rawhide1

megabit That will sure nuff put a welt on ones ass!! And I think it's a great way to reuse some busted gear. It looks like to me that on the top and bottom pineapple knots you got out of sync somewhere. The reason I say this is because I can see parallels that aren't split. The long pineapple above the bottom pineapple looks good. I'm not familiar with the second one down but it looks kinda cool. The spanish ring knots look pretty good they could maybe tightened up and evened up a little. Keep after it. That's my .02 cents worth Mike

entiendo That would depend on how thick your strings are and how tight ya braid. And also how much pressure you apply when rolling the finished braid. I would say your best bet would be to braid something up roll it out and then measure the dia. Mike

rawhider Nice looking work!! How long a string did ya have to use. Thanks, MIke

Stringman That's how I would do it. Mike

megabit Looking good!! I know in the past you have asked for a critique so I'm going to offer up a few things. I hope not to offend. When looking at your pineapple knots they look good overall. But it looks like your standing end is just going under one. If you leave a couple of inches when you start you will be able to run it back up under a couple of strings when you finish the knot. It would hide better and be less likely to come undone. I can't see real well from the picture but is that a spanish ring knot. You could also cut the ends of the strings at a taper which would give them a more finished look. Keep up the good work! Mike

Ian I see ya haven't got a answer and I dont really have one. I wonder if the one in the book just looks more open for the sake of showing it. Another thought is to post this question in the saddle building section. Them fellas use it all the time and could probaly give ya a good answer. Sorry for the lack of help. Mike

Hi Pete In my area their are a lot of people that have their license to carry a concealed weapon. How many of them actually do I don't know. Although I don't think it has anything to do with the economy. Just a persons right to carry a weapon. My cousin puts on the classes and he is always full. I don't carry one just because sometimes my temper gets the better of me. And I don't want to spend the $125.00 Although I would carry one on a trip with or with out a license. As they say better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Mike

Well Thanks to a fellow member and Kansan Doug who happens to live just down the road a piece. I'm saved he was gracious enough to tell me to come on by and get a copy of the patterns. A big Thanks to Doug!! Mike

Howdy to all in leatherland I've been trying to download the purse patterns that Bruce so kindly is willing to share. But for some reason they wont download. It says file is broken and cant be repaired. Now I'll be the first to admit I aint the sharpest stick in the pile when it comes to these things or much else. So I'm asking for any and all help on getting this downloaded. Or I'd be willing to pay someone to print it and mail it to me. Thanks, Mike

rawhider Very nice indeed!! Mike

Bruce Thanks a lot!!!!!! I need to make a purse or two and this will come in handy. Very nice of ya to share. I hope your injury aint to bad and ya can get back in the shop. Mike

Maeve Mr. Joorisity is right on. You need to contact Bill Confer at Tejas Industries formley Hereford Bi-Products. His # is (806) 363-7232 call and tell him what ya ned. You can buy whole hides, sides. circles or pre cut strings. They have cow, calf, and slunk(unborn calf) The thickness will depend on what ya are building. And yes you could use a side for all your wanting to do. Although ya may have to split some down. As far as cutting strings to get long strings for reins and such ya will have to cut them from a circle. The strips would work great for shorter stuff such as bosals and what not. Bye the way nice looking work. It's on my list to learn. Hoped this helped some. Mike

millwright Ya she liked it. Thank you for the nice comments. There aren't any splices. The necklace is just a four strand braid that I braided for about 26" I then tied a terminal knot in each end. The two knots by the cross are four bight two turn pineapple knots. I had to do two interweaves which gave me a o3,u3 on the finished knot. The other two knots are 6bight two turn pineapple knots with a o2,u2 sequence(1 interweave). I just tied the knots around both strands and the terminal knot keeps it from slipping off of the end. On the knots by the cross I built them over a foundation of tape. I tied the two 6 bight knots over a piece of roo which allows them to slide fairly easy. So the necklace can be opened up to slip over the head and then pulled back together. I build my knots right on the piece I'm doing. And a big thanks for the ideas on the connector. I hope I answered some of your questions. But give me a holler if I didn't do it clear enough or ya need something else. Oh yea on your fob I think a 4 or 6 bight pineapple would work great. The strings would probably have to be around 1/16 or so. Mike

