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Youblob · CC0
Elastic Cord: Cotton Braided over a Stretched Rubber Strand (Blakesley 1889)
Braid cotton round a rubber strand while the rubber is stretched, and the cord springs back when it is let go. Gilbert Blakesley of Bristol, Connecticut set the stretch so that the braid stops the cord before the rubber is pulled past the point it fully recovers from, and so that at rest the rubber carries no tension at all. The braid protects the rubber and it lasts.
Source: G. H. Blakesley, US 411,416 (1889). The rubber strand is our rubber thread blueprint; the tools are ours. Picture drawn by Youblob.
Intermediate
2 hours
Instructions
1
1
Feed the rubber under tension
Feed the rubber under tension
Pass a long rubber strand, or several, under tension through a braiding machine. Round or flat, one strand or more: Blakesley says it does not matter.
Materials for this step:
Rubber Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Braiding Machine2
2
Braid on a cotton cover
Braid on a cotton cover
Let the machine braid a covering of cotton thread over the stretched rubber with a rapid feed.
Materials for this step:
Cotton Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Braiding Machine3
3
Set tension against feed
Set tension against feed
Adjust the rubber tension and the braider feed so that, when the cord is pulled, the braid reaches its full length before the rubber reaches its safe stretch, the stretch it fully recovers from without risk of breaking. At rest, the rubber should be under no tension at all.
Tools needed:
Braiding Machine
Ruler4
4
Optional soft second cover
Optional soft second cover
For a softer cord, pass it again, under tension, through a braider that lays a loose second covering of soft thread such as silk or wool.
Materials for this step:
Silk Yarn1 as requiredTools needed:
Braiding Machine5
5
Reel it
Reel it
Wind the cord on a reel as it leaves the braider.
Tools needed:
Thread Spool SetMaterials
3- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
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