Need to join two lace ends together neatly

[Guest bill]

I wonder if anyone can suggest a quick and easy solution to joining two lace ends together neatly? It's for a small craft project I'm working on.

 

Basically I have a short (40cm) length of shoelace type cording, and I need to thread it first, and then join the ends together to form a seamless loop of cord.

 

The easiest would be to just tie them together, but this doesn't look neat.

 

I then wondered if the ends could be joined with a single metal aglet, which led me to this forum. But looking around I think I'd need some machinery to do this? I'm only looking to join a few 100. Can you crimp an aglet manually?

 

Would plastic aglets work any better? How do you apply them? Can I do it at home?

 

Any other suggestions are welcome.

[kobblers]

i can't see why you can't manually crimp aglets if you're only doing a few 100, time consuming though if you wanna get it perfect

 

rick.

[ironplanet uk900]

Just buy longer laces lol

[the dutch cobbler]

 

and then join the ends together to form a seamless loop of cord.

 

Hi Tel.200,

maybe my English is not good enough , but I think Bill wants te make a lace with no end! He wants to get it round and round and round.... Not a longer lace.....

 

John

[Guest bill]

That is exactly what I meant Dutch Cobbler.

 

Imagine a drawstring bag - the string or lace forms a loop - this is what I want to achieve.

 

ascap29 - if you think it's possible to manually crimp aglets that's ideally what I'd like to do. As long as it doesn't take more than 5 minutes each, that'd be fine.

 

But where would I get the equipment to do this, and find such a (relatively) small amount of aglets?

[Lee]

time consuming, but if you use cord you could always do this

 

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=d6UZ4J7Xdyo

 

turn the cord through 90o to make your continuous loop.

 

Lee

[Auto Key Wizard]

and then join the ends together to form a seamless loop of cord.

Hi Tel.200,

maybe my English is not good enough , but I think Bill wants te make a lace with no end! He wants to get it round and round and round.... Not a longer lace.....

John

Sorry, my bad

[Guest bill]

Thanks Lee, but like you say I think this would be too time consuming and not a neat enough finish for what I want.

 

[Iain]

This may be totally off the mark but what about using wire crimps. They are used for connecting to pieces of cable or wire together. They do come sheathed but that can be removed with a knife or you could paint over them.

 

It's just a thought if you can't get hold of any aglets.

 

Iain

[x minit uk]

Just buy longer laces lol

Luv it

[Guest bill]

Iain, I think that might be a possibility!

 

Thing is I don't know where to get crimps from either. There seems to be many different types when I search.

[Perplexus]

Look on eBay for 'Heat shrink tubing' or 'Heat shrink sleeving'. We've been using it for years for making aglets. Just push the ends of the laces into the tube and heat it up - it shrinks to a fraction of its diameter and grips the lace.

[Guest bill]

Thanks Perplexus, didn't even know that stuff existed!

 

Have ordered a meter off ebay to give it a trial run.

 

How do you heat it without burning/scorching the laces? It says it shrinks at 60º so I'm guessing a hairdryer's not gonna do it and a naked flame is needed?

[kobblers]

http://mdpsupplies.com/productdetails.asp

 

have a look at that lighter powered mini blowtorch, may be what you need, i have one myself and they're good without being too powerful.

 

rick.

[Theone]

hi bill

a soldering iron is normally used top shrink it

dont have to touch it just put tip near it

not sure how strong it is going to be at join

but good idea for finishing of just one end

got to say perplexus that has got to be one of the toptips of 2008 =D>

[Auto Key Wizard]

How do you heat it without burning/scorching the laces?

Hot air device would be best,

I have a hot air desoldering unit which is perfect for this application

[Ray T.]

.HI

Just a idea but why not put a metal shoe lace tip on them.Some of us have a hand tool to crimp them on.Just put both ends in 1tip then crimp in the middle?

Ray T.

[Guest bill]

Just a idea but why not put a metal shoe lace tip on them.Some of us have a hand tool to crimp them on.Just put both ends in 1tip then crimp in the middle?

 

Where do you get those tips from and and which hand tool would be best, Ray?

[Perplexus]

Thanks Perplexus, didn't even know that stuff existed!

 

Have ordered a meter off ebay to give it a trial run.

 

How do you heat it without burning/scorching the laces? It says it shrinks at 60º so I'm guessing a hairdryer's not gonna do it and a naked flame is needed?

 

Bill - 60º is not all that hot - only just over half-way to boiling point! We usually just wave the lace-end over (but not in) the flame of a blowtorch. You'll soon see how quickly the tubing shrinks!

[Guest bill]

Bill - 60º is not all that hot - only just over half-way to boiling point! We usually just wave the lace-end over (but not in) the flame of a blowtorch. You'll soon see how quickly the tubing shrinks!

 

Yup - managed to do it with a hot iron through a piece of paper (so the plastic didn't stick).

 

Worked well, and will use for now, but I think long crimps (if I can get hold of them) as Ray suggested will ultimately look better. Anyone got any idea where to get them?

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

Heat shrink tubing will do the job, trick is to get the smallest diameter to do the job as there are many sizes.

Used primarily by the Electrical trade to shrink over exposed cabling. Available in several colours as well as sizes.

Stocked by most electrical wholesalers and was stocked by Screwfix direct. You can get a plastic container box with assorted sizes for about £3, I got one about 3 months ago. Clear ones are good for going over stilettos for protection of covers.

Shrinking can be done with a Hot air gun as used for Paint Stripping. I used a naked flame years ago and as long as its a clean flame as in Gas not Zippo and you keep it moving it should be ok. If however the tubing is a little on the large side it will distort.

Put the cover onto the lace, then Superglue the ends together before sliding the over over the join, then apply the heat.