bucksnort

I agree with megabit that your rawhide may be too wet & not properly cased. Also, I don't soap mine during the cutting, splitting, beveling stage. it seems harder to work with & gums everything up, so I don't use any soap until I start braiding. Some of the more experienced braiders will surely jump in here in the next few days & give you their thoughts, then you can try a few different things & see what works for you. If you're going to rawhide, at some point you always have to kill another cow. Good Luck. Buck

I have read a few posts where people don't have a beveler, so I thought I would attempt to show how I bevel my strings since it only requires a sharp knife. I hold one end in a vice, with my left hand I hold the string between my thumb & index finger & use my other fingers to hold the string against my palm. this way I can keep the string from rolling over as I bevel. With my right hand I hold the knife at about a 45 degree angle to the string & use my thumb as a guide to keep the string steady, then just walk backward & pull the knife along the top corner of the string. To bevel the other side I reverse ends in the vice. My explanation is hard to understand. I hope the pics will explain it better. Get back to me with any questions & I'll try to answer them. you should wear gloves for this, I prefer to grow hide rather than buy it & have some wicked good calluses. When I was a kid, I worked for a guy who told me he would never hire anyone who wore gloves or a straw hat because when it was time to work they were either put on or taking off their gloves or chasing their hat. Not much truth to it, but still amusing. Buck attachment=76792:cornering strings 001 (800x600).jpg]

I borrowed this pic from a post by rgerbitz. it is pinned. this shows what I was talking about with a piece of leather, which I think is what shtoink is saying also. I still think it looks great the way you have it. Buck http://leatherworker.net/forum/uploads/monthly_10_2010/post-5521-042769000%201287530680_thumb.jpg

Joe, I went online & looked at some of the stuff at the World Leather Debut. The main problem I would have with an entry is that those people are GOOD. Maybe a couple of years. Hopelessly lost but makin' good time. Buck

So many cool ideas, leatherpownder using paper for traction when rolling, curlyjo's broken glass for scraping (I have a vision of me with about 15 different tools that I tried & discarded scraping a hide). The best part is it shows how we are always learning & trying new things. I know that sometime in the future I will try at least parts of all of these methods as the situation dictates. Buck

Thanks Joe, Your method is very close to the way Lige Langston did it, tho in later years he started liming his hides to dehair them. I have seen Frank Morgan work strings this way, but he cut from the outside in. With all the modern equipment & such that we have it's important not to lose the old ways as they still have so much value. I am familiar with Mary Fields, but never met her. I appreciate everyone taking the time to share. the great thing about this site is it not only helps me, but anyone who runs across it. Buck

Entiendo, looks great. I agree with Joe that there is no real need to close the hole. How many of these did you say you were doing? Joe, I knew you were joking. I was referring to the drawer pull you posted (very nice). Buck

Great looking job leatherpownder. What do you do to secure your buttons on machine belting? Buck

Thanks Brad, I have seen that type of cutter, but never made one. It strikes me that it would be more maneuverable than a draw gauge (which is truly designed to make straight cuts on leather). My humidor is very much like your only a plastic box with lid with fence wire covered with window screen in the bottom. I'll have to make a cutter & give it a try. Often the simplest tools are the best. Buck

Really nice Brian. do you do the jewelry work as well? Buck

We have rcsaddles to thank for all this. Whats next, door knobs, faucet handles, tooth brushes? Just kidding,I love to see braided work used in new & unique ways. I added a pic of a pull I made to replace the rope on our attic access ladder which is in one of our bathrooms. I'll bet there is a good market for braided cabinet knobs & handles. Hang in there entiendo, we're all pulling for you (pun intended) Buck

I get it now. Your trying to figure a way to cover the neck of it . I think it will look great the way you have it, but will be interested in what you come up with. Luck, buck

Entiendo, Sounds super. Could you post some pics when you get it done. Buck

Entiendo, Mike or someone else may come up with better ideas, but here are my thoughts. your knob looks very much like the heel knot of a bosal. you might glue a piece of leather on the knob before working your turkshead & let that show thru in the center of your opening like many people do with heel knots (looks nice). With an over 3 under 3 PK you may be able to get the coverage to close in the opening. I have had good luck getting a Colima Lazy Man's button to close in on the ends of quirt handles, but it does leave a small opening in the center. The advantage here is that with the CLM you follow your standing end up on the right, when you reach the top you cross underneath it at the bight & continue to follow it down on left side. At the bottom you cross under again to the right. Point is you double the strands all the way including the bight instead of crossing one pass short of the bight like you do with a PK, so it gives you more bulk at the center where you need it to close that opening. This just gave me another idea that I'll have to look up in Grant's book. I'll get back to you with more later. Buck

