production wrap string around a Christian cross

[dadams14]

I make small Christian crosses and I make about 10,000 a year. I lace a 30 inch cotton string lanyard through the hole in the cross and then I wrap it around the cross. I use a homemade tool to grab the end of the string and pull it under the wrap. The result is shown in the attached jpg file. It takes me an hour to warp 100 crosses which is very long. I would very much appreciate any idea as to making this process shorter and less labor intensive. You are my last hope (Obi-Wan). Sorry for that in advance.
God bless you,
Dennis

 

[tomwalz]

Do you sell these or give them away? Not really any of my business except that there is no point suggesting an elaborate custom machine if there is no way to pay for it.

First thing that comes to mind is spinning the cross at maybe 60 rpm on its long aixs. The operator would guide the thread back and forth. Might look at equipment for amateur fishing rod builders. Guides are held on with thread.

"Whipping a rope" is using a thread and winding it around the end of a rope to keep the rope from unraveling. Search Youtube for some videos. I would try something such as a nylon needle to make it much faster to pull the rope through.





Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Get a piece of stainless lockwire a couple of feet long, maybe .015" to .035" diameter. Unlike music wire, lockwire is semi-hard and easily bent back on itself with pliers, not so easily with bare hands.

Make a long narrow loop (like a needle threader) in a piece of lockwire.
Lay it on the cross before you start the wrapping, with the eye projecting out beyond the area to be wrapped.
When the wrap is done, insert the free end of the string in the wire eye.
Pull the wire eye so the eye grabs the string and starts to pull it under the wrap.
Trim the string a little beyond the eye, maybe half the width of the wrapping.
Pull the the loop completely out from under the wrapping.
The free end of the string winds up trapped, halfway under the wrapping.


You probably use a similar homemade tool already.
Next step would be a coil winder. Maybe you can find a used one somewhere.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[btrueblood]

Start with a loop of string, and the long axis rotating on a spindle like Tom suggests. The middle of the loop wraps around one leg of cross, and you wrap each of the two strings over alternate sides as each leg rotates past you. Easy setup for a 2-lead winding machine. Tuck the ends under with a loop threader as Mike suggests, then form the finish loop (hanger) by tying a knot, or (with polyester cord) a heat fusion method.

Otherwise, to form a good-looking symmetric knot with a single lead of string, you have to alternately skip wrapping one leg of the cross, or wrap the string over the short end of the long axis, and the result is a lot bulkier.

Whatever you do, your spindle ought to be easily set to varying rpms so you can experiment at lower speeds first, and then speed it up as you get better at winding.