roo4u

true artists mostly do not seek fame for their work..self promotion is usually done by those who are insecure about their work and feel they have to tell you how good they are. .ive been drooling over this guys work since i came across his site during a google search on bosals several years ago.

well lets start with the praise...to have braided that-most people could not. even just the 72 strands WOW...especially when you realize how tiny they are. that is a thing to aspire to, for sure. now on top of that add the patterns, how many pattern changes are there in that thing HOLY COW!!!! i could not begin to get work that clean... now a flaw-damn hard to find only found 2 very minor things...the first thing i noticed is there is a very slight twist in the braid in the thong....and it is very slight. it could actually be the way its laying only way to know is straighten it out. there is also a slight deviation in part of the handle but it corrects itself with the next pattern change. his work is very fine...the bosal that won best of trapping of texas is amazing! he is simply one of the finest braiders in the world. even his plain jane stuff is wow.

well im no saddler but from a saddler shoppers point of view....the overall balance between all the parts is off especially the skirts and jockeys. best advice i can offer is go thru the photos of some of the excellent saddle work on this site and compare with your own and see what you can improve on, focusing on balance and proportion.

oh my would you believe my right wrist--8"--didnt measure left....that was slightly snug..add 1/2 inch for comfort...hows that for big boned MY WRISTS ARENT FAT, THEYRE FLUFFY!

well when i think of skiving it means using a skiver or skiving knife to thin a small area of leather so that when glued down it blends into the surface its attached to as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. splitting is usually done with a splitter and is the process of making the leather a uniform thickness. beveling is putting an angled edge on the leather or rawhide, or also the same thing in glass or carpentry.

i think you mean a beveler. rawhide is beveled on the hair side and other leathers on the flesh side. i dont think i could do it by hand either. i dont bother to bevel most of my lace right now cuz i split it thin enough that it doesnt really do anything. when i do horse stuff then i bevel cuz i leave the roo thicker.

how big and for what purpose? when i cut roo for lace i cut the hide into one big circle. i use a big wing divider and scissors...not that careful cuz the outer lace isnt good anyway. if the circle has to be really good clean i might try a circle guide that they use for routing you could put a blade tip thru the hole and cut that way

im too far from you but ill be glad to answer any questions. i dont work much rawhide but braid alot of kangaroo and other stuff like paracord. i believe there are a couple of pretty good rawhiders on this board, maybe one of them is close enough to help.

i know the instructions for some strap cutters say you can straight edge a side with it but i wouldnt. i tried that a couple of times when i started out and it does not work very well at all. i use a stanley utility knife with a good sharp blade ive never used a round knife but i know alot of saddlers and such do it that way. i dont have one so use what i have. i use a wooden table also. i scribe my line nice and deep and then as im cutting i pull the hide slightly off the side of the table so i dont cut the table. if you scribe nice and deep the first time your blade follows the line pretty well. if i have a little bit of ratty edge i cut a 1/8" strap first to get my edge nice and clean.

ok im a braider not a leatherworker, but i greedily soak up all knowledge on this site. and one thing i have noticed is how nice it is that some folks who work a fulltime job and do leatherwork on a high quality level still take the time out of their busy lives to answer question from newbies. some of these things have been asked over and over and yet are still patiently answered by most that post. i take an occasional cranky comment with a grain of salt. i try not to post when im not a happy camper. but i also understand that some things you do have to learn for yourself. im actually thinking about trying my hand at some tooling in part because of the things i have learned from browsing this site.

use a long straight edge to mark a straight edge line on the side along the spine, trying to keep as much of the leather as possible. lately ive been using a drywall square as my straight edge. i mark my line with a utility knife, then once whole line is marked i use my utility knife to cut the line. once you have that use your strap cutter to cut your straps out. when you are done you can roll it back up to store. although what i do is cut the whole thing into 4" wide straps and store it in a tube, keeps it clean and keeps my dogs out of it. i make leashes so i dont do anything with the belly parts really. i use the weird shaped bits as protection for my tools and work surface when i punch or cut slits in my leather.

what i have found even more helpful in figuring my personality out is to add in your chinese sign. for instance i am a libra which are normally very outgoing and i am not but my chinese sign is snake which are charismatic yet secretive, prefering to be alone. this and the other characteristics of the two signs when mixed make my personality. which, because im a libra, is a challenging attempt to balance the extrovert and introvert.

well walmart has elcheapo hand mixers for about $5.00

what exactly do you mean by fully finished leather? there are several leather suppliers that advertise on this website, check out the banner ads at the top of the page.

