Angled Basket stamping and making a template

[bruce johnson]

First of three little tutorials on how I lay out basket stamping. This first one is using a template to establish the angle. To make a template, I take a piece of firm scrap and lay out a base line. I stamp one row, then a row above leaving off one impression until I have a triangle. I marked the outline on the scrap of how I cut that triangle. Depending on your stamp and your personal amount of overlap, that exact angle can be different even with the same stamp.

Next I took some rectangular scrap, cut in a border line and lightly beveled the inside cut. I took my template, layed the flat side on the cut line, and scribed the angle line in. Next step was stamping alternate impressions along that line, mainaining the same overlap of the template baskets. Fill in one side totally going up and down along that scribed angle. I eye ball the centers from the impression below to maintain my spacing usually. Take care of the centers, soft-eye the leg overlap, and the angles take care of themselves. The top impressions and the bottom impressions line up parallel with those cut lines (more or less, a little stretch to this belly scrap I used).

[Ian]

Bruce, thanks for taking the time to post the BW tutorial. I had all but given up on learning until I read your post. After a practice piece I decided to add it to a saddlebag I'm building. Just finished this piece a couple of minutes ago. I can see several places where I went wrong, but now that I understand the method of getting the starting angle, I know the next attempts will be a lot better.

Thanks Again

Ian

[abn]

This first one is using a template to establish the angle.

Bruce, thanks for taking the time to illustrate your basketweave methods. And now, I'm about to ask probably the dumbest question you'll get on this subject :

Why is it important to establish an angle? I notice that this seems to be a critical first step in both this tutorial and the no-template one. Why can't you just pick any old angle, 60 degrees, 45 degrees, whatever... as long as you stay consistent?

Please educate me, o wise one...

Alex

[bruce johnson]

Alex,

Good question. I like my weaves to be parallel with the top and bottom borders. Otherwise, the weave will run up or down and look off to me. Some guys l just use any old angle and not care. I like things to be pretty geometric and symmetrical.

[abn]

Yep, I know exactly what you're talking about now. I just didn't know there was a solution. Thanks for sharing!

[Randle P McMurphy]

Good Stuff

[prc77ro]

I don't disagree but I also think it differs from maker to maker. I'm guilty of not caring.....at first. Learned it the hard way on my first pair of spur leathers when the basketweave went the same direction on the left and right it didnt look good, then i figured out i had to layout one in the opposite direction. Plus I also learned from AS How to Make Holsters to draw a line across the widest point for your start line. I think it just really depends on the piece you doing. A completly parallel pattern may look good on something that is completly square but then i may not on something thats mostly square but has a few rounded corners in it, thats where an off kilter pattern may look best. Just my thought.

[club49]

How would that work for a belt? I just can't seem to get it right.

[bruce johnson]

Make the template, then use that on your baseline to establish the angle