I don't know what has gotten into me but these past few days I have had the urge to plait bullwhips. Last week I finished up a 6 foot black bullwhip - just needs shellac. Friday I spent 2 hours and got the 1st bolster on a new 6 ft red bullwhip done, got the second bolster done on Saturday (this includes cut and prep of bellies by the way) and got about 3 inches of he 16 plait overlay done. Tonight I spent about another 3 hours and finished the overlay. If I had a fall ready I would have done that. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I can probably finish the whip then. Overall I have spent about 7 hours on this second whip. I have only done 1 16 plait whip before. the handle with a checkerboard is a pain in the rear. Once I got into coachmen's plaiting I could wait to start dropping strands and get down to 12 then 8 strands. I just kept on going and before I knew it I was done!
This last whip had me a little nervous. I started with a 58dm roohide. I always shoot for a six foot whip. I was very careful in cutting out strands and tried to eliminate waste. One problem I've had is the transitions in tapering strands and cutting around corners. When I prep strands I get differences in strand width. This time I cut all 16 strands the same width the entire length of the whip. I watched the corners carefully and trimmed them as needed. I even accounted for a few streachy places. I planned to drop strands so some strands ended short, medium, and 8 long. When I finished cutting the strands out I found my first four were about 8 inched too short. Surprise surprise! the strands were just the right length! I have about 4 inches left after I hit the 6 ft mark for the fall hitch. The whip was a little wider getting close to the end so I trimmed the core strands a little bit and still kept a good taper. I dropped 2 final strands with 6 inches to go and even trimmed the widths just a little bit. I had very little waste in making this whip and still have the hide center for a wristloop.
I found in making this whip this way I ended up with more even strands throughout the whip. I always plan to drop strands but I've never kept the same strand width throughout the entire length of the whip. The overlay is still a bit rough but once I give it a good roll it will smooth out nicely and the strands will "settle in" a bit. I am also amazed at how dense this whip is. It has a very dense core. I can't wait to finish it and test it out. Hopefully I will have 2 whips for sale on EBay soon. I'll post pictures of both when they are finished. My next whip after this might be a simple cowhide whip for a charity auction. I gave them a kangaroo whip last year but with the current prices I cant afford to give it away anymore.
Jeff
Update - Put in another couple of hours today and finished the whip. Found 1 problem when I trimmed the yokes. My overlay started about 1 inch too far down. I had to trim leather based on the overlay and then break out my cutting wheel and take 1/4 inch off the steel handle. It still turned out great and I am happy with it. Pictures soon!
Tired hands!
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Jeff Roseborough
- Member
- Posts: 1661
- Joined: Fri 3. Jul 2009, 09:12
- Location: Reno, NV, USA
Tired hands!
Last edited by Jeff Roseborough on Wed 7. Mar 2012, 08:29, edited 1 time in total.
Here's wishing you find time for the things you want to do, and for the things you need to do.
We see ourselves in our children and hope for a better future.
We see ourselves in our children and hope for a better future.