How to do a Diamond Wrap.(for Bubba)

[WaffleJaw]

I made this tutorial to help understand how Chevron and Diamond wraps (Open wraps) are done.



PICTURE 1- You start with a straight underwrap...I think this was about 8'' or so,wrap it fairly tight,and burnish it good.

PICTURE 2 - I tape a piece of thread on the seat and make a straight line across the underwrap and tape it off in front of the underwrap..(Notice how I use the line on the seat to line up my thread).This is to create a straight line to line up my wrapping....Using the shine on the underwrap created by the lamp helps greatly too!!

PICTURE 3 - Using a small ruler and pencil I measure the distant between each wrap making small dots on the underwrap (the thread will cover these up)....I did 1'' on these....Usually I do 3/4'' if I want them tighter.

PICUTRE 4- Once your marks are made (I did 5 marks) I wrap a tiny piece of saram wrap,then masking tape on top of that...This is to keep tackiness and gunk of your underwrap and also to make cutting off the tag ends easier.....I now start my first wrap.

PICTURE 5 -I spiral up the underwrap using my marks to go over with the thread....Once you get up near the top,come around the underwrap and come back down over the marks,creating the ''x'' effect. ...I do all this by hand,no jig...and I use a medium like tension...not too tight.

PICTURE 6 - Once back to the bottom...wrap around the masking a few times for tension- YOU DO THIS EVERY TIME YOU COME BACK DOWN!!! ALWAYS WRAP AROUND A FEW TIMES TO HOLD TENSION BEFORE GOING BACK UP!!....Then add a pull loop,wrap around that a few times,cut the thread and pull it through to lock it....So thats how the frist wrap will look in the picture...CROOKED RIGHT???

PICTURE-7-The reason we stop the first wrap with a pull loop is so we can go back with our burnishing tool,and straighten out our ''x''s on the top and bottom...The marks are there to help you,they may not be perfect,but looking down the rod,you'll find where they need to be in relation to your marks...Always check the top and bottom,and sides to make sure they're evenly spaced and straight.

PICTURE 8- Once you get it good and straight...We start our second wrap,so start a new wrap on the masking tape and spiral it ON TOP of the first wrap...All the way up on top,and back around on top...Once back at the bottom,remember to wrap it around a few a time for tension (at least 4-5 times)

PICTURE 9 -Using the same thread,we go back up,but this time ON BOTTOM of the first wrap...All the way up on bottom,and back down on bottom...make sense?...This is what separates the Diamond wrap from the Chevron..A Diamond wrap is alternating top and bottom!!....The Chevron is all on top!!!

PICTURE 10- So here the progression...The first is the three I just did,then I added one more on top and one more on bottom....5 wraps total.
Then I did a pull through loop,and ended the silver thread...Then added the blue and did two alternating wraps of that..One on top,one on bottom,one on top,one on bottom...You with me??
Make sure you pack the thread as you go,I like to pack them after I end a thread or three complete wraps..They pack easily...I use either my thumbnail or my burnishing tool and pack the wraps towards the original starter thread..So basically,pack your top threads down and your bottom threads up till thier nice and solid....This is where you really start to see the Diamond come through.


PICTURE 11- More progressions pics between the silver and blue thread..So my pattern went 5 silver wraps to start,2 blue,1 silver,2 blue,1 silver,2 blue,1 silver....ending with the silver and also ending my Diamond Wrap=)

PICTURE-12- For fun=) I added a single silver wrap in between the diamonds...I just eyeballed it and used my burnishing tool the straighten it up...very easy little add on to dress up your wrap!!...Just a quick up and down!!

PICTURE 13-THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE I FORGOT A PICTURE OOPS!...Once your ready to tie off...You go back to your jig...Pick a place in front of your masking tape to start it....I do a tight trim band about 3/16'' in width then wrap a tiny piece of masking tape over it (that's what you see in the picture!!! I just put the tape over my trim band,the blue arrow is pointing to the main thread line going to my jig)...That new masking tape will hold the trim band in place,the trim band is gonna hold the diamonds in place so we can cut all the excess thread off..You can see I already started to cut them.

PICTURE 14- Notice in this picture how I winded my trim band (main line) out of the way!!! Take your time cutting the thread,I only cut whats on the masking tape..Just be sure not to cut through the tape...Once you get the thread cut and untangled, trim your tag ends down...I like to leave about a 1/4'' left and cut them at angles..remove your masking tape that you were wrapping on.

PICTURE 15 -Once you get all the tag ends trimmed...You tighten your main thread line up on the jig,and remove the masking tape and conitinue wrapping till you cover it all up....Take your time and pack them as you go to completely cover the cut tag ends..Once covered you can add your little thread inlays if you want.

PICTURE 16- Its time for a whiskey and coke!!!....haha....One thing you'll notice I did,I had one diamond at the top that was a little off...So I did a tie off there too like we did in pics 13-15,and cut some of it off,and covered it up...To make it look clean

These are really simple once you get a few done....I hope this makes sense...I will edit these steps to further explain when I get a chance and answer any questions.

Also,I dont apply any color preserver till Im completely done...When I apply CP,I brush it on then basically wipe off all the excess with my fingers..Its these wraps absorb too too much CP...They can start to sag.....But I do at least two coats of it that way.

W

More to come.....W