21 Jun
2004
21 Jun
'04
1:20 a.m.
I did a LOT of cable stiching when I was in high school. I worked for a
company that installed central office equipment for the phone companies.
Since I was young, agile, skinny (and not very smart) I got the job of
running all the cables on the overhead racks and stiching them down. I'd
spent WEEKS up there. I wasn't unusual to install 60 or so 52 pair cables
at one time. We used all three types of stiches. I never did build harness
on a board but I saw plenty of them being build when I was at Martin
Marietta. They used to built them as more or less rigid harnesses but all
the newer stuff seems to be nothing more than wires in sleeve with tie
wraps at the junctions and ends to hold everything together. They're a far
cry from the older stiched harnesses. We used lacing cord when I worked
for the phone companies but at MMC they only used lacing tape however I
rarely see either one anymore.
Joe
Good to hear there are others who have/do hand lace. Just a few questions
out of curiosity...
Were these true harnesses or were they cable assemblies. The difference
being that a true harness is completely assembled prior to installation
[usually on a board] where a cabble assembly is the use of lacing (or other
methods) to "dress" simple cables [Simple in the respect that they are
usually point to point [2 connectors] or have few branches]?
Did you use spot stitch, running stitches, or locking stitches? I can still
do a decent spot or running stitch, but struggle with getting a decent [even
spacing, high tension, low torsion] stitch.
If these were board build harnsesses were they "rigid"? I remember being
young [a kid actually] and being amazed when a harness [made with 22 or 24
gauge stranded teflon wire] could be lifed off the board, held vertical
[often well over 6 feet long] from the bottom and completely retain its
shape without any droop in the extended side branches....
David