
The Lost Art of Lacing Cable (2018) - Aromasin
https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/12400/the-lost-art-of-lacing-cable
======
nimbius
Speaking as an automotive engine mechanic, sometimes we use lacing in long-
haul tractor trailers.

Wiring for sensor modules along the air-slide fifth wheel, near the attic, or
especially around the air brake dryer are always laced. The reason for this is
zip ties will quickly fail after freeze-thaw cycles. professional drivers in
wisconsin or Minnesota cannot get stuck due to an electrical failure on the
side of a remote road, as it can prove fatal.

The same goes for heat. sensors near the differential or aux transmission MUST
be laced. Climates like Arizona and Texas can cause zip ties to bite into soft
wire insulation or vice versa, causing the harness failures.

Then theres manufacturer recommendations. Zip tie plastic can contain
additives that bugs or rodents find quite delicious, which cause nesting
issues and failures. kevlar twine or lacing cord can be dipped in bitrex or
other chemicals to prevent this.

~~~
dsb5
I had a rodent problem in my garage where rats and mice ate through wiring in
my motorcycle and garage door wires. When I had them repaired after
eradicating the problem, both my motorcycle mechanic and garage door repairman
said that ya the wires they are making in china are made with something
especially tasty for rodents.

~~~
mikestew
_something especially tasty for rodents_

Soy-based wiring insulation: [https://www.thedrive.com/news/20878/rodents-are-
feasting-on-...](https://www.thedrive.com/news/20878/rodents-are-feasting-on-
newer-cars-soy-based-wiring-insulation)

~~~
tapland
LOUD Auto playing video far down on site even with Ublock.

~~~
mikestew
Sorry, should have just written the words and let people find their own link.
Or be a less sucky curator.

------
_Microft
Here's cable lacing visible on a Mars rover:

[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/MER-2_On...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/MER-2_On_Lander_Prelaunch_PIA04849.jpg)

~~~
amelius
Can't most of these wires be replaced by WiFi?

~~~
nine_k
No; a lot of wires carry the actual power to the effector (e.g. a lam, or a
motor, or a relay). WiFi, on top of being vastly more complex, has issues with
electromagnetic noise, wave propagation problems, and thus delivery delays.
And it needs a processor powerful enough to run all the logic with encryption
on top, because you don't want strangers to talk to your devices.

A length of copper is so much more _reliable_.

------
rainbowzootsuit
The NASA workmanship standards include cable lacing. Look in section 9.2

[https://nepp.nasa.gov/files/27631/NSTD87394A.pdf](https://nepp.nasa.gov/files/27631/NSTD87394A.pdf)

------
esaym
Wow never thought I'd see this on HN! I paid $20k to go to tech school for
aviation maintenance. After doing that for 3 years I figured it just wasn't
for me and I decided to go to university for computer science.

But before my last day of being an aircraft mechanic, I "accidentally" brought
home a roll of high temp (non-waxed) lacing tape because I was already in the
habit of using string to tie cables together (common in aviation). Figured if
I paid $20k to go to school that I better at least find some other use for it.
So far it is just cable lacing. I'm the only one I know that does it instead
of zip ties. All kinds of random stuff in my house and on my cars is laced.
Imgur proof: [https://imgur.com/a/NLrJzlj](https://imgur.com/a/NLrJzlj)

~~~
zrobotics
Neat! I don't tend to lace cables regularly, but it is my preferred method of
wire management for old motorcycles. I use leather lacing, and it's mainly an
aesthetic thing, since zip ties look so out of place, and the leather looks
great w/ cloth wiring. My only gripe is how long it takes, especially if
changes need to be made in a run. Are you aware of any good techniques or
instructional materials to help with lacing faster?

Back in HS I worked line service, and I remember our mechanic being able to
lace wires at least 2-3x faster than I can. Is this like welding, where it's
all about time spent practicing, or are there tricks & techniques I'm unaware
of?

~~~
esaym
Sure. I don't do the method were you use one continuous piece of string all
the way down the bundle as you can see (which wastes string imo).