i havent used anything yet but getting ready to do some braiding and am going to try davidmorgans' recipe which is: Braiding Soap The use of braiding soap, an emulsion of fat in a soap-and-water solution, allows the leather strands to slip into place during braiding. The water in the solution conditions the lace to allow greater stretch and to permit the finished braid to be rolled to a smoother surface. The following recipe for braiding soap has been used here at David Morgan for years. We usually make the braiding soap in a recycled 2 pound coffee can where the mixture can be prepared and stored in the same can. Ingredients 1 3.5 ounce bar of Ivory soap 12 ounces (1-1/2 cups) water 1 pound (2 cups) lard Directions 1. Coarsely grate soap into a coffee can or pot suitable for stovetop use. 2. Add water and mix. 3. Heat the mixture almost to boiling, stirring occasionally. Take care not to overheat causing the mixture to boil over. 4. Add the lard to the hot soap mixture, continuing to heat until the lard is melted. Again, take care not to overheat causing the mixture to boil over. 5. Remove the mixture from the heat. Beat at high speed with an electric hand mixer to emulsify the fat. Take care not to splatter or spill the hot mixture. 6. Allow the mixture to cool, then mix thoroughly once more with the mixer. Transfer the mixture to a storage container at this time if you are not storing in the container used during preparation. 7. Cool completely. Store, covered, at room temperature. Makes about 2 pounds. The braiding soap will have a light, creamy consistency. Note: Ivory soap is recommended as a commonly available pure soap. Do not use a facial soap or detergent. This braiding soap recipe has been adapted from the recipe in David W. Morgan's book Braiding Fine Leather. We recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to braid with leather, or to improve their leather braiding techniques. i took this directly from davidmorgan.com.

as far as the no phone calls goes they have been like that for years. i used to ship cod from them and they were always supposed to call me and never ever did. when they quit shipping cod they were supposed to call me with total before they billed my card and never ever did. that is why i havent ordered from them in a couple of years.

well ill give you my take on it....my lace is all handcut by me so i try to stretch it as i work with it, most of mine is stretched pretty good when i split it because of the handmade splitter i use. plus the amount of stretching you need to do will depend on several things...how hard you pull when braiding, what type of project you are working on, and to me the biggest factor is what part of the hide the lace is cut from. when the lace is from the outer edges/neck area you will almost certainly need to stretch before cutting for width because the hide will be stretchy in those areas. prestretching would also be more important in reins, headstalls, bosals etc than it would in a hatband for instance. if you are a hard puller and are losing width when braiding then i would prestretch before cutting for width. hope this helps

hi lasse c... from the davidmorgan website. lite is under 0.8mm, med is about 0.8mm and heavy is 1.0 to 1.1 mm. david morgan has written books on braiding and has a good deal of info on his website www.davidmorgan.com. i hope this info helps. if your just doing decorative braiding then there are a great many leathers that can substitute, however for some uses like whipmaking you really wont be able to find a better leather.

wow, ive been thinking about learning to do a little leather carving so let me just say....IM AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! just kidding im too old for that but that set is a beauty to behold

i googled some pitbull harnesses and those are just metal quick buckles like the plastic ones used on most nylon dog collars.

well all i can say is wow..you do really nice work...i really like most of the collars, the ones with all the buckles are not my taste but i cant find a fault with any of them. nice clean edges clean straight stitching.

well i live near north platte nebraska. do not come here its horrible. read stephen kings children of the corn...it was written after he drove through this creepy place. folks around here start their kids killing things as soon as they can walk why does a three yr old need to shoot something. tracy

well you can do the t junctions either way...the benefit of a loop thru which the other strap is that the waist piece is more adjustable that way (ie a nylon harness) and will fit more dogs. also with a loop you can slide the buckle part around the dogs chest to find the most comfortable fit for him. buckle placement is mostly a matter of preference in your design...although the dogs structure can play a part in the design...some dogs will be bothered by buckle placement more than others. as for conchos...you could try loop back conchos they are meant for multiple layers of leather and to be moveable for adjustable tack. you could possibly sandwich the loop between your layers and use the concho as a keeper for your strap ends. the only limit on the metal quick buckles is the thickness of the material they will accept...might not take a lined 8/10 oz leather piece. if the leather will be getting wet often just make sure it gets the chance to dry out after each use. and use a good conditioner on it as water sucks the oils out of the leather.

latigo is a good leather to use. as for padding...wool would possibly irritate the dog when wet and have to be careful getting it dry and will pick up burrs etc . my mom pads her service dogs harness with a synthetic wool pad that wraps around and velcros on so it can be easily removed for cleaning. i really wouldnt recommend a leather harness for swimming a dog. ive never seen a harness with a chest leash attachment ..what would be the purpose of this? i like the look of harness no 1 better than no 2. the first looks very like an agitation harness used to work schutzhund dogs. if using a chest ring i think you would need a breastplate piece like this to keep snap from rubbing dog. i dont have any patterns best advice is if you have a harness that fits copy it...when i do custom harness i just take measurements, before sewing or riveting i tie the harness together and check for fit and placement of the pieces. making sure it is the way i want it before i actually assemble it.