paris3200

Sandy what is that on the right side of your bench that looks like a 2x6 or a 2x8 with groves cut into it? Jason

Looks good. The only problem I see is that when viewing the gallery page the text runs over the top of the first two pictures. I'm using Firefox so that might be the problem. Jason

Looks good. I'm always interested in seeing how people make their own tools. Jason

Looks good. I just realized that your right down the road from me. I'm over in Alamance County. Jason

Beautiful Work. Just curious, but am I going crazy or is the background photoshopped in? Jason

Just took a quick glance over there. Thats not the easiest forum to navigate. Makes you appreciate the setup we have here. Jason

If you already know the basics of braiding I'd say skip this one. If your looking to learn knots, look elsewhere. In my opinion this book was written with a beginner in mind, but Morgan missed the mark. I found the directions and pictures difficult to understand. He also failed to explain some of the terminology he used before using it. I was very frustrated with this book but by cross referencing Grant's books and the internet I was able to muddle through it. Unfortunately I have yet to find a good absolute beginner book, but that seems to be the nature of working with leather in general. Seems like trial and error, this forum, and reading every book you can get you hand on is the only way to learn. Jason

Crow I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you. While its true that 99.9% of the material in How to make Cowboy Horse Gear is covered in The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding there are some differences. Yes the pictures and diagrams are the same but the text has been edited and updated between the two. Some material has been added and other material has been taken out. There has been several times where I've been confused by one of them and read the same chapter in the other one which made more sense to me. So to say that How to Make Cowboy Horse Gear is irrelevant if you have The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding is a little unfair. Jason

Well first off welcome to the forum. I've just started braiding myself but I know there are a number of resources available. Books Braiding Fine Leather by David W. Morgan Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding by Bruce Grant How to Make Cowboy Horse Gear by Bruce Grant Gail Hought also has a series of books out on braiding. I haven't read them, but I have heard other people recommend them. The only downside is that they are expensive and my understanding is that they all reference one another. Some of her books are available from http://ubraidit.com/supplies-thumbs.php?cat=64. I believe you can get them cheeper from another source, but I can't remember where. Videos I've only heard of 2 videos on braiding. Once again I don't have any experience with them but I've heard others say they are good. They are Introduction to Rawhide Braiding and Advance Rawhide Braiding by Bryan Neubert. They are available directly from his website at http://www.eclectic-horseman.com/mercantil....php?cPath=2_41. Hope this helps, Jason

In the David Morgan books I have, it suggest finishing your work with thinned shellac. In the Grant books I don't recall him mentioning any finish. What are the pro's and con's of using shellac or any finish for that matter. Jason

When you say slide show what exactly do you mean. Do you want the user to have the ability to stop the show, advance the slides etc or do you simply want images that change after a certain period of time? Jason

I'm no expert by any means, but to me the loose end looks to be a type of handle covering. In The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding by Bruce Grant there is a chapter devoted to handle coverings. If I had to guess I'd say it looks most like what he calls a Slit-Leather Handle Covering of One Thong. Jason

Glad I could be of some help. Just for future reference I'd like to explain how I go about searching for items like that. I do a google search for the item, in this case a 2 quart round plastic canteen. If nothing jumps out of the first page I click on images at the top of the page to do an image search. When I see a picture of the item I want I click on the picture to go to the site the image is from. Usually it doesn't take but a few minutes to find what I'm looking for. Hope this helps for future searches. Jason

Did a little searching and was able to come up with 2 results. Not sure if this is what your looking for but it might work. http://www.awsin.com/proddetail.asp?prod=50353 http://www.omahas.com/catalog/product_info...roducts_id=1920 Jason

Everything is beautiful. Can you give some information on the canteens? Jason

You can also get Angelus dye direct from the Angelus. Their website is http://www.angelusshoepolish.com/. You'll have to call them to place an order. As of yet you can't order through their website. Their number is (562) 229-0521. If you plan on ordering a gallon be warned that the shipping is going to be expensive. Because its a flammable material their is a $30 dollar fee on top of the shipping. I believe you can order up to 4 gallons for the $30 fee, so it might be worth placing a large order. Also the color chart at turtle feathers is deceiving. You might want to get a small sample to try out before buying. I'm not sure that its true, but I've heard that Angelus will send out samples for little or no cost. Jason

Today I tried again doing two things differently. First off I got some Packer Leather kangaroo lace from David Morgan instead of the lace I got from Tandy. The difference is like night and day. The Packer kangaroo lace is much softer, stronger and looks better than the lace I was previously using. I also changed from a 8mm core to a 4mm core. For those interested in the math c = 3.14 * 4mm. C = 12.56 mm or .4944 inches. The results improved greatly. No longer could the core be seen no matter which way I bent the end product. I guess I'll stick with the 4mm core for now. I've always enjoyed math so I'm intrigued as to why mathematically you have to use a much smaller core than the sum of the lace width in order to get good results. Jason

That's easy. I'll take the the holster that the lawman STI is in WITH the STI. Tucker gun leather does some stamping on his modern holsters. You can checkout his designs at http://rlcompanyusa.stores.yahoo.net/ststav.html. Might give you some ideas to go with Kevin's. Jason

25.132772mm comes out to 0.989478 inches. Like I said earlier I used 8 plait, 1/8 thongs so 8*1/8 = 1 inch. I guess that .010522 inches of play wasn't enough. I'm going to try it again on a smaller core today. I'll let you know how it turns out. Jason

Very Nice. Jason

Yes, I used soap. I tightened the thongs one at a time as I went along. I understand the concept of the curve inside and outside being different lengths. So is the solution just to make the braid tighter? Thanks for the replies, Jason

I braided for the first time over a core this morning. I did a 8 plait braid with 1/8 inch lace over a 8mm diameter rope. I tried to pay special attention to ensure the braid was tight enough. However I noticed that if you bent the finished braid you could see the core in a couple of places. Was my rope to large or do I simply need more practice? Thanks, Jason

Well it appears books and tapes have been covered pretty throughly. Does anyone have an opinions or reviews of any classes or schools? Jason

I can't help you with your questions, but give it time and I'm sure someone will chime in. Your post isn't that old. I couldn't help but notice the rifles above the bench. Three flint locks from the look of things. You happen do any work on those? Jason

Heather, Thanks for the details. Jason