Relacing advice for a newbie...

[wickedwoman11]

Hi all, I've never relaced a glove but my Nokona buffalo's laces are getting a bit cracked, and my spouse and I wanted to relace our black gloves with red laces. So today I ordered some Tanners laces in red (for the black gloves) and chocolate for my Nokona and hubby's Wilson.

I have the book Fix That Glove and I have the lacing tools already. I'm nervous as all get out. I'm definitely starting on hubby's black glove -- it is a backup and has a simple closed web. I'm scared of doing my Rawlings TrapEze and terrified of ruining my Nokona buffalo.

Any advice or tips out there for a lacing newbie?

Also, I have tan laces for my Buffalo already but I was thinking that the chocolate brown might look cool with my Nokona since it has the brown embroidery on my name and the Nokona writing. Any thoughts on which would look better? Redoing tan or trying chocolate?

[rmiller]

I love the idea of the chocolate lace for your glove. I think it will look great.

As far as relacing for the first time, I would definitely find some beaters to work on first. Get some good, smooth surface, bent nose needle nose pliers. And the oldest and most repetitive advice, but still the best is just do a tiny bit at time- pull a little out, and follow it with your needle- I cannot over emphasize just a little bit at a time. Sometimes, it may look very easy, or trying to hurry, so you will pull out a whole bunch, and before you know it, you have no idea what to do. Just take it very slowly, and be patient.

Do a section, put the glove down, and take a break for a few minutes. That’s what I do, especially if I am frustrated.

That’s my two cents. Good luck-can’t wait to see pictures.

[dapert]

Having gone through this the first time I can echo the advice of do it in small sections. One at a time. Do not strip the entire glove and try to do it all at once.

I did one lace at a time. tuggerd here and tugged there to see exactly where it went before I started. I also took pictures before I started the section just in case I got lost so I'd have something to look at.

I would also make some sketches so you have a source it you ever decide to lace them again in a new color. A side benefit would be for the rest of the forum members. Someone else may have a question about a section of this glove later on and there would already be a sketch available from you. I saw a post somewhere the other day where doc had a professional looking sketch of the lacing pattern of a web and I thought wow how cool if we could build a database of all the gloves as people relaced them.

Another suggestion I would say would be to put on some cheap medical type gloves. I redid a catchers mitt and all the tugging and twisting did a bit of a number on my finger. It will also keep your hands much cleaner.

[candlestick]

go with a beater or two first, they are cheap at a sporting goods resale store, say $10 or so. much of the lacing will be similar to your important gloves so you will learn a lot.

before you lace the beaters or your important gloves go ahead and treat the laces with something to soften them up. that will help prevent tearing or elongating a hole (especially on that beautiful buffalo nokona you have!) and make the pulling easier. you can use lanolin or a little petroleum jelly if you have it.

above all have fun and be excited about the results!

[wjr953]

Take the opportunity to condition the inside and outside of your lacing holes while you have parts of the glove open. Just a little bit around the hole itself. Also, I like to lubricate new laces first. I usually use Vaseline and then after I've treated the lace from one end to the other, I wipe the excess lubricant off from one end to the other. This makes the laces more pliable and lessens the chance of tearing out a lacing hole. The other members have given you great advice, especially regarding working on old junker gloves. If you need a couple to work on, let me know via PM and I'll send them along to you. I use lace locking needles most of the time, and the "U" wire as well. Something that I've also found that works well is 5" or 7" hemostats, curved tips with serrated jaws. (you can get these on ebay relatively cheaply) I prefer the curved tips and the serrated jaws work better to hold the lacing than the stats with the smooth jaws. Your hands and fingers will get beat up doing this. I do alot of gloves and I always end up really paying for it when my arthritis kicks in. The most important piece of advice that I can give you would be this: Always allow more rawhide for the lacing run that you're replacing than you think you'll need. There's nothing that I hate more than coming up 1/2" to an 1" short on a run. It's much easier to have extra, even if it becomes a bit of struggle with the extra rawhide. Also, cut the new lacing that you've put in ONLY after you're completely satisfied with the lacing run and your knots are tied. You don't want to overtighten but you don't want it too loose either. Doing this is a lot of fun, but it does require patience and you do have to walk away once in a while when it gets aggravating. lol Good luck, I know that you'll do a great job. There are many of us on this forum that are more than willing to help if you get in trouble, so take your time and don't panic. And of course we all want to see the before and after pictures. As a matter of fact, if you do happen to have a digital camera, by all means use that to help you. Take close up pictures of the glove before you start the re-lacing process. Write down notes and sketches. It's not really as hard as you might think.

Very best regards, br

[Cowboy7130]

I think the chocolate laces would look really cool! The pic is of my old OR 520 that had faded to a light tan color, and how it kind of spruced up a little with darker laces.

[Cowboy7130]

oops ... hehe ...

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[Cowboy7130]

And the advice those guys have given you is very valuable. Just take your time and follow the laces back in as you take them out, and you should be fine! If I can do it anybody can do it!

[BretMan]

Save yourself the inevitable headaches and send your gloves to one of the guys on this forum (not necessarily me!) who has relaced hundreds of gloves, knows the tricks of the trade, can easily follow the factory patterns and will have your glove back to you in a few days looking as good as new.

If you try to do it yourself, you'll get great advice here. I would second the notion of working on some old junker gloves, maybe something you can find at a flea market or garage sale for a couple of bucks, before starting in on your precious playing gloves.

One thing that will probably drive you nuts at first is the tendency for a lace to "twist" as you pull it through a hole. Before you pull the old lace out, note which way the "finished" side is facing versus the "rough" side. Try to keep the lace flat as it is run through the holes. If the lace is twisted, it can not only affect the appearance of the glove but also make the lace more susceptible to breakage when the glove is used.

If you run into any specific problems, feel free to post here and you're sure to get lots of help!

[rmiller]

Hey WW11- how's the relacing project(s) coming along? Any update?

[wickedwoman11]

Hey rmiller...ordered the laces from Tanners this week. They should arrive any day now. Once I get them, I'll start on hubby's black backup glove with red laces, then try to work on my beloved buffalo with the chocolate laces. By the way, thanks for the photo Cowboy7130...it looks really cool.

I'll definitely post pictures after I'm done of before and after photos for both gloves. Though hubby is standing by ready to "fix" it if I screw it up.

I, on the other hand, am so confident that I already bought a new glove bag for my buffalo that will match the new laces...a chocolate colored silk Coach dust bag. For all my love of baseball, and my love of an inanimate object usually associate with guys -- a baseball glove -- I'm such a typical girl sometimes.

[spedrunr]

my wife usually could care less about this forum but when you mentioned the coach bag, she was all ears (eyes)

post pix (for her of course)

[GloveGypsy]

Hello WW11

I have relaced many gloves.

Here are a few things that you should focus on"

1. "Chase the Lace"

2. Take your time

3. Do not over-tighten, and be generous with the lace. Rawhide laces are cheap compared to the glove, so don't skimp. That AMG-175BF will probably take 4 or 5 72 inch laces. Laces can be tightened, but it is hard to loosen them once they are in especially if the lace is cut off right at the knot.

Below is my softball gamer after it was relaced a few years back. The laces were run in with only a little snuggness. Overtime, they have loosened and have been adjusted. This glove has helped me disappoint countless batters.

[wickedwoman11]

Glove Gypsy, the glove looks great! Thanks for the advice. I'm starting tomorrow on hubby's backup glove -- a run of the mill Easton that we paid $30 for. I figure I can't mess that up. Then on to the Nokona and my TrapEze.

Thanks for all the tips everyone, I'll post pics when they are done!