Braiding The End Piece On A Bosal

[avturk]

I have a bosal that my puppy got hold of and chewed up the knot covering the bottom "knob" on the bosal. I had inquired about having a bosal maker replace it and he wanted twice what I paid for the bosal, so I am interested in trying it myself. I have a couple of the books by Grant on leather braiding and cowboy tack, and Ashley's Book of Knots, I was wondering which type of knot you would recommend. I expect the "pineapple" knot will be what I want. I intend to do it once with some leather that I have (the type of leather that you use for binding the edges of a project) to learn the technique before investing in some rawhide to do the final version. If you have any tips or tricks for me as I start this project they would be appreciated.

[oltoot]

Looks like the puppy chewed off more than just the knot which will be btw a pineapple raised a few times depending on the size string you pick. When you get ready to tackle the rawhide first use rawhide or duct tape to build up the area of the heel to the shape you want. One thing I have done with good results is to tie a ring knot of three or four passes around the area using strings much wider and coarser than I will make the finished heel knot with with the knot not coming to the extreme edges of the heel and that can be used to give it a gently rounded foundation to build on. One more thing, if it were me I would remove the ring knot from the top of the heel and replace it when I have finised the heel knot. It will most likely be in your way. If the cheeks aren't straight without it you can tie a string around them further up and out of the way while you are working on the heel. And you might want to practice a few times on a dowel with an area wrapped in tape to simulate the heel. And one last thing, I found that 1/4" plastic lace was the best thing to start with. It can be cut on a sharp point and eliminate the need for needles. Have fun!