I think the instructions for doing the individual bindings was something like
a "double half hitch with a lock knot" with a really long picture series of
how to do that. I memorized it and could do it, but it was slow. An
electrician spotted me once tying cables (slowly, and somewhat of a no-no for
regular mechanics; but I didn't care) and showed me the "quick" way which is
also apparently the same knot:
[https://imgur.com/a/TZFeBvb](https://imgur.com/a/TZFeBvb)

Basically make a loop and feed it under the bundle. Then pull one free leg of
the string through that loop partway (to make another loop in the loop). Then
feed the other leg through that loop. That's the "half hitch" part of the knot
which allows you to cinch down on the bundle without it loosening back. Then
for the "lock knot" part, its a regular square knot which is two overhand
knots that are tied right over left and then another one opposite (left over
right). Once tightened it should form a small square (can't really see on my
version). I only showed one overhand knot in my pictures (forgot the other
one).

edit: I think the knot in question is a "clove hitch":
[https://imgur.com/a/9rgk9n2](https://imgur.com/a/9rgk9n2)

------
Balgair
Aside: I work in med-tech. One of the largest complaints of doctors and
nurses, especially in the ICU, is the cables and tubes. There are just SO MANY
cables and tubes in a working ICU. Nurses and docs are constantly stepping on
them, pulling them out, choking off blood/saline/urine/air in some tube,
knocking power off of another, etc. Most of the machines can't do wireless, as
some of the machines will 'jam' that particular bandwidth to operate (MRI,
etc).

As this article seems to be collecting a lot of great people that know their
cabling, is there anything we can do to reduce or eliminate the headaches that
are cables and tubes in a panicked ICU? Anything may help, and I'd love to
know some more ideas.

EDIT: One thing I've found for cable bundle twisting issues is that 'N-in-
hand' braiding the cables helps relieve some of the stresses when they
inevitably get twisted up. Think 30 wires/tubes all twisting about as the
patient/machine is whirled about. Braiding the cables helps the wires on the
outside of the bundle not twist and pull out as much as they are on the
outside radius of the bundle. The braiding helps, in that over enough
distance, all the wires spend equal 'time' in the inside and the outside of
the cable's width.

Does anyone know of a good resource on cable/tube twisting and how to help
with it?

~~~
throwaway542134
This actually seems like a really interesting problem to me.

I don't think there's one pretty solution here. You'd have to break it down a
bit.

\- Do the patients go to the machine, or machine to the patient? Wireless
makes sense for the latter, not the former.

\- What's the failure mode? An alarm/alert to the nurse station, or death?
Wireless makes sense for the former, I think.

\- Are there any machines at every bedside? Do all of them need to be used at
once? Detachable/modular cabling might make sense here.

\- Are the cables different? Or can you come up with a "standard"
cable/connector for most of the gear?

The audio world solved the "cables being knocked out" problem a long time ago
with locking connectors (not screw-ins, so they're still quick connect) like
Speak-On and XLR. The former is much more formidable.

~~~
Balgair
Thanks a ton for the questions and the thoughts! It is a terribly hard problem
to solve, hence the plea to others on HN.

> \- Do the patients go to the machine, or machine to the patient?

In an ICU, where these problems are most acute, the machines come to the
patient. You can fill a good sized room with these machines if the patient is
in an especially dire state. Like, maybe 30 carts if it is really bad.

> What's the failure mode? An alarm/alert to the nurse station, or death?

It's death. Death is the failure mode. There are others, like severe organ
damage, but death is one worth talking about.

> Are there any machines at every bedside? Do all of them need to be used at
> once?

It depends. If the patient is fairly alright, you'll have maybe a few machines
for vitals and not much more. If they are not alright, then you can have a LOT
of machines in the room. Though you can have machines on stand-by, if they are
in there, they are being used generally.

> Are the cables different? Or can you come up with a "standard"
> cable/connector for most of the gear?

