rgerbitz Report post Posted June 25, 2008 I recieved in the mail today my first Roo hide from Charles Hardtke, it is alot smaller than I had expected. I am unsure looking at it if it will yeild all of the string I need to make a 1/2 inch 12 strand bosal with a 24 or 32 strand nose button. Could anyone help me with some measurements. I need to know: What diameter should the core be? (I am thinking twisted rawhide, any other ideas)? What width should the strings be? (I think I know what length is needed) What do you use to condition or "lube" the strings as you braid? The bosal will most likely be used in a 2 rein rig. I am wondering if a twisted core will make it to stiff? Thank you all for your time, Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roo4u Report post Posted June 25, 2008 i think that once you get started you will love braiding with roo it is so nice to work with. the hides have been alot smaller because of the drought in australia and the restrictions imposed on the roo harvesting(thats the reason i was given anyway). id say the same measurements that youd use to braid with any other lace or rawhide. thats what i do just like in grants books, circumference divided by # of strings. ive never used lubricant on my lace so cant help you there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hedge Report post Posted June 26, 2008 (edited) I recieved in the mail today my first Roo hide from Charles Hardtke, it is alot smaller than I had expected. I am unsure looking at it if it will yeild all of the string I need to make a 1/2 inch 12 strand bosal with a 24 or 32 strand nose button. Could anyone help me with some measurements.I need to know: What diameter should the core be? (I am thinking twisted rawhide, any other ideas)? What width should the strings be? (I think I know what length is needed) What do you use to condition or "lube" the strings as you braid? The bosal will most likely be used in a 2 rein rig. I am wondering if a twisted core will make it to stiff? Thank you all for your time, Rob I posted a lacing calculator in this section. It will give you an idea of how much lace you can get from your hide. As for the size of the hide...they are relatively small. It's hard to get the big Red Kangaroo hides. Most of them go to the Chinese for making shoes. Edited June 26, 2008 by Hedge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elton Joorisity Report post Posted June 26, 2008 After attending Sheridan I started greasing my strings with Pappy's Premium Dubbin. A saddle maker there was using it on his roo strings and it made a big difference in getting things to lay together smoothly. I will mention that it does darken them a fair bit though which I don't see as a problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerryrwm Report post Posted June 29, 2008 A couple good resource books would be "Braiding Fine Leather" by David Morgan - (has an excellent recipe for making your own braiding soap- uses lard, glycerine soap, etc.) and get "Art of Braiding" by Gail Hought. Excellent tutorial on measurements etc for bosals. How big was the 'roo hide? Even a 5 or 6 sq ft hide is enough to make a 5' or 6' bullwhip or several bosals. Remember you are making small strings so after you get the hide trimmed to the non-stretchy leather you can cut some long strings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgerbitz Report post Posted July 3, 2008 Thank you everyone, I will be trying out all of your suggestions. I will let you all know how it turns out, just as soon as I get the nerve to start slicing up that Roo. Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
entiendo Report post Posted July 6, 2008 Thank you everyone, I will be trying out all of your suggestions. I will let you all know how it turns out, just as soon as I get the nerve to start slicing up that Roo.Rob Please keep us up on your progress! I love, love, love roo, and I will never braid with anything else again. I've tried goat and cow but once you start with roo nothing else feels right. The one thing I'm going to try is chrome tanned roo because it's less expensive and I can get it in more colors. I've got 4 hides on order 2 veg tanned and 2 chrome tanned, I can't wait. I have a great supplier, he's the best unless you happen to have a wholesale license, even then you still can still sometimes get a better deal from him. I use white saddle soap to soften my lace. It's what Gail Hought uses and it works really well, it doesn't darken the leather much at all. I like to keep the colors orginal for as long as possible. They all eventually change but I don't want to help the progress along. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roo4u Report post Posted July 6, 2008 entiendo, who do you buy your roo from? i currently buy from hardtke but would love to find a lower price. tracy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Bell Report post Posted July 7, 2008 Hey Rob, not sure if this is a custom order or what. Does the person requesting the bosal really plan on using it in a 2 rein rig? I like my gear to fit the intended use and I'm not sure how a 1/2" bosal would work as a under bridle or 2 rein bosal. Maybe, I'm missing something but a 1/2" bosal equates to 1" of bosal between the bridle and the horse. I've never known anyone to do that. If they are going to put the bosal OVER the bridle to work things that way you'd need to make the bosal big enough to go over a shanked or leverage bit. That might make it quite big. I recently made two bosals for 2 reins one was 1/4" (which to my way of thinking is the standard) the other was 3/8" which is the largest I think most would try and use under the bridle. I have to re do the 3/8" order because I made it too small for my customers horse and I'd like to spare you the trouble of re doing an order by telling you to make sure they really want a 1/2" bosal to use in a 2 rein. Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell Be not selfish in you doings...Pass it on! Bob Marley - Pass It On Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgerbitz Report post Posted July 7, 2008 Hey Alan, Thank you for the heads up. I had just spoken to the man that had ordered up this bosal on saturday to clarify what it was that he was wanting. Because to my mind as well, 1/2 inch is quite a bit to put under a bridle. Good thing to, because he may know his gear but he doesn't know the difference between 1/2 and 3/8 without a tape measure in front of him. Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kanga Report post Posted July 10, 2008 I use Joseph Lyddy saddle soap when I plait. Doesn't darken it. The way I work out how much leather I need is to triple the length of each strand. So, if I'm making a 1 metre leash, for each strand that will be doubled over to actually plait, I cut 3 metres. So for a 6 strand 1 metre leash I would need a total of 9 metres, that is, 3 strands of 3 metres each. Linda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
