Alan Bell

Hey Rob and Carr, The hondas are removable AND may or may not be set up to swivel by enlarging the hole in the middle where the rope passes through the honda. The honda on the reata made by Nate that you linked to was tied on. Nate makes and uses them both ways, tied on or with the hole in the middle. I don't think I saw a reata at Nate's but he did have quite a few that were attached with the hole in the honda but they did not swivel. I don't care for a swivel honda either UNLESS it is set fairly tight so that I have to physically turn it just to take the kinks out of a badly built loop. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Tom, a Honda is what goes on the end of a reata or lariat. It is the eye the tail of the rope goes through to make a loop. These are just different variations that are removable. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Here is a folded honda before I put the burner on. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Here's on style I make. The files are too large to send together so I'll send the other style next. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

I get most my hides from a butcher/slaughter house. I can go there in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon before they salt the hide. That lets me choose what I want while it is still on the hoof. It is far cheaper as the hides cost me $30 no matter the size vs $150 for a single side of rawhide already made! the butcher skins the hide vs pulling and that gets a lot of the meat and fat off that pulling leaves UNLESS you have a 2 - 3 person operation and you can pull with the tractor WHILE you are skinning with the knife! Then you can get quite a bit of flesh off initially. The slaughter house hangs the beef for skinning and the weight of the hide takes the place of the pull of the tractor. I lime alone but will try the hot water method and the sodium sulfide process just to see how they work and if they are an option for me. I've found that the more flesh and fat you get off the better the rawhide. I don't mind the hair showing in the follicle and I actually like that look on using gear but for the finer strings I want the hair to slip completely out of the follicle. I also am beginning to like the contrasting look of using string from different hides so that there are slight variations in color IF I get the strings pretty consistent in thickness and width. I have also dry scraped a hide and may try just using the hardwood ash as a brace but though it may take fewer days it is a lot more work so I will probably always use chemical hair removal but just like to be able to say I've tried all the different ways and understand them. For a frame I recommend a hoop instead of a square or rectangle. The hide pulls on the frame quite a bit as it dries and it seems a circle evens out that force better than a square shape so there is less worry about the hide drying and bending the frame. Once dry if the rawhide is kept dr you can keep it for years before you have to use it. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Does anyone plug the skirts in such a way that it could compensate for using Arizona bars? There is a discussion on another board and someone uses primarily Arizona bars but says the way they plug the skirts eliminates the need for bar risers or the groove in the bar for the stirrup leather. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Hey Rod and Denise, When were you going to mention the update to your website. Good thing I continually check up on you two just to see IF you've added anything! You can run but you can't hide! Thanks Again!! Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Natural Mystic

Hey Rob, make sure you have fleshed the hide really good before you lime it! if seems to me that the thicker areas with more fat seem to hold onto the hair more. Maybe the lime is not getting in there good because of the fat I don't know. Also, i used to worry about leaving them in the lime to long but Nate said he's left them in there for up to a week and still made good string! Last time I visited him he had two hides in a tub that were there before I got there and he didn't touch them the 3 days I was there to visit that I saw! He said he fleshes them REAL good before liming and his string looks as good as any better than most. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Mellow Mood

Entiendo, your reputation will be resting on that splice. I have a box full of buttons and pieces that did not turn out like I would have liked. I've gone through a lot of string but that is what it takes. ALL of the top braiders I know of have thrown away pieces too and some actually keep their mistakes to show to aspiring braided to show them what it takes to do good work. Since I make my own rawhide it is like throwing out several days work from the making of the hide to the making of the string but I want to try and produce the best I am capable of at the time. If I were braiding something and a string broke I would either start over or throw it away. If I miss a braid I start over. If the button is wrong I cut it off and start over. This happens a lot but it is the braiders tuition! That is how you get better and that is what it takes to produce top quality gear. I may splice it and keep itfor myself but I would never splice it and sell it! You can do what ever you want but that is what I would recommend. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - One Drop

Thanks everyone. I used ritz clothing dye. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Coming in From the Cold

I'm no expert and others on here will surely chime in but from what I see both those collars will rub a horse that is working hard. The one on the palomino is a little better and is easier to see where to improve. If there were a bit of an arch at the front point of the horses shoulder built into the wing of the collar it would add some relief there. Also, If your collar attached to your saddle higher up towards the swell or front fork then the collar would run more at an angle that would keep it out of the way of the shoulder and allow it to move up and down with the shoulder. The first collar attached to the D ring on the girth goes directly across the horses shoulder and can do nothing BUT rub the horse. This collar will rub the horse whether he's working hard or not! Here is a pic of a colt toting the saddle around at a jog. Although the collar looks tight it is actually hanging and moving up as the horses knee rises so it is going with the shoulder not rubbing it. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Ride Natty, Ride