Again, it depends. Some companies will standardize their cables and tubes, but
they tend to not do so across companies. Also, cable and tube diameter is
pretty much set by the need. Airways need laminar flow, so they tend to be
larger, blood is more viscous, so it needs less than an airway, but it's still
got to have some girth. Electrical can be very small, but if you need to
deliver a lot of amps, then the cables grow. I'm sure you could come up with
the optimal size across a lot of different applications and get a list of all
the possible sizes, but that matrix would be very large all the same and might
as well be continious.

> The audio world solved the "cables being knocked out" problem a long time
> ago with locking connectors (not screw-ins, so they're still quick
> connect)...

Yeah, there are a lot of quick connects out there, but the issue is that you
have a patient that is in ICU psychosis trying to break out, or a panicked
parent thrashing about, or a doc trying to lurch for the right tools or get to
the patient. In these types of situations, you have to plan for the totally
crazy events, not the calmer ones. Like, imagine trying to do audio mixing in
the middle of the mosh pit. You're trying to plan for that event.

~~~
killjoywashere
This might be a "problem where every instance is bespoke". Another would be
nuclear a weapon detonation or a major hurricane. You can plan for it and run
simulations all you want, but your resource constraints aren't known until
after the event.

ICU rooms contain patients teetering at the edge of death, who might take
months to heal or die. They might be "almost out" and suddenly crash into a
totally different crisis than the one they were wired up for an hour ago
(cardiac patient has a stroke, stroke patient has an MI, bariatric surgery
patient throws a pulmonary embolus, etc). Ventilation, gastric tube, rectal
tube, urinary catheter, 10 central venous drips, an arterial line, and a
5-lead EKG and pulse ox, all on in a patient who's on a pneumatic mattress
that is constantly rocking the patient to prevent bedsores, is not uncommon.

And there are three vendors attached to every device. For example, Masimo has
the pulse ox device, but the leads are from Cardinal Health under license (no
doubt produced under subcontract in China, with soy-based insulation) and the
sensor sticker is held on with a second layer of generic silk tape because
that's what the nurse had at the time.

If you really wanted to do this, you'd have to have the entire suite designed
by a single engineering firm with an obsessive focus on supply chain
management. You'd need the Boeing or Airbus of ICUs. But doctors are generally
convinced they don't need engineers, so good luck with that.

------
walrus01
Waxed string is still used by purists in the telecom industry, particularly
for attaching -48vdc cabling to overhead ladder racks. Velcro is catching up
rapidly.

There's a bellcore standard for waxed string diameter and tensile strength...

Bell document from 1984:
[https://fulltrackproductions.com/service%20bulletins/Complet...](https://fulltrackproductions.com/service%20bulletins/Complete_guide_to_cable_lacing.pdf)

[https://youtu.be/aiO-rNyVngU](https://youtu.be/aiO-rNyVngU)

I know a number of people who will have a much lower opinion of you if you
bust out a big bag of white zipties and then proceed to install them, and cut
off the tails improperly (those things are SHARP).

Zipties are entirely banned from some major ISP pops that have large amounts
of very critical , relatively fragile 2mm jacket singlemode fiber patch
cables.

------
slacka
For those that are interested in this, you must checkout:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/cableporn/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cableporn/)

------
zwieback
Our techs love to cinch down the zip ties as hard as they can, I've seen a lot
of bruised insulation. Also, the fat end of the zip tie is annoying when you
pull a harness through a wireway.

Still, this seems way too laborious unless you're building some aerospace
thing.

~~~
adestefan
Ban nylon ties and get the Velcro ones. They’re as fast as using nylon ties,
are reusable, and are soft and wide enough to save the insulation.

~~~
crysin
[https://www.velcro.com/legal-and-
privacy/dontsayvelcro/](https://www.velcro.com/legal-and-
privacy/dontsayvelcro/)

