bucksnort

A little out of the box, but what about doing a flat four strand & then working a flat pineapple knot over it for added width? Buck

Thanks for taking the time to put all that together & post it. Not sure it's all accurate, but the ones I'm familiar with are right. This would be a good one to pin for future reference. Buck

Bryce, You might consider using a 2 rawhide strings about 1/8 by 1/8 or whatever size seems right as a core. One in each of the split strands & bring them together as a core for the main braid. I've done that for a small core in small diameter bosals & it adds a lot of life. Buck

Is a button over the intersection a possibility, or what about doing two four strand braids side by side, using the 8 stands for your flat braid & then back to two four strand braids. I'm like Brian, having trouble picturing where the two ends go beyond the flat part. Never fear, we'll come up with a plan for you even if it drives you crazy. Buck

Thanks Mike. Buck

Thanks Bret, Do you have to use calfhide for strings that small? I'm thinking that a 3/64 string would have to be less than 1/32 thick. Megabit, I like the comment. Buck

Thank you guys. Yeah, the money helps & the fact that they are going to someone else keeps me from getting complacent. I've always managed to sell everything, but not always for the price I'd like & a few times I've wholesaled stuff out to western stores. Axo44, they are indeed romal reins or romals, the Santa Ynez refers to the braid being split into two parts in the upper portion. If split to three they're Santa Margaritas & if four Santa Isabellas. Not sure if it's correct, but all three are commonly referred to as Santa Ynez type reins. Thanks Again, Buck

Very nice. That button on the end must be tedious, what size is the string for that? Buck

A couple of sets of 8 &12 Santa Ynez reins completed this week. I was surprised at the popularity. I made a set a while back that I posted here. I planned to keep them for myself. They sold before I could put them on a bridle & within a week I had orders for four more sets from people who had seen them. Guess that's the nature of the business ,feast or famine. Buck

Great job, thanks for taking the time to do that. I've been trying a few speed burners & they seem pretty popular. Buck

Once it's rendered there is no need to refrigerate. The stuff I use is about 12 years old (made a little more than I needed to) & still good.I store it in a cupboard in my rawhide shop.

For ongoing care of the finished product, I use a half & half mix of tallow & beeswax. I don't have any special reason for using it except that is what most of the old timers I was around used & it seems to work good. This mix does have to be warmed up a bit to apply it. One warning is that mice & rats (& dogs too) love tallow. I do use a soap mixture with a little beeswax in it for braiding, but too much will make your work sticky & hard to rewet, your best bet for braiding like Brad said is probably straight soap or saddle soap. Good luck & keep us posted. Buck

Basillex, Not sure about roo, but with rawhide I cut split & corner my strings & then dye & rinse 1st in cold water to help set the dye &then in hot till the water is pretty clear.Your probably correct about stretching after dying making the color uneven. I don't dye until my strings are ready to braid. Also, I soak my strings in the dye solution. Hope this helps. Buck

I've got it now & rivets would work fine. Sorry I don't know where to find small ones like that, perhaps a local craft store. For something small like that for a small dog, you could sew with a standard household thread, poke holes with any sharp object (ice pick, ect). Good luck, sorry I couldn't be of more help. Buck

My first instinct would be to skive, overlap, glue & sew, but might depend on your purpose. Could you give more details on what your trying to accomplish? Buck

I've found the Lacemaster calculator to be really accurate. Buck

Congratulations on the well deserved honor.

If your interested in the Dene Williams splitter, I would e mail Midwest whips. They have a waiting list going. Buck

Awesome.

Seth, Thanks for taking the time to do this. Buck

Not sure without taking the time to try it, but my guess is you do the 1st & last pass the same color & if you want an even number of each color you need a n even number of parts. Hope this helps. Buck

Very nice, I'd say good luck, but I doubt you'll need it. Buck

Barb, I'm glad you posted this. I have recently done two similar repairs & didn't think until after that I should have taken before & after pics. Anyway, I was thinking that the ways people have handled repairs would make a really interesting thread. With that small of a core,I would probably not even attempt to pull it from the end, my thought would be to slide the braid back both ways, cut & knot the core, splice the ends together over the knot & put a button over the splice. Just a thought, be interesting to see what other ideas turn up& keep us posted on what you do. Buck

Nice job.

Really nice piece. Buck