Finally, we come to the last bit the heelknot. When I started braiding I read where the heel knot builds itself. That as you start braiding THAT's when you decide what the heelknot will look like and how many bands of color it will have and I have found this to be the truth. You can kinda plan but once you start things can change a bit so I sill not really get into the braiding aspect of it, if you can do the side buttons then you can do a heel knot they are just larger and with more passes but fundamentally the same. I do a floral tape build up for my heel knots. I like a fairly heavy heel knot as this speed up the action of the bosal specifically the release and that is what matters to the horse! Add the foundation and then do what you feel. Hopefully the client is pleased with the end results. And hopefully this was a little bit of help to some of you and of interest to the rest. I'm in New Orleans now and will have to wait till I get back to Mi Casa to add the hanger and there are several ways to do that but I'll just save that for another day. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - No More Trouble

Of course you just repeat this for the other side button. I should mention that I could have tied a Spanish Ring Knot either for a foundation or sometimes as the side button itself. Now on the the heel knot. I'm not going to show the actual interweave but will show how I do the build up that will keep the heel knot from being pulled off. I tie a string around the bosal at the place where the hanger would be in order to get the cheeks 4 1/2" apart at the side buttons. The I measure down to where the cheeks will meet at a point anywhere from 10" - 12" from the inside of the nose band. I want the top of my spacer to be there so I will put reference marks on the spacer and the cheeks below that where they will eventually be covered by the knots. Next I nail my spacer to the inside of one cheek and then I fold it over and nail it again I put the cheeks together and tie them And add a Spanish ring knot I will lace each strand around the ring knot to anchor the heel knot and then I cut the extra core length and shorten the strand a bit to work with them. Not much more to go! Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Sun is Shining

Ok now we have established the pattern and now we are going up to the next pair and so on. This pass makes v's going up and down all around the knot and the last pass connects the v's. For the "pineapple" pattern the interweave formula highlights are to stay next to the string on the left going up and then stay next to the string on the right going down and to split pairs when you come to them. This holds no matter the number of passes or rings of color you are adding. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Cap Fit

OK so now I can try and post the rest of the story; Here we are putting the side buttons on. I have already braided a six bite casa over a leather collar and am starting the interweave with the contrasting color The first thing is I go under 4 to give me something to bury the end under. Eventually I pull all the string under that spot. This interweave is different because I decided that I want a single band of color on the bottom side of this button to frame the hanger once it goes on. On the six bite the single band braids in such a way that each of the 3 complete passes meets itself and you have to adjust by either crossing under double the space or using 3 separate strings. This knot is big enough that I felt I could just cross under double the space. So I follow the string to the left going up the knot making pairs of the 2 strings, cross under 4 and then I will follow the string on the right going down making pairs of those stringsand cross under 4 After I repeat that again I have made it back to where I started and have to go under double to reach the next pass. Because the knot is round i can't bend my needle so I will go as far as I can, come out of the knot with the needle and string and then re enter and go to the spot that is next in the pattern And here it is drawn all the way So I carry on the original pattern but I split the pairs when ever I come to them Here my fid shows the next pair to be spit going down the knot. . 2 B continued..... Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Cap Fit

Thanks Steve, I checked out your blog and I think even having that much on here as a tutorial might help some of us out. Gregg, i know how hard it is to find the time to do the tutorial. I've got a customer waiting on the bosal and another one waiting on a set of romal reins and then I have to start the nxt projects and make up some more rawhide!!! All this is in between trips in the semi to Nashville, then New Orleans, and finally Washington D.C.! I could have finished the bosal already but I want to take pictures of the start of the heel knot for the blankity blank tutorial! kinda wished I hadn't started it myself but I know it helps me as much as the others that may be wanting to braid a bosal. But don't worry you know me I have NO PROBLEM asking questions!! Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Redemption Songs

I've been posting the steps I take to build a braided rawhide bosal in the braiding forum over the last 2 weeks or so. As a fledging saddle maker that is mostly self taught I would LOVE to see some of the processes some of our more learned and experienced saddle makers go through to build let's say a metal ground seat vs an all leather ground seat. Or how about how you do your stirrup leathers and fenders. Hey maybe a horn wrap tutorial. Quite possibly a nice series on how you make patterns or on how you tool parts like seats, Cheyenne rolls or even swells and then put them onto the saddle! Gregg or Darcy or Bruce or Troy or Kieth or Steve M or Ashley or Bob ( I feel like the lady from Romper Room) Heck ANYBODY can step up and ride this pony! Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Put It On

Hey Roo4u, I'll go ahead and answer for Rob since it is probably the same reason I have begun doing it this way. I used to put a ring knot above the heel knot to keep from stretching the heel knot strands at the top of the knot too. Now, I realize that if I put a spacer in the heelknot then the top of the knot is already "stretched" and I have avoided the problem. It also makes it easier to shape the bosal later on as that gap the spacer creates there spreads the cheeks at the apex which make a bigger difference further up the cheek where the shaping actually happens AND when you insert the 'mota' or tail end of your mecate rope in the space it will not distort your mecate as badly as it would without the spacer in there creating room for the mecate to set in. Mo' Betta'! Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Hallelujah Time

