wantmorelandandcattle

SWEET!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this!

Cold weather has got me locked up in the house for the most part. I decided to work on my photo skills! I got a better picture of the pattern change on the nosebutton that I was unable to include on my original post.

Agreed, those look really nice!

Thanks everyone! Usually when I make a heel knot, I build 1, 2 or 3 ring knots around the braided ends and then bring my working ends back around them and through. This time I used a 1/8" rawhide strand and tied a turks head without an interweave. It was a bit tough to get tight, but I was happy with the way it turned out in the end. It's got really nice weight and feel to it. Then I wrap it with masking tape to cover the whole thing. Then I build up and smooth the foundation with floral tape, then finish off with a couple layers of masking tape. I like the floral tape, if your foundation is thicker on one side after you wrap it, you can trim it with a razor or knife to make it equal. Then just run the masking tape over it to keep your fid from getting gummy while you braid. I keep promising a tutorial, and I need to just sit down an do it! This braiding is tough to explain...! One little tip if you try the floral tape, I roll it as I wrap to help compress it. If you don't, the heel knot will feel pretty mushy when your done. Thanks again everyone! S/F Jake

Got this one finished a few weeks ago, 5/8ths with 16 strand bars and 32 strand nose button. Twisted reata core. The nose button is a Guacho at both ends then Herringbone for the remainder. I had a tough time getting good pictures for some reason (lack of skill). The only pictures that turned out where of the heel knot and one halfway descent picture of the whole thing hanging off the heat robber in the shop! I'll make another attempt a better pictures soon, until then, here it is...

Thanks everyone! To answer the questions... These are all built on a leather foundation. I cut a strip of saddle leather that is around 1/16" thick (7 - 8 oz leather), 5/8" wide and 3" long. The length is dependent on the circumference of the mandrel that you use. I use a dowel rod that is 5/8" in diameter for a mandrel for most (I also use one that is 1/2" for smaller wild rags and one that is 3/4" for larger wild rags). I don't do the math on these, I think it works better to just wrap the leather around the mandrel, mark it, then cut it. I make it just a hair longer than it needs to be because when you stitch it together, you'll loose a little length, plus it makes it easier to get it on and off the mandrel. I stitch it together with the hide side inward. I place it on the mandrel and build up the foundation to make the shape (sometimes I use ring knots, turks heads, floral and/or masking tape, chap leather etc.. to make them a sphere or square with round edges like these). Then braid the button on! I do use scrap pieces that are left over from other projects. You really need a string that is 5-6 ft long or use 2 that are 3+ feet long (1/16", 3/32" or 1/8" in width) and do a pineapple with an interweave. These usually take about 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours from start to finish and I sell them for $35 - $50 depending upon what they are made of and how complicated the knot is. Not bad for something you probably would have thrown away as waste. Thanks again for the compliments everyone!

Finished these up over Thanksgiving. One is a natural rawhide Gaucho knot. One is dyed with coffee and onions. It's light brown with kind of an orange looking interweave. The other one is roohide, chestnut with a tan interweave.

@Bevan, Thanks for the compliments! I like the feel of a straight core myself when I'm using a bosal like that. It's not really much stiffer than braiding without a core, but not near as stiff as a twisted core is. As far as the braiding portion goes, I like it because it gives the braid a little more body. I know this is probably a little vague... I started using it to try and help "round out" 8 strand braids. It seemed to help keep the braid from being too square, but not add too much stiffness. I'd like to try it with a set of reins some time. I like using a braided core too, I think that would personally be my favorite core to use on horses by far. Because I don't take custom orders very often, I like to have a large variety of hackamores and bosals, something for every horse and every rider. As far as prep goes, it seems like 80% of braiding is prep! With roohide, I cut my first string, then get it really wet with saddle soap and water (I use a shaving brush too build up the froth and use the froth). I stretch it by hand using a vice and a 1 1/2 inch piece of PVC pipe. I just take a single wrap with the hide side up and pull it around a couple of times. You really have to regulate how much tension is on the string, it doesn't slide all that well! After it drys out, then I split, cut to width and bevel my strings. When I braid, I braid it dry, use saddle soap or leather cream, just depends on how the leather feels and what I am braiding. @Mark, This one was sold before I built it, I've been trying to catch up on old stuff this summer. This winter I should be all caught up and have a few things for sale late winter or early spring. Hopefully I'll see you before then and we can discuss. Another buckaroo up here called about some info on leasing the Natrona County Fairgrounds indoor this winter. Might be another option to rope in. I'll be sure and forward the info off to you.

