Nose And Heel

[rgerbitz]

Hey all,

I've had some private questions lately about how I do somethings, so here is some photos of some of the process of puttting the nose and heel on a bosal. I wrote some really discriptive stuff and managed to erase it twice, so you are now left with the cliff notes.

I find the center of the braid which is usually about 17 inches from either end. I use sewing needles to mark the center and ends. I quit using markers or pens because if I wanted to change something a little the marks would sometime hinder that.

I have a bunch of scrap shape leather around here and use a lot of it for building up for knots. The first layer is laced on very tight, and the second layer is cut a bit thinner and glued to the first.. I then use a little bit of athletic tape to finish the shaping of the nerve buttons.

Next I lay in about 7-9 layers or athletic tape to build up for the nose. This also provides a nice surface to lay out for were the strings will go. The marks on the tape simply divide the length of the nose button (71/2 inches) in equal parts. I make marks on the oppisite side that equally divide that side as well.

The foundation knot on the nose is tied with one string about 26 feet long. It is very important to make sure that as the foundation develops that everything stays lined up with the marks previously laid out. The interweave is laid in with a couple of shorter strings 12 foot or so. Once the nose is tied, "roll the piss out of'r" to smooth out everything.

I then bend the bosal around and tie it with the cheeks about 4 inches apart, then go to set up for the heel.

The measurement from the ends of the nosebottun to the heel is the most important if the bosal is to be properly balanced.

I think the pictures show pretty well how the block goes in, ask question if you it isn't clear to you.

The ground work for the heal starts with a series of ring knots the to one being a 2 pass the middle being 3 or 4 and the bottom 1 or 2 pass. Again I use some pretty bulky chap leather for tying these on.

Then the strands of the braid are passed around these ring knots. After all of them have been passed around and drawn down tight the strings and extra core are cut off flesh with the bottom of the heel.

I secure some nylon around and through all of the strings to give something to anchor the leather piece for the bottom.

Then I might use some more athletic tape to give the heel a little more shape.

Then put on the heel knot.

And POOF!! you have a bosal.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer any of them.

Rob

[blackhammer]

Hey all,

I've had some private questions lately about how I do somethings, so here is some photos of some of the process of puttting the nose and heel on a bosal. I wrote some really discriptive stuff and managed to erase it twice, so you are now left with the cliff notes.

I find the center of the braid which is usually about 17 inches from either end. I use sewing needles to mark the center and ends. I quit using markers or pens because if I wanted to change something a little the marks would sometime hinder that.

I have a bunch of scrap shape leather around here and use a lot of it for building up for knots. The first layer is laced on very tight, and the second layer is cut a bit thinner and glued to the first.. I then use a little bit of athletic tape to finish the shaping of the nerve buttons.

Next I lay in about 7-9 layers or athletic tape to build up for the nose. This also provides a nice surface to lay out for were the strings will go. The marks on the tape simply divide the length of the nose button (71/2 inches) in equal parts. I make marks on the oppisite side that equally divide that side as well.

The foundation knot on the nose is tied with one string about 26 feet long. It is very important to make sure that as the foundation develops that everything stays lined up with the marks previously laid out. The interweave is laid in with a couple of shorter strings 12 foot or so. Once the nose is tied, "roll the piss out of'r" to smooth out everything.

I then bend the bosal around and tie it with the cheeks about 4 inches apart, then go to set up for the heel.

The measurement from the ends of the nosebottun to the heel is the most important if the bosal is to be properly balanced.

I think the pictures show pretty well how the block goes in, ask question if you it isn't clear to you.

The ground work for the heal starts with a series of ring knots the to one being a 2 pass the middle being 3 or 4 and the bottom 1 or 2 pass. Again I use some pretty bulky chap leather for tying these on.

Then the strands of the braid are passed around these ring knots. After all of them have been passed around and drawn down tight the strings and extra core are cut off flesh with the bottom of the heel.

I secure some nylon around and through all of the strings to give something to anchor the leather piece for the bottom.

Then I might use some more athletic tape to give the heel a little more shape.

Then put on the heel knot.

And POOF!! you have a bosal.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer any of them.

Rob

[blackhammer]

Oh man! Nicely done. Wish you coulda posted this about a week ago. i just finished a test bosal in paracord to get a feel for the process before I try one with rawhide. This is very helpful info. Deserves a sticky, i should say. Beautiful work.

[Aggiebraider]

Thanks for posting this Rob hopefully it will get stickied. I really liked seeing how you do the foundation and the nylon attachment on your heel knots. I was always curious how to get a piece of leather to cover the ends of each strand.

CW

[ljensen]

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to share that. It is really helpful to see the process in different steps.

[vaquero55]

Thanks for taking the time to take pics as well as put it into words.

Great job on the bosal too.

Edited October 21, 2010 by vaquero55

[lilpep]

thanks alot Rob !!!!

its nice to see how others do this. also thanks again for taking the time to do this, i'm sure many will benefit

[8thsinner]

Nice work for a sticky.

I like seeing how one of these go together, I never knew before.

Love how it turned out too, and gives me a few ideas on how to do things for whips in the future.

I can see about all the mistakes you have made in the past to come up with such a precision piece like shown. That too, to me is quite important.

[Vaquero1]

Rob, your work is unbelievable and i´m very proud to learn from you.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!

[want2braid]

Rob,

Thanks for all of the pictures and post of your nosebutton and heelknot. I have been braiding multiple string buttons and have wanted to try the single strand long button. I usually braid a 7 inch nose button. Do you just make a 3 wrap long button and it will cover in only an over 2 under 2 interweave? What size strand do you use for your longbutton? I was also curious about the size of the strands of the body of your bosal. The strands stand out, and I really like it. My body work has been rolling flat. They are 7/32'' by 1/16'' beveled only on the hair side. I was going to try and bevel the hair and flesh side and see if it helps. Any ideas????

Thanks again!

Brent