Aggiebraider

Hey Daniel, Thanks for posting that I really liked the first one you did and like this one even more. I would like to make a cigar case similar to this for my girlfriends dad, but I am not sure what size cigars he smokes, or what is a good size to make it so he can fit different sizes in. I also enjoyed seeing your workshop, always nice to see how different people set up their spaces. What kind of head knife is that sitting on your tabletop at the end of the video? CW

Hey Bevan, The Hought books are fairly good about explaining alot of the steps in making a twisted core, but dont go over the math needed to calculate the core size and the dimensions the string should be before twisting. I hate to ask you to do more work, but could you possibly make a tutorial to show those of us that havent made one just how you do it? I think it would be a great addition to the tutorials we have stickied here in the braiding section. CW

Hey Leatheroo, I have the exact same problems a lot of times especially on my bracelets, and I think most of the problem comes from trying to make knots so small. This especially becomes apparent for me when I am trying to cover a terminal knot that closes up tight around something at the bottom. I think its much easier to tie them directly on something when you are making a knot in the middle of something that has the same sized piece coming through both ends, such as the decorative knots on a pair of romal reins. As far as advice on being able to do the smaller knots directly onto something like a bracelet, I have none, so if someone else does, I will be really excited to hear it. If I figure out any tricks, I will let you know. CW

Im planning on going and hopefully will bring a few friends with me....not sure if we will stay for both days or just make the trip for one. Id really like to get together and meet with as many of the forums members as possible. Maybe we can try and plan to get dinner together one night CW

Hey Bevan, I havent really decided what size im going to do for my first one. Id like to make a few bosalitas that are a bit smaller and use them as cavisons. I havent really seen anything like that and I think they would be kinda cool. I think im going to use a plaited core, just because of the problems some people have seen from twisted ones. My Hought books cover the twisted ones really well, but I still think they would want to untwist a bit. I still have trouble calculating what size core I should use when trying to think of how many stands to put in. Id like to make probably a 12 or 16 strand bosal, but just cant get my mind wrapped around what size core I should use. I did look through Alan's tutorial and saw that he takes his core and wraps it with lining leather so I will probably try that. If it works well it would be nice to be able to make up a bunch of cores the same size and just have them sitting around ready to go. As far as taking pics of my steps, this will be the first bosal I will have made out of leather. The ones I made in the past were using old nylon ropes with parachute cord nosebands and heel knots. I feel pretty comfortable with the construction and all the steps involved, I just need to actually make one. Now after saying that I will probably have lots of problems lol. CW

You are welcome to use whatever you would like from anything I do, because very little is original as I have picked techniques up from other people. Only so many ways to skin a cat. The next bracelet project will be similar colors but different buttons and a little different style. Hopefully I can unpack all the the rawhide I have in my truck and get it cut down to make a few bosal cores.

I have yet to make any whips, but have been researching how to do so for a few months now. I found a guy that posted 10 or 12 videos that covers a lot of the technical aspects and steps involved, but it doesnt cover everything. I think his name is bernie46 or something like that. The Ron Edwards books are supposed to be really good and he wrote like 6 or 7 books that covers almost every aspect of making whips from normal, usable whips to very fancy ones. That would be my suggestion on the route to take CW

Have you considered getting some made? You should be able to get a local blacksmith to make these in no time. Just tell them to use pony shoes, not sure what size though. The only difference would probably be that they will rust, but a lot of people like a little patina on their buckles and the price. Really dont think anyone would make one for that cheap, but then you could also market them as hand made. CW

Thanks for the compliments, I see all of the flaws in it, but the customer was happy so thats all that matters. No I cant show pics of it on I delivered it already. I will take pics of the next one....should be done tonight. You basically take the loop of one side and put it over the knot of the opposite side, then repeat. The small 4 bight gaucho knots slide up and keep the loops tight. CW

Hey everyone, Here is the first piece of braiding that I have made money on in a long time. Its actually made from the Tandy Kangaroo lace, and it wasnt too bad. I have since gone to cutting my own lace, I just dont have anything else done to post atm. As always, critiques and advice are welcome. Thanks for looking, CW

I have had the exact same dog problem with a bosal of mine, but I havent started fixing it yet. It is common practice to build up the foundation of the heel knot with lots of different things; bookbinding tape, waxed thread, tarp tape, masking tape, just about anything that you can control the amount you put down and then carve to get the final shape you are looking for. Grant's book should have the actual heel knot, but I dont have mine handy so I dont know what page its on. If you find it and have trouble with Grant's instructions, I would suggest getting Gail Hought's book or books on making a bosal (she has 2). She provides much better instruction on the whole process of building a heel knot and has great color pictures on making the actual knot. I have trouble with alot of Grant's instructions partly due to the fact that I believe he was left handed and some of the pictures are backwards, but he also has whole steps missing from some of the knots. I struggled alot with some of the knots that I can currently make until I got Gail's books. Another thing to think about is unless you have pretty good experience with rawhide and feel comfortable in understanding how to properly case it, I would suggest you just get some kangaroo lace and cover them with that. Yes it would not match the original knot, but many times people combine rawhide and kangaroo on everything from bosals to reins. So, dont feel that you arent being "traditional" by doing so. Hope this helps, CW

I would say just make it straight and let her wear it....Almost all of my belts have gained a slight curve through normal use, but then again im not a woman.....i just dont think ive ever seen someone make a curved belt for that reason, either mens or womens

The interweaves are all snug and another pass I dont think would help. Its almost like the very top of the foundation is a little too long, and I need to make more of a "ledge" for the bights to sit on. Again, I dont know lol CW

