Bolster with calf hide.

[riku1914]

I dropped by a local tandy leather today to buy some calf skins, I ended up buying two, one was 9 sq. ft the other was 9.25 sq.

ft. Of course neither is large enough to do a 6 ft. long bolster, so I was planning on cutting two lengths, each some about 3 ft.,

doing the appropriate widths of course, and basically punching holes in the end of it, and tying them together with artificial sinew.

Does this sound good or is there a better way to do so with short lengths of leather?

Oh and another thing, could I cut a bolster around the hide like is done with strands to get a solid piece? I would assume that

the turn in it would be too extreme since it's wider to get a straight enough piece for a bolster. What do you think about this as

well?

[louiefoxx]

spice the bolster like in David Morgan's book. If you bind it in place or sew the two halves together you are adding bulk and / or stiffness at that point.

There's a picture of a splice on my blog at http://bullwhips.org/?p=4080...it's not the best picture due to the flash making the splice almost invisible, but it might be of some help. And here's a better pic of a splice: http://bullwhips.org/?p=4484

Louie

[riku1914]

Ok so basically you just cut each end at an angle, then plait over them ( while keeping them in place ) as if nothing ever went

odd. I think I might trying temporarily tying the new bit of the bolster on with some thread or artificial sinew, but make it where I

could pull it off after plaiting it.

Thanks, also thanks for recommending those calf hides to me. I was kind of unsure about getting some but when I called into tandy

I decided then to get some, and they ended up having two large calf hides, so I got them.

[Canuck Digger]

Don't punch holes in the bolsters.

Try not to have the splice at the same place as the end of the second belly, or where you drop your first strands; too much going on at once...

It doesn't need to be spliced in two exact halves. As a matter of fact I've never even thought of doing it that way. I just cut the bolster for the length the hide runs and then cut out whatever is needed to finish off to the desired length.

Do your best to cut your finished bolster (by this I mean when it is ready to be put on the whip, after being greased...) with straight edges; this will guide you on how to taper strands to get the right taper. When everything is different (one strand from the next...) having a bolster with straight edges is the only constant you can rely on, aside from your eyes of course.

Though I have never tried this, it occurred to me recently that perhaps making the splice over the first half of the whip, over the plaited belly rather than over the loose strands of the last part of the whip, might make it easier to splice the two halves together since it is over a firm core... Who said you HAD to make the splice over the end of the whip? This way, there wouldn't be any mucking about with splicing at the same time as you are dropping strands and tapering them... It makes no difference in the end in how the whip handles, this is just me thinking out loud... I'm sure most whipmakers would just say "Don't bother with all this fussing, just make the splice when you need to", but as usual I am over-thinking things.

Otherwise just follow Louie's instructions.
Cheers,

Franco

[riku1914]

Don't punch holes in the bolsters.

Try not to have the splice at the same place as the end of the second belly, or where you drop your first strands; too much going on at once...

It doesn't need to be spliced in two exact halves. As a matter of fact I've never even thought of doing it that way. I just cut the bolster for the length the hide runs and then cut out whatever is needed to finish off to the desired length.

Do your best to cut your finished bolster (by this I mean when it is ready to be put on the whip, after being greased...) with straight edges; this will guide you on how to taper strands to get the right taper. When everything is different (one strand from the next...) having a bolster with straight edges is the only constant you can rely on, aside from your eyes of course.

Though I have never tried this, it occurred to me recently that perhaps making the splice over the first half of the whip, over the plaited belly rather than over the loose strands of the last part of the whip, might make it easier to splice the two halves together since it is over a firm core... Who said you HAD to make the splice over the end of the whip? This way, there wouldn't be any mucking about with splicing at the same time as you are dropping strands and tapering them... It makes no difference in the end in how the whip handles, this is just me thinking out loud... I'm sure most whipmakers would just say "Don't bother with all this fussing, just make the splice when you need to", but as usual I am over-thinking things.

Otherwise just follow Louie's instructions.
Cheers,

Franco

I think I'll cut the longest part as the second area of the bolster, and the shorter part as the first part of the bolster. What I

would really prefer to do would be to buy a side of cowhide so I could get bolsters 6-8 ft. long from that, but it's probably good

to learn to splice early on rather than later.

[Canuck Digger]

Yup you gotta learn how to make the less than perfect work for you I'm afraid, as there is a lot of that in whipmaking.

Splicing bolsters is not a very difficult thing to do; you'll be fine.

Franco

[Marhala]

Yup you gotta learn how to make the less than perfect work for you I'm afraid, as there is a lot of that in whipmaking.

Splicing bolsters is not a very difficult thing to do; you'll be fine.

Franco

It is for me!!!

Aldo.

[riku1914]

Yup you gotta learn how to make the less than perfect work for you I'm afraid, as there is a lot of that in whipmaking.

Splicing bolsters is not a very difficult thing to do; you'll be fine.

Franco

It is for me!!!

Aldo.

You should do what he recommended, have the longer piece in the splice where some of the plaited bellies are so that it's not

really loose.

[Canuck Digger]

Guys again this is just an idea; I've never actually done it this way. I was just thinking that for someone starting out who is already dealing with a bunch of things at the same time it *might* be easier. The objective is still to have a nice bolster with a seamless joint.

@ Aldo; I know things are harder when you are starting, I wasn't belittling your efforts, I was just comparing this to other aspects of whipmakiing that are more of a challenge.

Stick with it and you will get better.


Franco

[Marhala]

Guys again this is just an idea; I've never actually done it this way. I was just thinking that for someone starting out who is already dealing with a bunch of things at the same time it *might* be easier. The objective is still to have a nice bolster with a seamless joint.

@ Aldo; I know things are harder when you are starting, I wasn't belittling your efforts, I was just comparing this to other aspects of whipmakiing that are more of a challenge.

Stick with it and you will get better.


Franco

Franco, I didn't take your comment that way. But I just wrote it because it seems to me that we all have trouble with different things: maybe splicing bolsters is tough for me; maybe strand dropping for someone else and so on. It's just that I don't get it right yet. I sew the bolsters with a baseball stitch, and it works pretty well for me.

Thank you for your kind words!

Aldo.