Attempts 1 and 2 to make a hot knife to get clean cuts on the nylon strap. Cutting webbing like this results in massive fraying unless the ends are sealed. The right way to do it is to cut and heat at the same time so no fraying occurs. The first attempt got hot, but the attachment bolt didn’t seem to transfer heat to the blade. The second attempt got the blade hot, but I think the razor edge is actually too sharp so there’s not enough metal contacting the strap at the cut point to melt it. I have one more idea to try and if that doesn’t work I might have to settle for a clean exact-o cut sealed with a lighter.
In the meantime I am still practicing with the sewing machine. I’m getting more consistent stitches, but my lines are still all over the place. It’s hard to concentrate on everything at once. In the end I know that I have all the parts and pieces to bring this together so one of these days there will be a sweet new guitar strap.