I know I promised a tutorial on how to do this pattern change, but I'm was little behind and needed to get this one finished and out the door. I do still plan on doing the tutorial, I'll look into doing a video. Maybe that would be easier...? Anyway, here is the latest 3/8ths, hopefully the pictures are alright. I was having technical difficulties! It's a 12 strand over a 3 strand straight rawhide core. Roohide with an interweave for the nose and heel knots.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. I'll try to keep posting pictures as I braid, sometimes I forget! I still need to get the tutorial done on the pattern change I did on a bosal a few months ago. Rest assured, I have not forgotten, just trying to find the time. I usually order whole hides from Amazing Oz and Hardtke, but I believe most of this lace was left over from some lace I bought from Jim Downey from Arizona. He sold his business to Barbara Likos, you can reach her at 406-249-5225. She's great to get along with and I don't run into many issues with the lace. Like all lace, I order wider than I need, stretch it and cut it down. I like ordering lace when I'm in a pinch for time, it keeps me from making too many mistakes!

Nice work!

Got some pictures of a few projects I recently finished and thought I'd share. Hope you all are well.

Thanks everyone! Bevan - I like that little pattern change too. It's nice when you don't interweave a differnt color; it makes it stand out just a little bit. It's fairly simple to do too. If you want me too, I could put together a little tutorial with photos on my next one, or just try to explain it with my "big kid" words. I took a look at your site, you do some really nice work yourself! rgerbitz - Thanks, you do some really nice work also, I always enjoy seeing your braiding!

Well, I re-sized these pictures so they should load better. I'm sorry if I blasted anyone's eyes out with my last set of HUGE pictures! My luck these will be too small. We'll try this again. This is a rawhide and kangaroo, 5/8ths hackamore. Thanks Megabit for your kind remarks on the over-sized picture post! Thanks!

These are way too big also!

Ok, I posted some pictures and they are HUGE!! I tried deleting them, but I can't. I will re-size them and get them up soon. Sorry!!

I had a few minutes, so I thought I would send you these links. I find these books interesting, most people I know that like "the old ways" of doing things like them. The books are about older generations of people from the Appalachians and how they lived (starting in the 70's). I thought you (or others on here) might find them interesting at the least. Firefox 3 has the articles on leather tanning, I couldn't find any specifics on dyeing although I didn't read through them again. You may find some articles on dyeing and setting clothing if nothing else, but I have no idea which book that would be in, there are 12 in all. So here's the links and a short blurb on what they are: Wikipedia page on The Firefox Books - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_books The Firefox organizations website - http://www.foxfire.org/ Book reader and download (I have never used this site). Just search "The Firefox Book" and you'll get all the books. - http://www.scribd.com/ Specifically book 3 - http://www.scribd.com/doc/8961322/Foxfire-Three That ought to keep you busy! Enjoy. Jake Hogan Wantmore Land and Cattle

