I've always loved the look of wiring bundles tied with waxed cord on old rods. Seemed more common on the West Coast in the early fifties and had a very distinct double row knot with about 1/2" between the loops and a continuous cord along the length of the bundle. Way cooler looking than stuff you can buy today! I've always seen it on cloth covered wiring and seemed to disappear by '55 or so. There were some pics in Hop Up and the Rodders Journal of the Morrison roadster a while back that showed it nicely. I'm sure there is a definite technique to the process. Anyone on here familiar with this?
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-with-a-linemans-knot-or-other-method.246825/ Might be more if you search for it
I used to do that when making up wiring looms for aircraft. Maybe look up some aicraft wiring training manuals, if you can search for that kinda stuff on the internets.
Hey Koz, hope all's going good up your way. I also really like the look, I have a roll of some of the black waxed flat cord and am considering using on my current build (I have more than I need if you want some) . It's what was used on all wiring harnesses when I worked on helicopters. a very neat detail for sure.
Thanks guys! I want to do my flatty like the one below and using cloth covered wire and a wire wrap. How sweet are those heads! I have some really cool tan cord that is waxed and should work well. I've been trying to snag a picture of the Walker-Morrison engine bay to no avail. They used what looks like a double lock knot using two parrallel '52F3, Things are great on this end. Hope you're doing fine as well. We haven't seen each other in a while. We should have a breakfast meetup over the Fall.
I used to install telephone central offices, and laced thousands of feet of cabling every year. I had a huge callous on the side of my little finger from applying tension to the stitches. I learned from an old guy, but did find this, which has a how-to section on lacing. http://www.techflex.com/pdfdocs/lacingtape-booklet.pdf
It's not hard to do, but your hands are going to hate you when you do it. I did my 37 with a Painless kit and a spool of lacing tape last year. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
That video is the nuts. I like this so much better than plastic cable ties! I was looking for the wrong thing on YouTube. Thanks guys.
Worked in aircraft industry for close to 40 years as an aircraft electrician. If i had a nickel for every knot i tied , i would be rich.
When I started in the cable and harness business in 1979 they were still using waxed linen lacing cord although most companies (excluding air and space companies) were switching to nylon ties. IBM, in San Jose California, was still specifying the waxed lacing cord in 1979. I never used the waxed lacing cord in my business but I have watched people lace harnesses (looms) on the production lines. The people who did the lacing were incredibly fast to the point that an experienced lacing person could lace a harness as fast (if not faster) that a person could apply the tye wraps/zip ties. Their hands were calloused from pulling the cord tight thousands of times a day. The lacing material had several advantages over the nylon ties. The lacing cord was a LOT cheaper in comparison to the nylon ties. The lacing cord didn't dry out and get brittle over time. The nylon ties can "round off" (get loose) if the harness is tied with ties that are too small or if the harness sees a lot of movement. Nylon tyes can mark (slightly damage) the softer insulation used on some wires. So why did everyone switch to nylon tyes if lacing was so good? Cable ties were easier to use, especially for an untrained operator. While a trained lacing person could lace a harness as fast as a person using cable ties, it took a lot of time before a person could build up to that speed. A couple of things to know... not all cable ties are created equal nor are they all made out of the same material. The best cable ties are made by Panduit. The best material are those made from nylon. You can also get cable ties made from a variety of inferior plastics (PVC). If you were to compare the Panduit Tyes to their competitors you will find that they are stronger because they don't skimp on the amount of Nylon they use in each tye, don't break as easily, and don't round off as easily. Unfortunately, the local auto parts store and hardware store will typically sell the lowest priced and worst cable ties which are normally made of PVC. These ties don't tighten worth a damn, are low strength, round off easily, and often break after they have been applied. All ties (except those made of medal... yes they make metal ties) will dry out over time and lose their strength. That is why the tyes are sold in sealed bags. So don't buy a huge bag of ties unless you are going to use them in the next 6 months. You can dye nylon tyes and connectors using boiling water and Ritz dye (available from hardware stores, drug stores, and supermarkets). Ritz dye is made for dying clothes and tie died shirts. But, put a full package of dye into a pot of boiling water, drop in your nylon tyes, stir occasionally, and check the color till you have the intensity you want. Rinse in cold water to "set" the dye. It is easier to dye the nylon with the darker dyes, red, black, blue, than the lighter colors like yellow.
All the relay panels in generating and power distribution center had the wire looms tied with wax string. Some I work on we're done in the 20-30s and still looked good but the insulation on the wires had given up. The looms were so straight with the wires all coming out to their terminations in the same way. Anyway I had to learn how as part of my apprenticeship. When ty-raps came about, was not as neat, and we soon found the light or "white" nylon broke down quickly. Now I always use black ties, thinnest possible, clipping the extension close and rolling the cut around to the back side normally keeping the wires off the surface where they are mounted. Still love the look of wax string cable tying.
I have used Thomas & Betts (T&B) cable ties for a long time, and they seem to hold up as good as the Panduit ties do. I always use the black ones as they seem to have the best UV resistance.
Look for the nomex lacing cord. It is light colored with black speckles in it, looks cool. Guterbrod is a popular manufacturer. We use all mil-spec stuff here at work.
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