# Idiots Guide To Cutting Nylon Straps



## AbingtonLad

Once again I risk teaching my grandma to suck eggs (a danger faced by every newbie on the forum!) but here goes...

Needed to shorten a 22mm black nylon NATO and discovered that pound coins placed either side make a perfect template. Just zoom round with a hot blade (craft knife type-o-thing) and hey presto, you have a near-perfect curved end. Use a clamp of some sort (I had a chunky bulldog clip) to hold the coins in place and you'll have two hands free to do the cutting.

The finished edge doesn't feel quite as smooth as the original, but you're the only one that will notice. It looks perfect.

Probably the dullest piece of advice ever to be posted on the forum :sleep1: but possibly of interest if you have weedy wrists like me!

Kevin


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## Mutley

AbingtonLad said:


> Once again I risk teaching my grandma to suck eggs (a danger faced by every newbie on the forum!) but here goes...
> 
> Needed to shorten a 22mm black nylon NATO and discovered that pound coins placed either side make a perfect template. Just zoom round with a hot blade (craft knife type-o-thing) and hey presto, you have a near-perfect curved end. Use a clamp of some sort (I had a chunky bulldog clip) to hold the coins in place and you'll have two hands free to do the cutting.
> 
> The finished edge doesn't feel quite as smooth as the original, but you're the only one that will notice. It looks perfect.
> 
> Probably the dullest piece of advice ever to be posted on the forum :sleep1: but possibly of interest if you have weedy wrists like me!
> 
> Kevin


great tip :good:

cheers

Andrew


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## squareleg

Nice bit of advice, that, thanks. Can I also add that you can finish off the job by warming the frayed ends gently with a cigarette lighter or a match. The nylon melts a little and seals all the nasty frayed bits. Lovely job :thumbup:!

*Disclaimer*

_The author of this tip takes no responsibility for the sudden and unexplained combustion of members' natos. May contain nuts. Etc._


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## AbingtonLad

squareleg said:


> Nice bit of advice, that, thanks. Can I also add that you can finish off the job by warming the frayed ends gently with a cigarette lighter or a match. The nylon melts a little and seals all the nasty frayed bits. Lovely job :thumbup:!
> 
> *Disclaimer*
> 
> _The author of this tip takes no responsibility for the sudden and unexplained combustion of members' natos. May contain nuts. Etc._


Ah, the joy of the hot knife is that it cuts and seals in a single action, while minimising the risk of spontaneous combustion.

Starting to sound like a crappy Christmas advert for some pointless kitchen implement. Sorry.


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## pg tips

great idea using coins as templates

talking of fire risk I read in the paper the other day of a guy who decided to clear away the cobwebs under the eves of his house by using a blowtorch and promptly burnt his house down! Be careful out there!


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## AbingtonLad

pg tips said:


> great idea using coins as templates
> 
> talking of fire risk I read in the paper the other day of a guy who decided to clear away the cobwebs under the eves of his house by using a blowtorch and promptly burnt his house down! Be careful out there!


There are cobwebs under the eaves of my house? With spiders and stuff? Where's my blowtorch...

Oh no, I remember now. Blowtorches are dangerous...

:hunter:

Really, really must stop using the emoticons.


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## Guest

mutley said:


> AbingtonLad said:
> 
> 
> 
> Once again I risk teaching my grandma to suck eggs (a danger faced by every newbie on the forum!) but here goes...
> 
> Needed to shorten a 22mm black nylon NATO and discovered that pound coins placed either side make a perfect template. Just zoom round with a hot blade (craft knife type-o-thing) and hey presto, you have a near-perfect curved end. Use a clamp of some sort (I had a chunky bulldog clip) to hold the coins in place and you'll have two hands free to do the cutting.
> 
> The finished edge doesn't feel quite as smooth as the original, but you're the only one that will notice. It looks perfect.
> 
> Probably the dullest piece of advice ever to be posted on the forum :sleep1: but possibly of interest if you have weedy wrists like me!
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
> 
> great tip :good:
> 
> cheers
> 
> Andrew +1
Click to expand...


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## foztex

Top Tip Kevin,

the coins idea is a cracker

Andy


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## PhilM

Will remember that one :yes:


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## Boxbrownie

pg tips said:


> great idea using coins as templates
> 
> talking of fire risk I read in the paper the other day of a guy who decided to clear away the cobwebs under the eves of his house by using a blowtorch and promptly burnt his house down! Be careful out there!


About 15 years agon my uncles next door nieghbour was painting his bungalow...he used a blowlamp to take the paint off his soffit boards.......about 4 hours later my uncles bungalow burnt down......the blowlamp next door had caught the roof membrane paper alight and it had been burning gradually in the neighbours loft.....it crossed the party wall and then caught hold and completely gutted my uncles place.......irony is the nieghbours place was on the prevalling wind side so only smouldered and burnt the paper.....my uncles whole house caught! Luckily another nieghbour spotted the smoke from the roof tiles and warned my uncles family and they all got out just before the ceiling collapsed......a frightening experience!

Real tools in the hands of idiots can be a dangerous thing......


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## AbingtonLad

Real tools... Hmmm... I've been trying to persuade the 710 (why oh why 710?!) to let me get a chain saw for the garden - but she wasn't entirely happy about me using a hot knife to cut a nylon strap, so it may be a while before she relents 

It is surprising how well this method works. I was convinced the strap would be in the bin before the end of the evening, but it turned out just fine and dandy. Glad others are finding it useful!

:thumbsup:


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## Rotundus

for the tropical woven nato straps.

try using super glue in a line across the strap to bond it together.

then cut to length and trim end as required.

the glued area is quite rigid in comparison to the main weave so be aware you may want to apply slight tension to the strap when applying the glue.

this will keep the web from spreading and making it difficult to get the strap end through the keepers when job complete.

guess how i found this out ...

not sure if substituting flame for super glue is a good idea for some of the folk around here, but it worked for me.


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## Graphite

What do you use to heat the knife - gas ring flame or something like that?


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## mrteatime

spencer said:


> Nice advice .


now then spencer.....what is it that your after buying/selling then dude :lol:


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## squareleg

mrteatime said:


> spencer said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice advice .
> 
> 
> 
> now then spencer.....what is it that your after buying/selling then dude :lol:
Click to expand...

25 posts since 9.30 this morning. Good going, that. :lol:


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## mrteatime

squareleg said:


> mrteatime said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> spencer said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice advice .
> 
> 
> 
> now then spencer.....what is it that your after buying/selling then dude :lol:
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 25 posts since 9.30 this morning. Good going, that. :lol:
Click to expand...

hope his selling something good :lol:


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## burnerg81

Just going to try that now on a Bond Nato. Due to the economic downturn I'll be trying this with 2x2p pieces though!


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## Barrow Boy

Would something non-metallic work better than the coins? I assume that they cause the knife to cool down more quickly ad warm up themselves or is he whole process too quick for that?

I have some nice ceramic poker chips I could try..... :bag:

Cheers,

BB


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## Guest

wish id read this before i cut mine, i used a soldering iron to "seal" the nylon lol!


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## AbingtonLad

:wallbash:

Never forget the pound coin!


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## pg tips

AbingtonLad said:


> :wallbash:
> 
> Never forget the pound coin!


Just saw this and thought what's Kev goin on about Â£ coins for, read back and thought ah that's a real good tip I'll remember that only to see that I replied on the original post


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