was initally cut as one long strand that measured approximately 33' in length. After stretching, the leather was approximately 7' longer. I had a broken piece of leather that was 4' 8" long. I measured and cut the 6 strands I needed at 5' 1/2" long each for a total of 33'. Plus, I had a leftover piece of leather that measured 18" (2' 2") long. So, 4' 8" + 33' + 2' 2" = 40' for the total length of the leather after it was stretched. NOTES: How much weight do I want to put into it when I stretch the leather? Should I dampen the leather with slightly warm water prior to stretching? If so, why? 6 Plait Belly - Lace Cutting and Skiving Sunday January 25, 2004 Step 8: Take the 6 (5 1/2' long) strands and trim to 6.5mm with the lace cutter. Measure 2' from one end on each strand then trim the remaining lengths to 5.5mm. Measure off 1 more foot and trim the remaining to 4.5mm. Again, measure off another foot and trim the remaining to 3.5mm. So, we have feet 1 and 2 with a width of 6.5mm, the 3rd foot at 5.5mm, the 4th foot at 4.5mm, and the remainder at 3.5mm. It may be crude but it still gives sort of a faux taper. And given my lack of tools and cutting skills this is probably the easiest way for me to cut 'tapered' laces.            Next, with the lace cutter and a Schick injector razor blade mounted at 45 degrees, bevel the underside of the leather on both sides so that it will lay flat when plaiting. Be sure not to take anything off the 'good' side of the leather. Because of the varying width of the strands, I didn't use the guide on the lace cutter while bevelling the strands. Instead, I just did it by hand. It wasn't the cleanest job I've ever done but I wasn't sure how else to do it. Let me also mention that even though I had a space heater beside me (see bottom right corner in first picture) it was still only 1 degree Celsius (0 degrees Celsius is the freezing point of water) in the garage when I was cutting the laces. It was cold enough that I could see my breath. I don't recommend making whips in such bitter conditions! NOTES: If you are planning on dropping strands, you don't have to cut all the laces to full length. When plaiting this belly, remember to put the whip in a vise to help keep the seams straight on the plaiting.                             page 1   page 2   page 3   page 4   page 5   page 6   page 7