~~~
janders
This is wild. It's perfectly logical what they're doing but I'm used to seeing
this kinda thing after the trademark has lapsed (Kleenex, Xerox, etc). But to
see a company release a pretty funny youtube video begging you to say their
name less, well, it's just a weird thing to see.

~~~
djsumdog
I don't think trademarks can lapse in the US and many other countries
(copyright can; which is a huge debate in an of itself: see Disney).

I actually use "tissue" and "copy", but those kinda make sense. Personally I
hate it when people keep saying "I Googled..." because it reminds me of this
bullshit search engine monoculture we have right now (I try to use DuckDuckGo
more, but I miss the days of Yahoo, Lycos, Hotbot, Dogpile, Excite and how
they all give you DIFFERENT results!)

Velcro though ... totally didn't even realize it was a brand until like just
now .. and I'm still going to use it generically, because it should just be at
this point. :-P

~~~
technothrasher
_I don 't think trademarks can lapse_

I think the original poster meant "genericized" instead of "lapsed". But
Velcro is clearly already genericized, as you note.

~~~
logfromblammo
No, "velcro" is genericized. The capitalized word "Velcro" is still a
trademark.

As such, you can buy "Velcro [BVBA] velcro", or you can call 3M's hook-and-
loop fasteners "3M velcro". 3M, naturally, avoids using the term "velcro" in
its packaging and marketing, and would _never_ use "Velcro", because even
though they _could_ , because the term is genericized, it would still be free
advertising for a competitor.

~~~
technothrasher
_The capitalized word "Velcro" is still a trademark._

Capitalization has no bearing on word marks (in the US, at least. I can't
speak for other countries). "Velcro", "VELCRO", "velcro" are all the same
thing as far as the trademark office is concerned. And yes, there are still
active trademarks for the word "VELCRO", but it has still been unquestionably
genericized.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
I think there's mismatch here between you and the parent in that, yes the
"VELCRO" trademark is genericised in public use but _officially_ the
trademarks are still registered and valid so in law they are not [yet]
genericised.

In the UK I can go in to shops the length of the country and ask for velcro
and get "hook and eye" or "fabric fastener", is a completely generic term now,
just no one wants to fight it in court.

* UK trademark record, [https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/4/EU00...](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/4/EU002312890)

------
madez
This or similar type of lacing is practicioned in some Bondage suspensions.
The end knots may differ, but the way to secure the loose end to the hanging
support ropes is often done this way because it is fast and allows a gradual
release, which is important to stay in control and not be surprised.

Please, if you want to try suspensions, practice first, and read up about rope
techniques and medical topics, like nerve positions, nerve function testing,
and nerve damage.

------
bartvanH
Thanks for sharing, I've always thought cable lacing is one of the most
beautiful ways of doing permanent installs.

~~~
Aromasin
We still use lacing cord for most of our aircraft harnesses. Nobody but the
engineers and technicians ever get to see it, which is a shame because it
really does look beautiful.

~~~
java-man
pictures, please!

~~~
moftz
Here is an example: [https://starkaerospace.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/Wire-H...](https://starkaerospace.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/Wire-Harness-3.jpg)

The black ties is the lacing cord. Sometimes its just small pieces that bundle
the wire every few inches, sometimes its a long continuous piece that is
looped at those intervals. The black nylon overbraid is for any wiring harness
that is exposed or handled routinely. They typically don't use it on anything
that gets tucked away. Also notice the heavy harness supports on those
connectors. This is thick gauge cable and a lot of it. Large aerospace
companies have shops and techs dedicated to making these all day long.

------
TomMasz
My dad worked for Western Electric (part of AT&T) and he showed me how to do
this when we were wiring a model train layout.

------
X-Istence
Worked at a company where the old school cable runners would still use wax
string to lace the cables...

That was until the heat from the exhaust from the servers started to melt the
wax and it became a really nasty sticky mess.

------
ken
For _stage rigging_ , the "method of choice"? Never seen it.

It "lasts longer than cable ties"? Not sure if they mean zip ties, velcro, tie
line, etc, but I've never seen any of these fail due to age.

It "does not create obstructions along the length of the cable"? We use
e-tape.

Rigging isn't generally about electrics, anyway. I wonder if that's a typo.

~~~
52-6F-62
As someone who managed a department that looked after stage/film/tv electrical
rigging and distribution/cable/breaker-box rental equipment for five years or
so I will be happy to agree with you in that the modern technique seems to not
be elegant tying with cord, but "gaffer the shit out of it and yer good, bud".
(Had to clean a _lot_ of that crap up!)

