HorsehairBraider

That link doesn't work, but I think this one will: http://www.thethreadexchange.com/ Cool site! Thanks for sharing it!

Great work! Did you make the knives too? Very nice!

Here it is for $20 bucks - http://www.amazon.com/Leatherworking-Handb...s/dp/1844034747 This one is a paperback version. I can read paperbacks just as well as I can read leather-bound hardbacks... :biggrin: It's a little easier on the wallet too...

The antique will look really classy on this. Wow, it really turned out nice! I like the way you are showing it in stages. I am thinking about doing a series of pictures like that for a braided piece I am about to start.

As it happens I am a jeweler and work with both. This is what I can tell you, but remember - I actually use this stuff on jewelry, on a polishing wheel (hooked to an arbor, hooked to a motor and spinning at high speed) and do not do the sort of work you do. Rouge is red, and is used for polishing because it is very fine, and gives a high luster to gold and silver. This is partly because of it's color; it contains ferric oxide. Tiny amounts remain on the work but because of the red color are usually not offensive and actually give an attractive reddish glow. "White rouge" (it's not really rouge, rouge is a French word meaning red, so the white is simply a polishing compound) is a polishing compound that is more aggresive than rouge. By aggresive, I mean it will take off more metal than I would like while polishing, and do it more quickly. In extreme cases it can take off the detail in my work! However if you really need to cut down metal, a more aggresive compound than rouge is called for. I occasionally have a call to polish other metals, such as brass, bronze or steel, and therefore keep different polishing compounds around that are more aggresive than I would normally use on gold or silver. Neither compound is "better". It just depends on the job you need to get done. If you need an aggresive compound, white is more aggresive. If you are doing a final polish to a mirror shine, rouge is probably a better choice. (But it might take a great deal of work, polishing a very hard metal like steel!) There are actually many different polishing compounds. I am currently using a black compound that is water soluble, because the background on my sterling pieces is black, and the black does not show up as much if there are tiny amounts left. I use it on a chamois wheel and achieve excellent results.

I'll second (or third, whatever we are on now) Cora's comment. I made up a jig to split my lace down and make it thinner. It's much simpler than what you've done... but I bet yours works better. Mine is just two thin pieces of metal fastened down to a hardwood block, with the metal pieces the the width of the lace apart. I lay the lace down in the groove, flesh side up, and lay my hand skiving tool (I think it's called a "Super Skiver") on top of the metal, and then just pull the lace through. It works pretty good except that I have to both hold the skiving tool, pull the lace AND make sure the lace does not pull up and cut itself in half. I don't have enough hands! I'd love to see better pics of your invention. As Cora said, you could easily sell either the plan or the gadget, whatever. I'd gladly pay money for a deal like that.

Your tooling is so good! I love that pebbled look. Up close it almost looked like little beads of water on it! Really makes the letters stand out.

Read this: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/sony_h9.html (Hint: on the last page of the review, he gives a sort of summing up of everything.) Just at a glance it looks great, I personally don't like cameras that use different types of batteries other than AA because those are readily available to me if I run out of power, but that may not matter at all to you. Everything else looks really cool - are you planning on shooting lots of action shots? Looks like it is perfect for that.

Ooooh nice! That turned out great!

Oh wow - that's a huge improvement! I think it would take me more than 3 trys to get that much better... Very nice!

Wow - they look nice! The knots look great, and I like the leather you used. As far as the gapping goes... huh. Well, if I had made them, I would NOT want to go back and take them apart, I'd try and make them work out. One of the things I might try is to pull them through a knot hole (a smooth one) a couple of times, to get the braide to elongate a little. You could also pull them over the top of something smooth and rounded, exerting pressure on them. The strings would then be at a slightly different angle and the gaps might go away. Now, since the lace is not beveled, it might score up the edges, so you might not want to do that. For me, I don't mind if stuff looks "used" but I realize that you are making these for someone else, and they just might mind. Sometimes too, people (I should say, non-braiding people) won't notice something like that. How close do you have to look to see the gapping? In the photographs, they look pretty darn nice.

