barbiesdude

Hey Curlyjo, How do you secure the ends of your leather piece for the nose button? Jamie

That does make alot of sense, will definately do in the future. Jamie

Heres another one. I live in Michigan and it can get fairly humid here. Should I tape my rawhide bosal core to keep it from soaking up moisture or will I be Ok to leave it as is? Also, It is a 1/4 4 strand braid. I am shooting for a 1/2 finished product in a med. to med. soft stiffness. I think I have dicovered that my 12 strand 3/16 x 1/16 cover is not seating down as tight as it should. Will going down to 5/32 or 1/8 get it tighter and the right diameter as my first attempt gave me a 9/16 finish? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to save some time and wasted string. Jamie

GREAT!!! idea.

Just curious as to what other people use for there foundations for there knots, lets say heel knots, nose buttons, romal rein buttons? I have been using para cord ring knots covered by self fusing silicone tape. It works OK but I would like to get away from synthetics as much as possible. Even though I believe that if the old time Vaqueros had had access to nylon, poly, and such, they would have probably used it. So if people could maybe post there methods of ground work, it may benefit everyone by seeing other ways to do something. Looking forward to it. Jamie

Yep, you guessed it. That was a HUGE help and I am so appreciative for it. I hope to keep the correspondance going and maybe I can return the favor some day. What you posted in how you do it makes sense now that I have seen that diagram. It feels good to get a little break through every now and again. Jamie

I would love to go to that clinic, it's just a matter of will the finances be there at the time. Maybe I can sweet talk my better half into it by then. I wish there were more clinics like that on this side of the country. Just cut some good latigo string yesterday to plait over my first bosal core. I'm pretty excited about that. I'll try to post some pics soon if I can figure out how to shrink them down. Jamie

Thanks for the tips Brian, I probably will re-tie. The foundation material for both Shoo flys are a para cord spanish ring covered and wrapped in self fusing silicone tape. The shape is different though. I like the silicone tape for it's lack of gooyness, but would like to get away from synthetic material as much as I can. Maybe I'll start a new thread on foundation materials. Thanks again for everyone's help. Jamie

Exactly, thats what I couldn't figure out. Why didn't both ends match for my skeleton knot. I have since got a diagram from my new friend in Germany that straightened me out. I hope to start braiding a "real" nose button soon on a "real" hackamore. Thanks for everyone's responses. Jamie

Yeah, pretty sure that was my problem too, cutting to wet. I have since cut some decent string. Thanks to Shelley and all the rest for getting me pointed in the right direction. I hope to one day go and learn from someone like Nate. Maybe that will spped up my process of learning. Jamie

Here is a pic of a shoo fly I did with a rawhide knot and keeper that turned out OK

Here is a pic. I have cut some of the ground work back so it is not as noticeable, it was worse. My light colored string is all beat up from monkeying with it to fix.

First time posting pics, don't know if this will work, but here goes.

Does anyone else have trouble with their bites slipping up off the foundation on a 6x pineapple, I was doing a shoo fly this week and feel I had a pretty good groundwork for the knot but my bites keep insisting on riding up. I am using kangaroo lace. Do I need to go up to 8x? Thanks Jamie

I am having a little trouble with the nose button (the way Alan B.'s tut. shows)When I run my pairs to the ends I can't seem to figure out how to go back to split them in the herringbone pattern. Each end is different in that one end comes out where i have to cross under 3 right under the x that is part of the bite, which seems to leave a little exposed in the v of the bite. The other end with the 1/3 comes out where I cross under 3 just like normal on the x in the next row under the bite. Should both ends be identical or have I messed up in my turn backs somewere? Is there a tutorial somewhere that shows this in detail. Any help would be appreciated, I am practicing with para cord now but I have a nice side of bighorn latigo ready to morph into a bosal. Jamie

Thanks Shelley, I cut some more string yesterday and it went much better. I probably started out a little moist but there came a point where it actually sliced my guiding thumb, and then I knew what you meant when you said it would tear up your hands when the temper was right for cutting. From then on my strands were way more consistant in width. Thanks again for your detailed post. Jamie