Then again, those were the cases largely in temporary rigging. The gaffer tape
will dry out after a while and fail. Very rarely sold equipment to permanent
installs.

------
jedberg
I use pipe cleaners as my cable ties. Color coded, soft and flexible, strong,
easy to remove, doesn't hurt your fingers.

Here's[0] the last one I did, reddit's last datacenter before we moved to EC2.

[0] [https://i.imgur.com/DlaX4.png](https://i.imgur.com/DlaX4.png)

~~~
daveslash
Very cool. I love the color-coding idea. Speaking of alternative materials,
the article notes _" traditionally made of waxed linen"_, so I wonder how
dental floss would work for small home projects (like under my home-
workstation desk).

~~~
jedberg
Dental floss is too small. It would cut the sheath of the cable.

------
fit2rule
I cut my teeth as a teenager on an electronics assembly line by wiring up
cable harnesses for marine operations, and the first 50 I made (out of about
1,000) were all rejected because I couldn't get the lacing right.

Spent a week learning to do it properly, and can still do it in my sleep. Its
a very easy skill you'll never forget once you get it done (and approved on
the production line..)

IMHO, the wax string in my toolbox is among the most important of devices,
since it keeps things very neat and tidy.

To the point I find myself now as a grey-beard, teaching the kids how to do
it.

------
tvanantwerp
I've had to redo too much cabling with office rearrangements to ever want to
lace cables. Velcro all the way for me.

------
Syzygies
Good also for lacing a rolled pork belly for chashu for ramen noodles. (The
end knots can be simpler.)

------
dsfyu404ed
The internet loves to jack it to cable lacing but if it were really a silver
bullet then you'd see it more. It's fine for holding wires together and being
light weight but does little to protect wires from abrasion. There's a reason
every modern wiring harness that isn't going into (or near) space uses split
or expanding loom secured at the ends or spiral loom (not sure what the real
name for that stuff is). Not to mention that cable lacing is slower and more
expensive and easier to screw up than wire loom.

Cable lacing has its uses but those uses are nowhere near as common as the
internet would have you believe.

And before you ask, I feel similarly about the western union splice. It's an
outdated relic from a time when man hours were cheap and materials were
expensive. They are very rare today for a reason.

And yes, I know this will be a very unpopular option here. Most people who
understands the nuance of the trade-offs of various ways of securing wires are
smart enough to avoid commenting in here. Obviously I am not that smart.

~~~
Aromasin
There's certainly a time and place for it though still. Certainly in the
aerospace industry, cable lacing is a very important part of the harness
making process. When trying to be compliant to safety measures (like
incredibly low or high temperature points, flammability, or vibration)
heatshrink/conduit/tape often fails spec and the only alternative is good old
fashioned wires and lacing.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Cable lacing is used in aerospace because it's lighter and they use such
generous safety margins for preventing abrasion and securing wires that the
issues with the cable cutting the insulation or abrasion that make loom the
obvious choice are non-issues and aircraft, it's easier to inspect cables that
are laces (vs ones in a loom) and spending a few grand to save a few pounds is
justifiable in that context.

Temperature/environmental concerns are basically irrelevant because loom can
be made out of the same or similar materials as the wire insulation. I know
I've seen braided loom in small aircraft. I can't remember where though.

Cable lacing is usually the right tool for aerospace. It is not the solution
to every problem like the internet thinks it is.

~~~
Aromasin
This is why I'm glad I shared this article, because it's the one thing on HN
I'm qualified to give an opinion on - making harnesses is my job! The wire
insulation is an extruded polymer, not a heat shrink, so we can't use the same
material as nice as that would be.

We had an issue with Airbus a few months ago where their own approved heat-
shrink actually failed the flammability new testing (it smokes profusely...)
We can now only use it in 50mm increments for protecting wire bundles from
potential high abrasion sections (around connecters, through holes, grommets
etc.) The weight aspect has never been discussed. It's so insubstantial that
it's not even accounted for on our units. Occasionally we'll use shielded
round-it for high voltage cables to prevent arcing, or sensitive data cables
to prevent noise, but below that round-it is still wire and lacing cord. It's
simply the most practical assembly method. The same applies to freighter ship
looms too; lacing is not just relevant the aerospace industry!

