Beveling Latigo Lace For Bosal

[larena]

Hi everybody,

I am working on my first latigo bosal and I need some advice. I have my core ready to braid over. I have cut my 1/4 inch latigo lace and split it down to 1/16 inch.

I now need to bevel it but I am not sure exactly the best way to do this. Do you bevel both the hair and flesh side on latigo ? Which angle or angles do you use? I can do a 30 or 45 degree bevel.

I am looking for a scalloped look over the twisted core. Is that done with the bevel?

Thanks for the help,

Larena

[Vaquero1]

Hi Larena,

i havent made a Latigo frame but i´ve seen some well made. they all had a beveled hair side. i´m not shure if the flesh side is beveled too but i think i would bevel it get a smoother braid.

hope some other braiders read your question and may help ;-)

[KnotHead]

I'm not sure about latigo. But with the kangaroo I use, I bevel just the underside of the lace. I always bevel before I split the lace. This gives me more surface on the cutter to bevel. I have gotten used to beveling at 30 degrees instead of at 45 degrees. Beveling at 30 seems to give me a cleaner bevel, or cut. Beveling before you split wont take away any of the bevel on the sides. You still have a 30 degree angle on the edges to work with and to produce the smooth look you're after. It only requires minimal roll out after the braiding is done.

Hope this helps. Again this is my preferred method and this is what works for me. It will ultimately be your decision as to what you do since you're the artist.

Brian...

[Leatherpownder]

Brian is right you want to bevel the flesh side on roo or any tanned leather.

[larena]

Thanks for the responses.

I took your advice Brian and did a 30 degree bevel and then split my strings. Wow, that works great.

I braided up a short section around an old reata and it was still pretty course on top.

So . . .. back to the drawing board. I took it apart and did a scant 45 on the top and it seemed to fold in without the sharp edges.

I guess I will give it a try on the strings I'm using for the bosal and see if I can make it work.

Do you bevel the side buttons too?

I really do appreciate all of your comments and help.

Hopefully it will turn out and I'll post a picture and you can all know you helped.

Larena

[Vaquero1]

larena, i only bevel the flesh side on roo (or goatleather) but latigo looks nicer with beveled hair side too.

my beveler has only a 45 degree but if i had the chance i would first bevel the flesh side- it´s easier to do it before beveling the hair side because the hairside gives the strand more strengh and pushes the fleshside down a little against the blade...

than splitting and finally beveling the hairside 45 degrees to get a smoother rawhide look ;-)

[larena]

larena, i only bevel the flesh side on roo (or goatleather) but latigo looks nicer with beveled hair side too.

my beveler has only a 45 degree but if i had the chance i would first bevel the flesh side- it´s easier to do it before beveling the hair side because the hairside gives the strand more strengh and pushes the fleshside down a little against the blade...

than splitting and finally beveling the hairside 45 degrees to get a smoother rawhide look ;-)

You are right, the latigo does look and feel better when it has a slight bevel on the hair side.

I beveled my project strings last night and I think they look pretty good.

I did a very slight 45 on the hair side, I hope that is enough; and a 30 on the flesh side.

I will start braiding over the core tonight and then on to the nose button.

I really like the way the latigo works. I have not had a lot of experience yet but it is a lot easier to work than kangaroo or rawhide.

I need a more experience with rawhide but I love the feel of it. I guess the temper is the key and experience is the only teacher there.

If I had one wish it would be for an endless supply of all leather . . . of course I would share.

Thanks everybody for the help and advise,

Larena

Edited February 29, 2012 by larena

[curlyjo]

I've read about beveling rawhide on top and leather onthe bottom. I'm sure it's a personal thing but I've always beveled on top on everything. I like to see the edge fall into place especially on string with the color only on top. The slight difference in color between the center and the bevel is what I'm talking about. Thats just my 2 cents worth. I have beveled all 4 corners on rawhide to lay well but that is a lot of extra work. I'm only working with tiny roo strings now and it works for me. Buttons on rawhide. Brad

[barbiesdude]

Hi Larena,

I have done a couple latigo bosals. I beveled flesh side only at 45 degrees. They turned out pretty nice. You won't really know how rough or smooth it will be until you roll it. It will look totally different after rolling. One tip for you is to be careful when pulling your strands tight while braiding. Latigo doesn't have the tinsile strength of roo and trust me, it isn't any fun lacing a new strand back through after you snapped one 3/4's of the way done. Another thing that helped me in beveling is running your strands through some white saddle soap or rawhide cream. It seems to condense the edges and they don't come out so fuzzy. If you search latigo bosal you can see the ones I braided. Where did you get your latigo from? I'm am doing a 5/8's latigo bosal tomorrow for a customer.Good luck with yours.

Jamie

[Vaquero1]

Jamie, do you let the strings dry for a while after running trough saddle soap before beveling? it does not work well if it´s to wet, isn´t it?