Beautiful! But I personally would sweat bullets over where to punch the holes... the whole thing is so nice, I would be scared to change anything! You probably have that all figured out though... Your story reminds me of a saying, "The fish wouldn't get caught if he'd keep his mouth shut". But this time it really worked out GREAT!

Oh wow, beautiful! Lovely lacing and I just love that dye job. Gorgeous!

Hi! Glad you are here! What type of leather work are you most interested in?

Nice deer - I am guessing here that you don't want him to look like he needs an anger management course? I would soften the lines around the eyes a little, in particular, the ones on the top part of the eyes. Put them very slightly further away, so he look more like he is opening his eyes as wide as he can. If the corner of the eye (the ones closest to his nose) are a little more downward, that might help too. Then, on the corners of the mouth - very slightly turn them up, so he looks more "smiley". Not really turn them so much as have them aim slightly higher. Draw it first and see if that helps, if not, just ignore me! I think your base is excellent. You have the drawing of the deer very nice and his horns are even facing correctly. Ever notice those yellow diamond highway signs of the deer jumping? The horns are on backwards, bugs the crap out of me. But yours is correct and looks good.

Hey, nice braiding! I like the concho added to the browband, nice touch. I bet the public goes nuts over stuff like that - anyone would love to have those on their horse. This is much nicer than what I see in the local tack store.

Crow - nice beginning! What I would advise is to set these aside, make about 50 more things, and then come back and look at them. You will notice subtle differences as your hands get the tension in them to always braid at the same tension no matter what. Your knots will somehow, magically, get tighter and straighter. The differences will be slight (especially from such a good start) but noticeable and the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. In the meantime you have a couple of projects you can be proud of. They look great, and no need to tell people you are a beginner - they'll never know and will be very impressed. Well done!

I've only ever used a little bit of kangaroo so I don't know I can make a great comparison - but I have used a great deal of goat and really like it. (This might be a good time to reveal that I raise the dear little things - actually big things, I raise Boer crosses and they are sizeable goats.) I don't know that anyone has done a scientific study on whether kangaroo is "stronger and easier to work with" so this may just be one person's opinion. You may or may not agree. The thing to do is to try it for yourself and see how it works for YOU. You may have just the knack to work with something that everyone else has a hard time with. If you can easily get goat, go for it! It's not like the world will end if you get one hide and then decide you don't like it - I mean, you could always then sell it to me!

Stunning! Did you do the metal work too? Those are just fabulous.

That's a very handsome collar. Did you tie the longer knots with one long string or use multiple strings? I really like your little keeper loop, that's a great idea. I'm imagining the dog desperately trying to chew on the "rawhide chew toy" while wearing it... :biggrin: Actually all kidding aside I am sure that will look great on the dog.

I'm new too, but I like to guess. I think a "Contributing Member" has contributed cash via the donation button you can find in your "Controls". Once I have a bit more money in my PayPal account I am going to test this theory.

Oh my - that's gorgeous! And the inside is as beautiful as the outside.

This is my experience. Braids have an innate shape. Choosing a braid that is inherently round will give better results, if you are after a round shape; if you want the braid round but have chosen one that is *not* inherently round, then you need to core. I've gotten the 6-strand braid (with a sequence of under two, over one) to work out fairly round but the material was more rawhide-like and not real flat like leather lace would be. Even so the braid was not *really* round - it was more an odd multi-sided shape. I need to change my signature - "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted." I don't think you did anything wrong, you just came up with a different result than what you expected. That's a terrific learning opportunity.

I'll bravely put in my guess, and then see what others say. I would swear the brown is calf. I think the black is elk. JMO!

Hi Randy - I think what you really want is mohair which comes from the Angora goat. When people say "Angora" they are referring to the Angora rabbit and it's fiber. Anyway, I got a piece about 5" X 11 1/2" from a vendor on eBay - as I recall, it cost me about $12.00 with shipping. If you search under "doll hair" you will find tons of mohair, but not all will be what you need. You could also search under "mohair" but this will unfortunately call up all sorts of sweaters and coats. You will probably find what you need faster under "doll hair". I sure hope that is what you meant, and that you really did not mean the Angora rabbit...