------
plorg
OT: the fullscreen modal on pageload made me want to bounce immediately. But,
in good faith, I tried to register. It took like 10 minutes, because required
fields (Industry, Company Name, Job Title) automatically cleared in the case
of a form submission failure, "Other" categories broke the form, and the user
is required to sign up for at least one category of bulk mail, told it's
"optional", and given the frequency options "daily", "weekly", or "monthly".
If no categories are checked the form submission fails and the form clears
half of the fields. The password field gets reset but still appears to be
filled, so if the user submits an otherwise correct form the second time the
same fields clear again.

A new visitor is visually assaulted before even seeing the linked article
(e.g. evaluating your site). The prospective user is then lied to and punished
for attempting to register, and the site is shown to be shoddily constructed.

~~~
wodenokoto
Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s like they expect people to not use the call to action
and just close the modal. Then why even show it?

------
jascii
I learned cable lacing in aviation maintenance school when I was burned out on
tech. It has a lot of advantages (less abrasion, plastic flow, plastic waste,
etc then zip ties). With a bit of practice it can be faster too. I still use
it in personal projects, at work not so much: wouldn't want to confuse my
coworkers to much ;)

------
russb
More detail on a couple of sewing methods, the Kansas City stitch and the
Chicago stitch

[https://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/1377481~846610918062e...](https://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/1377481~846610918062e1c57e36f03a5c37b426/lacing.pdf)

------
raldi
Anyone know why the "WRONG" example in this diagram is bad?

[https://i1.wp.com/cdn.makezine.com/uploads/2009/07/cablelaci...](https://i1.wp.com/cdn.makezine.com/uploads/2009/07/cablelacing6b.gif)

~~~
pbhjpbhj
I think it's a knotting thing, the A knots will slip as you try to hold it
fast - the knot will move down the page initially. The way the cord presses
the earlier piece down in B means the knot won't move [so easily] as you hold
it under tension.

~~~
Groxx
Don't they both press down though? One presses down on the loop ends (A), the
other presses down on the strand between loops (B). The more I try to figure
out why B would be better, the more it feels like pressing down on the loops
would be better (ensuring more of the loop is in contact with the thing being
wrapped).

e.g.
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghu5f8m1nsu7kve/wrapping.jpg](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghu5f8m1nsu7kve/wrapping.jpg)

Exaggerated, sure, but still feels odd.

~~~
mtreis86
No, the A knot has the down-the-cable runs overlapping the around-the-cable
loops. Which means if one of the down-the-cable runs lets go, it loses tension
on the next. In B, since the around-the-cable loops are overlapping the down-
the-cable, if tension is lost at one end there is less tension lost at the
next step. The friction in A when the end is loose is much less than the
friction in B, due to the entry point in B being under pressure of the loop
around the cable.

~~~
Groxx
Aaaah, yea, that does make sense. The loop pinches both ends, so a loose end
doesn't matter as much. Sorta requires the knot to be pressed against
something, but that's probably frequent enough in practice / can be designed
for (e.g. a knot that's bigger than the gap between things it's wrapping).

Thanks!

------
ComputerGuru
Letting me know I’m almost out of free articles before even letting me see my
first one is rather pointless. How I hate overlays!

(I love “behind the overlay” on desktop browsers. Overlays are so much more
annoying on mobile.)

------
wickerman
I didn't know about this at all! Why is it not done anymore?

~~~
forgotmypwd123
The comments below the article outline a few reasons. Overcompression of the
cables, difficulty making changes later, etc.

Cable ties and velcro wraps seem to make more sense.

~~~
gumby
“Zip tie” cable ties aren’t only the ones that risk overcompression but also
have a big “box” that juts proud from the bundle which can interfere with
threading, moving other things around it, can snag on things passing by, etc.