[larena]

Hi Larena,

I have done a couple latigo bosals. I beveled flesh side only at 45 degrees. They turned out pretty nice. You won't really know how rough or smooth it will be until you roll it. It will look totally different after rolling. One tip for you is to be careful when pulling your strands tight while braiding. Latigo doesn't have the tinsile strength of roo and trust me, it isn't any fun lacing a new strand back through after you snapped one 3/4's of the way done. Another thing that helped me in beveling is running your strands through some white saddle soap or rawhide cream. It seems to condense the edges and they don't come out so fuzzy. If you search latigo bosal you can see the ones I braided. Where did you get your latigo from? I'm am doing a 5/8's latigo bosal tomorrow for a customer.Good luck with yours.

Jamie

Jamie,

Thanks for the tips. I got my latigo from Sheridan Leather. I really like it but is seems a bit on the dry side. So you run your leather through the rawhide cream before you bevel? How about when you split it? I did run the strings through rawhide cream as I braided them and it worked out really good. I've got the core braided now. Started it over twice because I got a little curve to the braid. . .. a little OCD on straightness I suppose. I am building a 3/4 inch bosal with a twisted core covered with a braided rawhide to get it up to 1/2 inch. It now measures "exactly 3/4 inch". I guess it is going to be a starting bosal. I was just wondering, after you finish the braid do you wash the saddle soap off before rolling it? I guess I will start the nose button tomorrow. I have only made one bosal before this one and I did the nose button with multiple strands. I am not sure how to figure out how many strings to use and what size. Any suggestions?

Let me know how your's turns out. Have fun.

Larena

[barbiesdude]

Hey Michael,

What I do is take the lid off the tin, stick the end of a strand (flesh side down) hold it down with two or three fingers and pull it through the soap. Then I take

the strand and pull it through my closed palm to once or twice to work in the soap and get rid of the excess. I don't suppose it should be to wet.

Jamie

Jamie, do you let the strings dry for a while after running trough saddle soap before beveling? it does not work well if it´s to wet, isn´t it?

[barbiesdude]

I do run it through before I bevel, it seems to keep the fuzzys down and seems to give the blade a better bite. I havent soaped before I split though. I have a little OCD with my braiding as well. I have washed and took a real soft brush to get the excess flaky stuff out of the v's. I can't tell you exactly how many strands or what size because I haven't done a 3/4" but I can tell you what I did for my 1/2" ones and what I'm going to use on the 5/8's. The 1/2" I did 6 strands 1/8 wide x 1/16 thick give or take 32nd x 7' long. On the 5/8's it will be 6 strands 3/16" wide x 3/32" thick x 7' to 8' long depending on how long you make your nose button, mine are 7 1/4" to 7 1/2" long. On your 3/4" bosal you might use the same as the 5/8" but cut two more strands and do 8. I would also suggest doing the braiding method like in Alan Bell's tuttorial. It has worked REALLY well for me in keeping it straight ( OCD ). Hope this helps.

Jamie

Jamie,

Thanks for the tips. I got my latigo from Sheridan Leather. I really like it but is seems a bit on the dry side. So you run your leather through the rawhide cream before you bevel? How about when you split it? I did run the strings through rawhide cream as I braided them and it worked out really good. I've got the core braided now. Started it over twice because I got a little curve to the braid. . .. a little OCD on straightness I suppose. I am building a 3/4 inch bosal with a twisted core covered with a braided rawhide to get it up to 1/2 inch. It now measures "exactly 3/4 inch". I guess it is going to be a starting bosal. I was just wondering, after you finish the braid do you wash the saddle soap off before rolling it? I guess I will start the nose button tomorrow. I have only made one bosal before this one and I did the nose button with multiple strands. I am not sure how to figure out how many strings to use and what size. Any suggestions?

Let me know how your's turns out. Have fun.

Larena

[Vaquero1]

right Jamie, i totally agree with you- if you do it exactely like in Alans great tutorial you can´t do wrong Larena... i would choose 8 strands for your 3/4" project and use about 3/16" strands before beveling ( it´s way thinner afer soaping, streching and beveling...)) and about 6 feet long...

[larena]

right Jamie, i totally agree with you- if you do it exactely like in Alans great tutorial you can´t do wrong Larena... i would choose 8 strands for your 3/4" project and use about 3/16" strands before beveling ( it´s way thinner afer soaping, streching and beveling...)) and about 6 feet long...

I watched Alan's tutorial and I think I will give it a try. I have been doing it Gail Hought's way and have done well with it too. Is there a formula you use to figure out the strings needed for different circumferences on nose buttons?

Here's another question for everybody, if you make a nose button say . . . . 7 1\2 inches long, laying flat, how long will it actually be when it is bent into shape? Is there a formula for figuring that and does it change with the circumference?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the best place for answers.

Thanks to everybody for all the help,

larena