Thanks guys, I can see where cutting your initial strings would be tough with a regular string cutter unless it was the same height as your workbench like Leatherpownder's. One other thing I like about the smaller circles is that they fit easily in my humidifier for casing (tupperware type box about 18in X 14in).I have to fold bigger pieces or use a big plastic bag. I keep trying different things, the last hide I did a few days ago I took the best of the hide (center oval & cut it all into 1/2 in string & ran the whole thing thru the splitter. It was a lot more work than I wanted to do all at once & I ended up with some bad spots, not sure if maybe thats where I crossed the back. All in all it was OK. I was able to get decent strings between the bad spots & bundled them up for future use. Thanks for the paper tip Leatherpownder. buck

Pete, I posted a reply yesterday that somehow didn't get posted. I'm sure it couldn't have been my fault since i"m such a computeter genius. Anyway, just wanted to say WOW. Buck

Mike, I like to cut 1/4 strings from the round because they are more flexible & I can cut a little more at the center before the curve gets too tight, but also if you're cutting from a odd shape you can go around a sharper corner without making a bad spot. I put my draw gauge in a vice so I can pull with one hand & keep the round rotated tight on the side away from the blade if that makes sense. Glad I'm not the only one without a fancy string cutter. On the first couple of projects I did I cut all my strings freehand & used my bench grinder to even the thickness ( works, but it smells bad).With a little grinding I am able to get my draw gauge down to a 3/32 string width which is narrow enough for me. Thanks for sharing. Buck

I'm always interested in how different braiders cut their hides initially. Since I've never heard of anyone else using the same method I do, I thought I'd throw it out there. After a hide is fleshed, dehaired & stretched, I first take a 4 in strip out down the center of the back. Like a lot of braiders, I don't like to cut strings across the back. Ralph Dillon taught me to take out this strip which is then used to make cores for bosals so it doesn't go to waste. The quality of this strip is usually OK, it just seems to have a grain to it that runs lengthwise. While I have used the 30 in. circles, I find smaller ones easier to work with. A 10 in circle will yield about 25 ft. of 1/4 in string. I typically use 1/8 or smaller strings to braid & seldom over 12 ft. long, so these measurements work well for me. I cut my hides into 10 in. squares, trying to keep the thickness even within the square. Now I can simply stack up these squares for storage & when I'm ready to start a project I pick out squares of whatever thickness & color I need, soak & case them, mark & cut a circle & then cut my strings. I have & still sometimes do cut strings from odd shapes, oval etc.. but find it easier & less wasteful to start with a perfect circle. That's the way I do it now, next week I may have a whole different idea. Buck

Thanks guys. I already picked up a lot of tips & appreciate all the knowledge & support available. Buck

Mike, Very nice. I like the way you used the horsehair. Do you make your own rawhide or buy. Your rawhide looks like great quality with nice even color. Thanks for showing. Buck

I posted in new member forum, but since my interest is in braiding, I thought I'd introduce myself here. I've made & repaired most of my own equipment most of my life, but just in the last couple of years became interested in rawhide braiding. Mostly self taught from Grants book. Last winter I took a class from a great braider who lives near me named Ralph Dillon. Not sure what the destination is, but I'm enjoying the journey. The pics are my latest pieces. The reins are 8 strand square, romal 12 strand square. The quirt is a section of rein that was left over, all buttons on it except the ring knots are what Grant calls the Colima Lazy Man's button with three passes, the second one being the red strand.

That's the great & sad thing about this site, we all get to learn from your problems. Glad you got it figured out. Buck

Super cool. I can see that part of the patterns are part of the braid, are the geometric patterns in the braid or are they an interweave? Thanks, Buck

Entiendo, It would be the same knot(4 strand ring knot) that Grant shows for securing rein knots. I don't have the book here with me, so I don't know the page. There is a post by lightningad Mar 2012 called finishing a braid that links to a utube video showing a 4 stannd ring knot. hope this helps, Buck

Thanks Wishful, With horse training I was told that everyone has the right to ruin a few horses, so I guess ruining a few cowhides is OK too. Good Luck. Buck