~~~
walrus01
And people in a hurry with dull tools inevitably cut off the tail of the zip
tie less than flush, and at a 45 degree angle. Those things will gouge up the
back of your hands and forearms and draw blood. They're not only a hazard to
humans but also to other fragile cable jacket that might run up against it
during installation.

Zip ties are totally banned from the fiber meet me rooms at many major
internet traffic exchange points.

~~~
Aromasin
Not sure why you're getting down voted. As part of our stand procedure we have
to file down zip ties because it caused too many issues with damaging cables -
and having been sliced while inspecting a unit, the fact they are now all nice
and smooth is fine by me.

~~~
your-nanny
to answer your question, because. because they can and because it's easier
than actually engaging with content you disagree with.

------
mdip
Thanks for the reminder. I have a sprawling mess in my basement and have only
done wire lacing once (it's trivial to do well, a little harder to do
obnoxiously well) and had forgotten about lacing them -- it's perfect!

I used to work in Telecom and I remember when I first saw a monstrosity of
laced wiring. This was at a (staffed) phone switch (raised floor, all hardware
and technicians) so there was an amazing amount of wiring and I recall
admiring the cleanliness of everything (there's a point at which the various
colors of running wire, perfectly laced, is a very interesting piece of modern
art). The wires weren't done by an amateur; each cable was lined up -- it
looked as though there was a harness specifically designed for the bundles of
wires that placed them perfectly parallel (or perpendicular when one ran off
of the bundle).

I made an off-hand remark about how long it must have taken to do all of that
and was informed from the ops guy that they had just completed it last month.
Prior, it had been partially laced, partially tied and generally "clean-but-
haphazard", however, the switch had just brought in a new manager and
somewhere between his first and second day he went on tear through the switch
and demanded it be corrected on the short-order. So over about 8 months, every
run was separated and laced[0]. Frankly, I would have been proud if any of my
personal equipment were as well maintained as the "before" pictures, but the
difference after lacing made the "before" look like spaghetti by comparison.

The benefits are huge, though, for anyone who has encountered a run of wire
with heavy-duty zip-ties and a misplaced set of clippers[1]. You can lace
wires about as fast as a zip-tie if you're only aiming for "good enough", but
you can rip through and redo laced wires with a car key or something that is
far less likely to slice a wire.

[0] ...according to the tech, "Twice"; they really didn't like the new
manager. I've never seen a lace job this excellent -- it wasn't a bundle of
clean wires, it was a perfect rectangle of multiple laced wires laced together
with each loop/knot hit with a low-temp heat gun to strengthen the knot (which
-- while I can't speak to how much value it really adds strength-wise, it had
the effect of making the looped/knotted spots look really straight and clean.

[1] I must own thirty pairs of clippers of various sizes/shapes purchased for
the sole purpose of cutting zip ties. I'm sure they're all in a container ...
somewhere ... all together. I don't think I've ever had one available to me
when I actually need it.

------
Based_Detroiter
Classic butcher knot, now i'm hungry for roast beef tenderloin. Thanks OP.

------
crazygringo
Interesting!

But is there ever any reason for doing this today, over zip ties or velcro
ties?

I'm guessing no?

~~~
Aromasin
Depends how safety conscious you are looking to be. Freighter shipping,
military installations, and aerospace often still use lacing cord because it
causes less abrasion, or zip ties and velcro ties won't pass
flammability/vibration/temperature/[insert] testing.

------
erikcw
The photos instantly reminded me of trussing a roast. Very similar.

------
jrcii
A significant part of my life is cable management. Velcro brand cable ties are
the way to go. Zip ties are banned from my networks.

They don’t cut into the cables, you can add cables later, they’re very strong.
You can chain them together as your bundle size increases. I keep a spare roll
in my briefcase.

~~~
moftz
I really like the rolls of hook and loop where you cut the tie to length. You
can make massive bundles or just small ones and never waste it. Bonus is that
they are reusable. I've used reusable zip-ties before, they are a massive pain
to remove when breaking down equipment.

------
moonbug
Looking forward to the second part, lamenting how kids today down crimp their
oown patch cables