The nail clippers is a good idea, never thought about using those. I do roll everything and tightness is a problem I have but I have trouble not getting things too tight lol. I do go under 3, so maybe its because things are too tight and there isnt anywhere for the ends to move to....I dont know, thanks for the info though! Another thing I am having trouble with my buttons whether to tie them on a mandrel and then transfer them to the piece, or just braid them on the piece. Im having troubles with both ways. If I do them on the mandrel first, I have trouble getting everything lined up just right and centered when I start tightening it up. Alot end up lop sided and not perfectly round. When I just braid them right on the piece, things get too tight and I dont have room to fit the interweaves in. Im really starting to hate putting buttons on things. Does anyone have a good way to judge how much foundation to put down for a button? I made a leash and spliced 12 plait back on itself for the handle and put a tapered turnback button on it and the button turned out nice, but it doesnt completely cover the top of the foundation. I know that this is probably another of the "feel" aspects of plaiting, and with practice I will get better, I just dont want to have to take buttons off 2 or 3 times over the next year to get them right. CW

Howdy Everyone, So I have always struggled with burying my string ends successfully to where you dont see the cut off end, and it doesnt bunch up as you push it back through. I have tried using an exacto knife and pull the string as tight as I can get it then cut the excess off as close as I can get, so that when its loosened back up it will be hidden, but about all I was able to do was put cut marks in parts I didnt want to. Any advice or tricks on how to attractively bury ends would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, CW

Thanks, I had found them after a good while of searching, but I thought that was a bit expensive since I need about 3 lbs of it. I was hoping to find somewhere to get it cheaper. I did find a few places to get rosin that bullriders use on their bull ropes for about $7 per lb but I wasnt sure if it would work. CW

Nobody has any ideas? CW

When you say one ear do you mean a split ear? or a slide ear? Because technically a slide ear would be no different than a brow band head stall. For that matter, a split ear shouldnt be any different in total length in comparison to a brow band. My grandad has made a few and tomorrow if you need me to I can talk to him and get all of his measurements. He's really old school so he doesnt use any patterns he just takes measurements and does the math in his head lol. He actually made one for a bosal of mine that blood knots holding everything together except for the buckles to adjust length. He makes all of his headstalls 3/4" wide and makes everything straight (no scallops or curving lines on the cheek pieces). I dont have the actual headstall with me but I can see if he has some made up on his rope hackamores that he makes and Ill try to get a pic if you would like. Hope this helps, CW

Hey Everyone, Can someone tell me where I can get pine resin? I was able to get about 4 lbs of beeswax today and was wanting to make some cakes for waxing thread but cannot find anywhere to get more than a few ounces of pine resin. Also, about how much neatsfoot oil should I add to the mix? Thanks, CW

Well I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend's dad help me with the project and he had all of the wood that we used except for the seat. So I saved some there and just bought 1 2x10 for the seat and cut it in half and screwed the two halves together. It took the two of us about 16 hours to complete. Some of the time we could both work on different parts, sometime we worked on the same part, so for some person I would say expect about 30 hours depending on how difficult or elaborate you want to make it. I would say that with the hardware I have less than $30 in this, but like I said I didnt have to pay for most of the wood., the leather strap or the buckle. We actually got pretty lucky and just eyeballed everything off a picture of a stitching horse that I liked and everything came together really well, so dont be afraid to just wing it without a set of blueprints. CW

As per a few requests, here are some pics of my new stitching horse. It isn't perfect, but it definitely works. It still needs a coat of finish and the legs need to be glued in. I cant wait to get some leather that actually needs sewing lol.

Howdy Everyone, So I have a few orders for some small things (bracelets, hat bands, etc.) and I was wondering if I should put a finish on them such as Resolene to keep water and sweat out. If I do, should I wait until the finished work is completely dry so the strands arent full of water and soap and lighten up in color? I made a hat band for my brother the other day and I had to get everything done so he could take it and the hat with him before he left for a rodeo, and it was still fairly wet. The lighter tan strands were still pretty dark, and I wasnt really sure if I should put resolene on with them so dark, so I didnt. I am using kangaroo for everything now, which I got from Hardtkes and I am extremely happy with it. Thanks, CW

I decided to go U3 O3 because I was having problems with the O2 U2 O2 when I went to snug the strands. I am so used to doing 8 plait that when I hold the strings, I hold them straight out and flat from each side which allows me to hold the standing strands tight and work everything up together as I go around. I noticed that when I tried to do this, the 3rd and 4th strings would try to hand almost straight down and then when it was time to work those strands, the first cross wouldnt have the correct angle to lay flat. It almost looked like I was doing a ridge braid on each side. I would really like to see a video of someone doing 12 plait in the O2 U2 O2 fashion just to see how you hold everything in your hand and how you work each strand. The reins are coming along fairly well. The biggest problems I am having are with string consistency. I am making them out of chrome tanned latigo and I think this is where most of my problems lie. I have broken strands about 5 times now so needless to say I am getting fairly proficient at splicing strands back in lol. I ordered some kangaroo hides this week, so I started this project more for the practice than anything so hopefully I can get a few more things hammered out before the good stuff gets here. Thanks for the help, CW

Howdy Everyone, Im working on finishing the romal for my first set of reins and I am having trouble with the 12 plait. How do you guys do it? O3 U3, O4 U2, or O2 U2 O2? Thanks

Thanks Brad, I assumed that it was just the hide and tonight I worked a bit preemptively and emailed Bill for a price list. I think I paid $50 for 3 bleached backs and 3 natural shoulders, so Im really not out very much. I guess I learned my lesson though. When you are cutting from either a 1/2" or a 1/4" down into 1/8" or smaller strings, how much moisture do you want in them? My lace cutter seems to work much better when the strings are dry, but I cant keep the strings straight enough when they are completely dry to cut very consistently. Whenever I get to a curve or something it jumps all over the place and I cant get a consistent cut either beveling or splitting. CW