rawhide1

I think Opagon posted one but i'm not for sure. I think it was the greenbay packers colors. Mike

rgerbitz I have her book on building romel reins and think it was worth the price. But I would caution anyone that is just starting out against buying her books out of order as they seem to reference back to previous books on building certian knots. By the time I paid for the book $49.00 or so and shipping $8 to $10 from Mrs Houghts site the total was 58 to 60 dollars. I just found another site www.macphersonleather.com that offered her books for $35.50 plus shipping I think $10.00 so it would be cheaper there but i've never bought from them. I hope this helps Mike

Opagon Nice looking work! I was wondering were do ya get the bands for the bracelets. Mike

TwoCrow Nice work!! If I use groundwork I use tape or sometimes i'll build a smaller knot as my groundwork. Mike

looking good!!! Mike

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to help me out on this. It's almost to much for my small brain to handle. Alltell are the folks i'm dealing with for the card. They say I can use the card for 15 days and then bring it back if I don't like it. A friend said she had some kind of cellphone signal booster I could use I wonder if that would help with the signal. I think if that works we'll go with the card. I have dishnetwork for my tv already so that might be another way to go if the card dont work. Mr. Genadek I really appreciate your offer and will keep you in mind if we go that route. Once again I want to thank everyone for their advice it has really helped me out. Mike

Hello to all I need some help on high speed internet. Right now we have dial up because we live out in the country. My other two options are Wild Blue satellite or a data card for the computer I think that's what it's called. Wildblue offers three speeds 512kbps for $50.00 a month,1.0Mbps for $70.00 month and 1.5Mbps for $80.00 month. Plus buying the equipment for 250.00 dollars. The data card is $150.00 but you get a $100.00 mail in rebate. Then the service is $60.00 a month. I only get one bar on my cell phone if I go up to the 2nd floor of the house. So will the data card work. My ?'s are how due the two compare speed wise and how much speed do I need. They say the data card compares to DSL I don't know how fast that is. And I would like to get phone service thru the Internet because everything is long distance for me. So between the taxes and the unlimited long distance plan and all the other junk they charge a fella I'm taking it ya know where. So any help from y'all is appreciated. Mike

Mike Welcome I'm always glad to see more people get interested in braiding. Sometimes it will make ya want to pull ya hair out but in the end it's worth it. Just have some patience and keep after it. I think working with para cord or rope is a great way to learn. And then once ya start getting the hang of it go on to a cheaper leather lace to see how your knots and braids lay different than with the cord or rope. I would not start with roo because of the expense or rawhide due to the fact that ya don't have a whole lot of time to work with it before it loses its moisture. I can't help ya with a source to bevel your strings. You may have to make a homemade one like the one rgerbitz showed in a previous post. Good luck Mike

Rawhider Could ya repost there's just a black box. Thanks Mike

Crow The thickness of strings just depends on what your braiding. I't will also depend on if your using a core or not. When I braid knots on a piece I like to use strings out of calf as they are really thin and don't need to be split down. When beveling your rawhide strings bevel the hair side as this will keep it from curling up and also give you a lot smoother feel. As far as string cutters and bevelers go there are a couple out there. Hansen string cutter, Gail Hought sells one I don't remember who makes it, Brain Nuebert sells one, and theres a couple more but I can't remember their names. The one rgerbitz shows above looks like it would work great. Price on the cutters I mentioned run around $400.00 Hopes this helps. Good Luck mike

I would also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone that had a hand in getting the board back up. Mike

Sorry I can't help ya. It will be interesting to see what ya come up with. Good luck!! Mike

Daniel I have to agree with Rob on the Grant book. It contains a ton of info on braiding. If it was me depending on much ya have to cover I would use either a one string long pineapple or if its a really long knot I would a multi-string knot. But that dont help ya much if ya dont know how to braid them. And I don't know of any place on the web that shows you how to braid them. I think your best bet would be to get Bruce Grants Encyclepedia of Rawhide and Leather braiding. It shows some knots that would work great. If I wasn't so damn slow at typing(going on 30min for this) and so computer dumb. Not to mention I'm not a good teacher. I wouldn't mind doing a how to on those knots. So maybe someone out there that can type and has some computer skills and put stuff in a orderly fashion could do a how to. Just a idea. Mike

rgerbitz That bosal looks very nice!! That fella should be darn happy with it. Thanks for the pics. Mike

