Rawhide Core Help!

[Aggiebraider]

Howdy Everyone,

I had some trouble last week cutting some old rawhide I had into thick strings for bosal cores. I think my problem was that the hide was too thick, but I dont have my big splitter set up yet to thin the heavy stuff down any. I was wondering if anyone could give me the dimensions of the strings they use for both twisted and braided bosal cores. At first I tried using my draw knife and found out that they really arent designed for cutting wide (anything larger than 1/2 ") off a round. I just couldnt get it to maintain the width, even though it has a guide lol so it may be user error. I was thinking about trying to make a cutter that would hold a straight razor, but havent gotten around to it. So, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Have a good one,

CW

[Bevan]

Howdy Everyone,

I had some trouble last week cutting some old rawhide I had into thick strings for bosal cores. I think my problem was that the hide was too thick, but I dont have my big splitter set up yet to thin the heavy stuff down any. I was wondering if anyone could give me the dimensions of the strings they use for both twisted and braided bosal cores. At first I tried using my draw knife and found out that they really arent designed for cutting wide (anything larger than 1/2 ") off a round. I just couldnt get it to maintain the width, even though it has a guide lol so it may be user error. I was thinking about trying to make a cutter that would hold a straight razor, but havent gotten around to it. So, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Have a good one,

CW

Gday Aggie

for my twisted cores i just cut a 1 inch strip with a straight edge and stanley knife then twist &stretch ,THIS COMES FROM THE BACK ,I split it to the thinnest that the hide is , just to make it all the same ,, with my plaited cores ,,, depending on what i want, i will cut 4 strings stretch ,bevell resize then split with my beveler/ resizer tool, they seem to come out very even and round with the 4 plait , with the 1inch strip i still split it but i will have to do a bit of sanding to get it even ,(you can buy this tool at any hardware store for stuff all )

Sorry i hav'nt had a chat for awhile but hopefully i will get back in to the swing of things soon

Cheers mate

www.bwrwhips.com

, The rat shits r only to stop it from unwinding I only apply hand press

Edited July 4, 2011 by Bevan

[curlyjo]

My cores are fairly small so I just use a finished string about 4' long, soak it up, put one end in a vice,the other in some vice grip pliers, twist til it's right and nail it to the bench top with a fence staple in front of the pliers. It's done the next day. Brad

[acox4t4]

Gday Aggie

for my twisted cores i just cut a 1 inch strip with a straight edge and stanley knife then twist &stretch ,THIS COMES FROM THE BACK ,I split it to the thinnest that the hide is , just to make it all the same ,, with my plaited cores ,,, depending on what i want, i will cut 4 strings stretch ,bevell resize then split with my beveler/ resizer tool, they seem to come out very even and round with the 4 plait , with the 1inch strip i still split it but i will have to do a bit of sanding to get it even ,(you can buy this tool at any hardware store for stuff all )

Sorry i hav'nt had a chat for awhile but hopefully i will get back in to the swing of things soon

Cheers mate

www.bwrwhips.com

, The rat shits r only to stop it from unwinding I only apply hand press

ROFL LOL I was checking out the post without logging in but when I saw this message "The rat shits r only to stop it from unwinding I only hand press" I had to log in so that I could see the pictures that was attached. LOL I thought that I was going to have to go to pet store and request that they save me some rat shit so that when I go to make a twisted core I would be prepaired. Thank goodness I can see from the pictures it was a typing error.....lol thought it was going to be a austie secret trick.

[Aggiebraider]

Thanks for the posts guys, I understood the main process, but didnt even think about splitting it before I got so gung ho about twisting it so there are some thicker places. I also cut it off a round and not in straight strips off the back, I will definitely try it that way next time. Bevan, I have been wanting to make one of those since you first posted it, but I cant figure out what the pieces are that I need to buy. I obviously know the tubing and various other types of steel, but what are the parts that rotate? I really want to get one of these to be able to twist multiple strands easier in order to make bigger cores. I was also using string that was WAY too long, because I thought i would lose more with each twist than what I did, so I have some i could cut and make 3 cores out of one lol.

I guess I only have 1 more question regarding cores, typically how stiff are they once they are dry? Can they stand up in a corner or are they at least a little pliable?

Thanks for the help,

CW

[Bevan]

When I do twisted cores I store them on a piece of PVC pipe which i cap to keep the moisture out , yes they will stand in the corner because they are on the very stiff side ,,,

Plaited ones I lay flat because they are very flexable

Depending at what stage your horse is , depends on what stiffness bosal you need ,, my boy is just as good in a rope holter or using his mane for brakes and my inner thigh for direction

At the end of the day its not about the looks or $ to me its about the horse !!!

Cheers mate

I hope this helps, if you want any more info that i hav'nt given you just email my at

bevenis@hotmail.com and i will try and send you more info and pics on the stretcher and rat shits !!!! rachets, there ya go 4t4

www.bwrwhips.com