Horse looks real nice standing there hold'n on a loose rein. Can't wait to ride in the Peter Campbell ranch roping clinic this weekend Jamie

Thanks for all the great tips guys. Didn't think about starting in the middle with a ziploc on one end, will definately try that. Good one on marking the blade with a marker, will do that also. I know time and experience are good teachers, but if I could speed that up somehow...... A guy told me once ( about horsemanship ) " experience can't be bought and it can't be taught " If anyone thinks of anything else, keep'em coming. Jamie

When I'm cutting my string down to it's final width ( after I've cut a 1/2 wide strip from a disc with an Aussie strander ), I am having a little trouble with it riding up on the finger of my Hansen. A couple people suggested that my string may be to wet and that is totally possible, It just seemed that when the temper was firmer it was cutting hard, kind of like cutting plastic. I did change my blade around to ensure a fresh edge and that helped some. Just wondering if I need to play around with the temper more and fine tune it? How do you guys ( general term, gals included ) get the right temper consistanly? Also, I was braiding a 4 strand round ( kind of like a mini reata ) hat band last night and it started out fine, but as I got about 21/2 feet into it, I started having trouble getting it tight. Tried the pushing up technique but it seemed to make the braid a little kinky? Tried pulling harder but that was difficult to pull 3/16" strands harder. I tried to keep it soaped but it still seemed to dry a little towards the end. Any suggestions? Thanks for any input. Jamie

Again with the telling me how to phrase my own post stuff. I started this post to get a question answered and some people decided I didn't word it just right, then felt the need to respond. THAT is when the "stirring up trouble" started. I have clearly stated I meant "ANY" tips, but I was hoping to persuade the three I did mention to be sure and add their thoughts. How does that infer nobody else is any good or can't help? So it seems you are the one "keeping after it". I thought we had moved on to some good rawhideing conversation. If you thought I only wanted the help from the people I mentioned then why did you post in the first place with "I'll just keep my opinions to myself". That is what I consider trying to embarass someone. I'll pull one of your number's and tell you how to word your own post, Here's what you should have said "I'm not the other guys but here is my two cents..............." So if you have the brass to fire off a post like ya' did, I certainly have the brass ( and right ) to fire back and defend myself. I'm not going to cow down to you and say "oh' my goodness, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone, I beg your forgiveness. " I didn't do anything wrong. I asked a QUESTION. Can we please move on to getting some more answers and input? Jamie

Your probably right Bret. I tried some more stuff after my first post. Moving my razor blade up or down for a fresh spot, and that helped some. When I had the temper more firm it seemed like it was cutting hard, but when I wet it and stuck it back in the humidor for a little while it would seem "mushy" when i took it back out to cut? It's like Goldie Locks, there seems to be this magic temper where it is " just right ". Thanks a bunch for your input. Anything else you may think of will be greatly appreciated as well. Jamie

Thanks for the response WinterBear, It's the thought that counts. Jamie

Thanks Hellfire, Good to know I'm not all by myself here.

I actually had a few other names in my head that I was hoping would respond, ( dare I name them at the risk of offending more? ) But didn't feel it neccesary to write them down for times sake. I could have my questions answered with a phone call, but I have really enjoyed this forum and " ALL!!!!!!!!!" of it's contributors, so I thought I would try to "join in". I wasn't aware that even inside the forum there was a " members only special club" where if you didn't do the right things or word everything just so so, you were on the outs. On second thought, I won't go back to " lurking" because I KNOW that there are alot of other people just like me on here that stay in the shadows and don't ask questions because they don't want to be emabarassed and slapped down like I was. As I get better maybe I can be of help to someone like I am sure everyone else on this forum has had some help to get where they are. Jamie

Whoa!!! Are you kidding me? When I said "ANY" tips would be appreciated, I meant from "ANY" body! But I do have alot of respect for the people's work I mentioned and value their advice. That doesn't mean nobody else doesn't have anything to contribute or doesn't have good work. I did not mean to "offend" anyone, damage their ego, or hurt anybodies little feelings. If people are that sensitive around here, I'll keep my questions to myself and go back to " lurking". I made the mistake of thinking this forum was where people helped each other become better at their craft, not tell people how to "phrase" their own post.