CharlieR Your right with skinning cats and braiding there's lots of ways to do it. You just have to find what works for you. I've always built my knots on the piece I was doing. When I build a knot to cover something I kind of wing it. Meaning I kinda of have a idea on how many bights and I'll have and what sequence (o3,u3 O2,u2ect) I'll use. But sometimes I'll either have to make my turks head bigger (more bights) or increase my sequence what ever it takes to make it work. Ya know I'm sure there's a method out there on how to figure your knot size I'm just not sure what it is. But I think for every bight ya have ya figure thats two string widths ya have to figure in calculating how many bights you need to cover the circumferance of yer piece. Hell I'm cornfusing myself and everyone else I'm sure. So would somebody that knows what their talking about please jump in. Mike

CharlieR Horsehairbraider gave good advice. About your only options are use a bigger string (wider string),build a bigger turks head (more bights) or increase it to a o3,u3. The Bruce Grant book she mentioned is great and shows how to increase your knot size. I hope ya can get it because it will serve ya well. I have not read Woolery's book so I cannot commet on it. Keep plugging away at it. Mike

Although I've never built a bosal I think it looks great. And the other pieces ya showed looked good. I really think the the only way to improve on the nosebutton would be to use smaller strings but thats just my own taste. Keep up the good work. Mike

Arley I saw your post and even though i do braid I've never made or attemted to build a bullwhip. So I'm just as lost as how to build one as you are. If I come across any info. I will let ya know don't lose heart. Mike

Well I soak my strings in water the time is dependent on the thickness of strings. I then put them in a plastic bag and stick them in the fridge until the feel is right. Not to stiff not to spongey. I then rub them down real good with rawhide creme and start to braiding. And I'm slower than the seven year itch so my strings are gonna dry out. If I'm using thin strings out of calf running them through my mouth seems to work great anything thicker than that I'll just get my hand wet in a bowl of water and run my hand down the strings. Sometimes I have to wait a couple of seconds or a couple of minutes for the moisture get right. I may have to try the spray bottle and paper towels in the future. I've gotten tired of waiting on the local high school to make me a string cutter so I ordered one from Bryan Neubert yesterday(thanks Spencer G ) while on the phone with him he tells me another way to case rawhide is to fill a bucket with water and place a screen on top of the bucket and put the bucket in a big trash can then place your rawhide on the screen and put the lid on the trash can and keep it in cool place.He says this work great and ya can keep your rawhide in there for sometime.As a side note Mr. Neubert is one heck of a nice fella and answered a whole lot of questions I had. Mike

HorsehairBraider Very nice work!! And the step by step pictures are great. Thanks for sharing Mike

rgerbitz I think I would use a multi string knot. Bruce Grants book Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leatherbraiding and How to Make Cowboy Horse Gear show how to make this knot with a herringbone or gaucho interweave. If ya don't already have either of these books books. It would be well worth getting one of them. If ya get Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding it has all the material that the other book has. I think I paid 20-30 dollars for mine on Amazon. Post Pictures when done!! Good Luck Mike

Jordan I always used a piece of emery cloth wrapped over a awl shaft. And just ran it back and forth. Mike

Naw nothing wrong. I wouldn't mind having some of that stuff but I ain't paying a 20% buyer's premiun (sp). Thanks for posting the listing tho. Mike

skinner While I have never made a twisted reata I did find some imformation on it in Bruce Grants book. It shows three guys using a rope twister. One turning the handle, one running the spreader to keep strings striaght and tight,and one doing who knows what at the other end. He goes on to say that in building a 1,2or3 string reata. You first need to cut strips 2" wide from your round and stretch them out in a shady place to dry. Then split to thickness and cut to 1/4" widths. Then your ready to twist your reata. Grant also says that little or no softening is done so the reata has life.Thats all I can tell ya hope it helps. Maybe somebody with more know how will jump in. Can't wait to see finished product!!Good luck Mike

Nice looking strap!! I think ya got the saddle look ya were looking for. Thanks for sharing Mike