rawhide lace thickness?

[crow]

hi

what is the common thickness of rawhide lace for braiding? And how do you bevel your rawhide laces?

Crow

Edited January 8, 2008 by crow

[rgerbitz]

I've seen quite a bit of difference in thickness on stuff. On the last couple of bosals I used from 1 - 2 / 32. You can find strings that are thinner, but it would seem to me that there isn't a whole lot of using in those peices, not very strong. I use a cutter/beveler that a local machine shop made for me. I had one out of wood looked exactly like the one I have know, but the steel works much better.

Hope this helps

[crow]

I've seen quite a bit of difference in thickness on stuff. On the last couple of bosals I used from 1 - 2 / 32. You can find strings that are thinner, but it would seem to me that there isn't a whole lot of using in those peices, not very strong. I use a cutter/beveler that a local machine shop made for me. I had one out of wood looked exactly like the one I have know, but the steel works much better.

Hope this helps

thanks for reply, got some idea of thickness.

Actually my second question was which sides you bevel: flesh sides, opposite corners etc. I know the books recommend hairside corners, to prevent the sides rolling up as it dries. What is your prefered method?

thanks for advance once more

Crow

[rawhide1]

Crow

The thickness of strings just depends on what your braiding. I't will also depend on if your using a core or not. When I braid knots on a piece I like to use strings out of calf as they are really thin and don't need to be split down. When beveling your rawhide strings bevel the hair side as this will keep it from curling up and also give you a lot smoother feel. As far as string cutters and bevelers go there are a couple out there. Hansen string cutter, Gail Hought sells one I don't remember who makes it, Brain Nuebert sells one, and theres a couple more but I can't remember their names. The one rgerbitz shows above looks like it would work great. Price on the cutters I mentioned run around $400.00 Hopes this helps. Good Luck mike

[Opagon]

I read somewhere (Coffee isnt working and cant remember where...) that when dealing with rawhide you want your string thickness to be half of your width. So, if I have a 1/8 width on my strings then the thickness should be at 1/16th.

I dont know how much truth there is in that because my small strings seem to always end up about equal width to thickness. I have seen gear that has decorative knots that are much thinner than half the width and I have seen good working gear that is thicker.

Any one else have a general rule of thumb that they follow?

Heather

[HorsehairBraider]

Gosh, it really depends on what I'm making. Sometimes I want it thick, sometimes I will pare it down to hair thinness. And I agree, bevel the edges on the hair side.

On the opposite corners thing, I have only read about that - never actually done it. The theory is the braid will lie flatter. Well, the theory sounds good! And when you are cutting, if you cut on an angle, the next string will automatically have the opposite edge knocked off so it sounds easy to do. Someone who has actually done it should chime in though, because I am not sure how the theory turns out in real life.

[rgerbitz]

Mike and Cindy Beaver sell cut and beveled string of different widths. I had gotten some from them a couple of years ago, they will sometimes bevel all four edges on their strings. I do beleive that it does help a braid to snug together just a bit bettter. I have also read that beveling on oppisite corners can only be done with leather as rawhide will end up with sharp edges.

The last price list I had from Mike and Cindy Read:

1/16" .45 a Foot

3/32" .45

1/8" .45

3/16" .50

1/4" .65

Dyed rawhide costs .20 more per foot

Hope this helps.