Well, your right, you probably shouldn't leave leather in liquid that long, it will get really moldy and rot. I think you best bet would be to dip and dry the hide as many times as needed to get the depth of color your looking for and then condition the hide. You might try contacting someone who restores old saddles for museums and collectors, they may tell you some trade secrets on reconditioning. I guess I should have specified hat most of what I do is rawhide. The basics of dyeing are really the same though. You need to dye and then set. I have done a little leather dyeing and figured out how to dye and set, but I never got a very thorough color, it was really spotty, like tie dye! I'll do a little research and see if I can find some good info to post. I don't know if you've ever seen them, (they're a bit obscure) the Firefox books. They may have them at your local library. My parents had a bunch of them and I've picked up a few throughout the years. If I remember right, there was one that talked about tanning and dyeing. There was an article in that same one talking about makeing a dipper out of a gourd and I think they made a banjo too; that may help you find the right one. They're neat books anyway of you never seen them! Take care, Jake

Here's a pretty good link to get you started. (http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html) I've dyed hides in coffee and onions skins quit a bit. I've used yellow and red onions and mixed them too. In stead of buying all the onions, i just ask the local store if I can bag up all the peelings that are in the bottom of the onion bin. After you tell them what its for, they stop looking at you funny and let you take what you want. No charge as it is less mess for them to clean up. You can do the same at the local coffee shop, ask them for the old coffee grounds or hit up Starbucks, they used to bag it and give it away free, I think they charge now (good fertilizer for roses). I usually set the dye by rinsing the hide several times (until the water comes out clear) then give it a day or two soaking in vinegar and that seems to work pretty good. Some people have told me they have better luck not rinsing the hide, they go straight to the setting process. I have used some leaves and petals off of various plants that were on the ranches I worked on too. I could get the dye to set, but never got any colors that I liked, I wasted a lot of hides, so I quit experimenting. I got a hide off a colt one time that had gotten into loco weed and beat himself up pretty bad thrashing around and throwing himself on the ground one day until he died. When I skinned him, you could see where the blood started to collect in the hide as a bruise. Those places that had the bruise had a really neat color to them. I always wanted to figure out a way to stain hides with blood, I've heard of it being done, but I can't seem to find/figure out a good process. Like always, make sure your hides are fleshed really good, or you will end up with different hues of the same color when you dye. Some of which can be very different from each other. Hope that helps a little bit! Good luck! Jake Hogan Wantmore Land and Cattle

Thanks everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you. I'm glad you all like it, I've got to post some more things. I always find the slightest little imperfection in the items I build and pass them off as mediocre. A little at-a-boy always perks me up and makes me want to get back to work! Thanks! Knothead - I couldn't begin to tell you how long it has taken to build this, I don't keep track of that very well. If I had to guess, probably 7-8 hours. For a bosal this size with this amount of strands (12), it takes around 2 hours to complete the bars/main braid; the nose button takes about 3-4 hours and the healknot about 2 hours. The pattern changes and different colored interweaves take a little more time, but not too much. There also is the additional time making the strands and building the core. Lilpep- This is a multiple strand button. It's 8 strands with the addition of the coffee stained interweave on the ends of the noseband. I try to use one string on the healknots, but this one ended up being 2. Oh well!

Here's a couple of picture of a two rein I just finished. Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I though I would share this. Hope you like it!