Hey Kevin, thanks for the advice. I'll have to try the wrapping method again next time I make a finer strand bosal. Maybe you could post a tutorial on how you do it before I give it a try and I might make a decent go of it! All this string was made with a limed hide. I've got the equipment to do a hot water hide and will give that a shot next month when I have time to make rawhide. I'm cutting the string using my Hansen cutter and have gotten to the point where I just cut out and throw away anything that isn't right. I need some calfs to get finer strings and hopefully they will have some when I go there next month. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Hallelujah Time

Tracy, You are correct I am braiding down initially to skip the wrap and braid. I didn't have much success with the wrapping method when I first tried it, I've since learned to do it for quirt handles and such but then I am using enough strings that the first wrap is a complete cover leaving no gaps. The hard part of the wrapping method is to guage the spaces especially with a build up. i believe Gail Hought uses the wrapping method at least she did for a while. The hard part of the braiding method is the first turn back because it tends to put a slight twist to that end of the braiding. I've seen some Ortega bosals that show he struggled with the same problem and also make it pretty evident he used the braiding method at least for a while. My friend Nate Wald takes the works and puts a counter twist in there before he does the turn back. I'm trying to work half the strings in succession going one way and then the other to counter the twist maybe I'll have to do all of them counter to the way the twist goes if this way proves not to work for me all the time. Just find what works for you and stick with it. Maybe KAW or Mrs. Liggett can chime in anyone? The interweave works with the gaucho pattern it just looks different. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Put It On

Hey Tracy and everyone, Thanks for the compliments but I am the one who is benefiting the most! There are strings going both direction. That is the reason for having 2/3ds of the strings on the left and 1/3d on the right. What happens is this; you braid with the strings uneven as I said, when yo get to the end of the braid you take the longest strands and do a turn back that matches the way you started and work those strands back up through the previous braiding creating pairs. When you get back to the starting end you do what ever turn back you desire depending on how you want that end to look. There are 3 different turns to make a "pineapple" or standard end and one to make a "gaucho" end. You work those strands back towards the middle splitting the pairs you made. You should still have enough length to the original "short" strands to do a matching turn back at their end and work those strands back towards the middle. When the two ends meet is when you have to bury each end under the other by going under 3. Actually, you can have the ends meet anywhere along the length of the noseband and on a smaller noseband you may not want all of your strands meeting in the middle because it will make a bump there. Hope this explanation make a little more sense to everyone. If there are any questions or if I've created some confusion please ask and maybe I can find a better way to say things that might make it clearer in your mind. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Put It On

Now for the interweave. I didn't know how to actually take the pictures that show what is needed but will say that I am filling the gaps made because the end and center diameter is greater than that just inside of the end buildups so the braiding in tight in the narrowest point but does not quite cover the wider portions. To do the interweave I start under three and go up parallel to the string to the left and follow that the length I want then cross under 3. I will often double check where the pattern will be to make sure I am going under the proper 3. This series of pics show how I continue and the finished after I added color to the ends to balance the pattern. It is easier to show the interweave on the side buttons so I'll post that later. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - So Much to Say

So now we are going to finish the noseband by working all the strings up to the other end and creating pairs and then at the end crossing under 3 and working back towards the middle splitting the pairs as you come to them. This is what creates the diamond pattern. The same will be done with the strings at the other end until the meet in the middle . Now you have to make the junction appear as if it is one string by burying the ends. If the strings are a little dry you can soap them Here is a normal under two pass and here is an under 3 pass to hide the string and here is the interchange done with both strings I pull each strand and cut it close so that it draws back up under the 3 to bury it. Next will be the interweave but that will have to wait to be posted... Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Touch Me

With 2/3 of the length of my strings to my left I start the braid by going under one over one. and I continue with each string in succession moving from top to bottom Once I have all of my strings done i set it into my vice to hold it while I braid Once I reach my goal I start the turn back. I finish my braid with an over so I can start my braid with an under. This is with the strings that are still going the left. I'll come to a place where the strand will need to work itself back into what has already been braided. Then I go parallel to the string on the left I do this with each string in succession first working 4 of them to the left and then i go back and work them in succession to the right of where I started. This helps me from putting a twist into the finished noseband. Here I am half way back up creating pairs. . At this point I started getting late so I wrapped the noseband in a moist cloth and let it set on my bench to preserve the moisture content. To be continued... Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Ride Natty, Ride

OK so the next thing is to get some floral tape (Walmart, Michaels, or on line) it sticks to itself and doesn't have glue and also it can be shaped some or I can double it over on itself to increase low spots. I start at one end and work towards the middle. The first layer goes all the way up to the center button and then I make a few extra turns next to the center button to start that build up. When I wrap back and forth I will not go back over the very end I don't cross over the center button until I've built up that side and then i cross over and do the other side Next I will measure and mark the noseband with guide lines and I use those guidelines to make sure the taper is even Now I am ready to start the braiding first I get the string into thirds When i start my braiding I put 2 thirds to my left and 1 third to my right. To be continued..... Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Bob Marley - Three Little Birds