Jordan Thanks for the kind words. Hilly Thank You also. I use a Neubert string cutter and a real sharp razor blade. The moisture has to be just right also. I thought about using rawhide instead of copper on the cross. But I really liked the contrast of the copper. Maybe on the next one I'll go with rawhide. Although I think the strings would have to be around 1/64". Just so there would be enough room to build the knot. Very do able just a lot more time consuming. Mike

Here's something I braided up for the wife. The cross is made out of horseshoe nails and copper. I'm not to happy with the hanger. I may remake it with a smaller dia. copper. And I might add a few small knots at the bottom as long as they don't get in the way. The body is a four strand out of 1/16th" strings. The knots are long pineapples with the strings being cut at 1/16th". Any and all critiques are welcome. Thanks, Mike

Hell fellas thats why I like the horses outside of the Wal Mart. They dont care what ya put on their head their gonna just rock back and forth no matter what and stop when the quarter runs out!! Mike

Ah hell Shorts the oil form your hands and the friction from them will have the edges burnished in no time. And besides ya aint showing it in the state fair are ya. LOL Mike

Rob I forgot to ask. How did ya secure the hair on the one bit hobble(curb strap). Thanks in advance Mike

Shorts That turned out pretty darn good!! Thanks for sharing the finished product. Mike

Rob Nice looking work!! The bit hobbles look really nice. How did ya get the dark grey color. I really like the colors in the bosal. Although the heelknot looks alittle big compared to the rest of the bosal IMO. Overall very nice looking work. Mike

Here's one I finished up not long ago. I cut the strings 1/16th and used a eight strand braid. I'm fixing to do another one with the same size strings and # of strands. Mike Reduced 96% 1536 x 2048 (390.86K) Reduced 96% 1536 x 2048 (396.05K) Reduced 96%<script type=text/javascript> // <script type=text/javascript> // Reduced 96% 2048 x 1536 (405.77K)<script type=text/javascript> //

rawhider Oregon leather (541) 343-2563 sells it by the foot or by the spool (100') Prices were 3/16"- $1.45 a foot or 100' for $125.00 1/4"-$1.85 a foot or $164.00 for 100 foot 5/16- $2.95 a foot or $260.00 for a 100 ' It seems high but it beats making your own. Mike

rawhider Nice looking work!! I cant wait to see the finished result! Mike

rookie I know when when most people make handles they will fold the leather over a rope or leather core. They will then stitch it. That will give you a round handle. When I make handles I go about it a different way. I like to take a 3/4" piece of leather about a 1/4" thick. I'll mark the distance I want my handle to be round and then punch a small hole at each mark in the center of the strap. After finding the center of the strap I cut the leather in two from hole to hole. I then fold and glue the halves together flesh side to flesh side. I then stitch the length I have glued together. This will give you somewhat of a square. I then edge all four corners and pull the piece through a rein rounder. If I was going to make handles for that case. I would cut me two leather straps the length I needed to form my handles plus enough to reach the bottom of the bag with about a inch extra so that they could be skived and joined at the bottom. I would make the straps around 1and1/2" to 2" in width. I would then figure out and mark the distance to the top of the bag. From that point I would take some off of each side until I got my 3/4" width. I would split, glue,sew, edge and pull through the rounder. I would then skive the ends of the straps and glue them and stitch the whole thing to the bag. I hope that's as clear as mud. Anyway that my .02 cents worth. But as you'll find there's more than one way to skin a cat!! Mike

Stringman When I braid something that goes through a snap or ring. I like to run the finished braid through the ring and back braid. I then like to cover this with a turkshead. I also like to put a boot (wear strip) on were the snap will be touching the leather.The reason I do this is for strength and also that is usually a high wear spot from the leather always rubbing on the snap. It can make a person pretty sad when they put all the time and effort into braiding something and it wears out before it's time. Once again this is just my opinion and as my daddy always said there's more than one way to skin a cat!! Mike