Sorry it took so long to get this posted everyone. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Ok, here we go, I'll give it a shot. I tried to get better pics, but this is as good as it gets. A little background info. This is the building of a turks head, I believe it turned out to be 8 bights and 9 parts (correct me if I'm wrong, this is not my strong point!) This is for the foundation and no interweave is shown. Everything will be over one under one when the button is complete. The strand is 1/8 of an inch kangaroo hide, and was not beveled (I was too lazy for this post!). I placed numbers on the mandrel for clarity, but did not reference them in this post. I believe the mandrel is 3/8 dowel and the button is braided over a thin piece of leather around 1/2 wide width a few wraps of masking tape on top. This is how I make some of my scarf slides. When I first start the button, it looks like this. The strands that cross in back are directly on the opposite side of where the strands cross in the front. The only difference is, in the back, they are at the top of the button. They cross at the bottom in the front. This will be important later on. I pay really close attention to spaces between these, and all parallel strands. I point this space out with my fid. The spacing should be equal to or slightly less than the width of my strand. This is very important to maintain throughout the whole process. Every time I bring my strand around, I lay it in the same distance from the strand next to it. In this picture, I have skipped at few passes on the button for clarity. This is still going to be confusing anyway. There are 3 strands that I will point out in this picture. There is the standing or dead end. This is the strand that is to the far left, you can see the tail of it hanging down below the button. This is where I started my button. The next strand to the right, pointing up, is the running end. This is the end I am using to make all my passes. The next strand to the right I will call strand 1. Strand 1 is the pass that I made just before the pass I am making in the picture. With strand 1, I followed my standing end and did exactly what it did. When it went under a strand, I went under, when it over, I went over. The important thing is that I did it far away from the standing end to the right. If you continued to run that pass next to the standing end, you would get way overcrowded and have to straighten it all up later. That's why I go all the way to the right when I lay a pass. it's really important to start your button like the picture above so there is plenty of room to lay your passes away from the standing end. When I come back with the next pass (this is what is pictured). There is plenty of room to lay the next pass. I want to point out a couple of things here. After I make a pass that sets up my pairs; doubles; or what ever you want to call them, and I split them (take the next pass), I check to make sure the spacing between my parallel strands is the width of the strand I am braiding with, or slightly less. I do this at least 4 or 5 times on every button. It saves a lot of headaches and time. I also check the length of my bights. They should not be very long. If your making an 8 bight button and one or more of your bights goes half way around your core, you better straighten it out right away. They should only come up, around what ever you are braiding the button over, and then go right back down. This will lead to over crowding. One thing you can do to check, is look down on the top of your button. Each bight should take up an equal distance on the button. For example, on a 4 bight button, each bight will take up 1/4 of the top of the button. For an 8 bight button, it will be 1/8th. Remember, these buttons are symmetrical! The button is finished here. In this picture, I am using my fid to point out the "boxes". While braiding the button, your parallel strands will begin to take up the "weave" look (O1, U1) and make these "boxes" or diamond shaped spaces. If you are keeping your parallel strands spaced the width of your strand, these boxes will be the same size or slightly smaller than your strand. When you come back through with your interweave, you will be in effect, filling in these boxes. If they are wider than the strand you are braiding with, you will have gaps in the strands of your "finished" (meaning after you run your interweave) button. If your boxes are evenly distributed around your button and are still larger than your strand, you have 2 choices. You can make another set of passes and increase the size of your foundation button, or when you do your interweave, you can make more passes. I highly recommend you make an additional pass in your foundation if you are just getting started. When I am dressing up a button before an interweave, I make sure that the crosses that my strands make are in line with the other crosses both vertically and horizontally. They should match up with the crosses your bights make also. After that, you do what ever interweave you have chosen to do and finish the button. Sorry if I was a little long winded. I wanted to make sure it was really clear. This stuff is easy to talk about, but hard to write about. I hope this helps, if not, at least I got got some good typing practice in! Good luck!

I do one thing to avoid this. I will do my best to explain. When you make your 1st pass that is following the standing end, instead of placing it right next to the sanding end, put it by the string to the right. (When you finish your button and everything is evenly spaced, this is were it will be. It won't be right next to the standing end) This give you plenty of room for all your passes and to build the knot bigger. When you come down on the other side, do the same thing. The reason it gets crowded is that you keep trying to build the knot bigger by putting the strands in the same place, next to the standing end. This really cuts down on all the time you spend trying to even out your foundation. The first pass is where I check to see how big my boxes are, and then after every pass I check them and shape them up to be even. The boxes I am referring to are the dead space in between my strands. When your foundation is complete, these boxes should be about the same width as your strand is. If it is too wide, you have two options. One, you can build the foundation a little bigger or make more passes with your interweaves. I hope this helps. If not, I would be happy to take a couple of pics this weekend and could post them.