A Two-Day Breastcollar

Last Friday and Saturday I pulled off a feat that hasn't happened in years:  A breastcollar was made in only 2 days.  My previous Akhal Teke breastcollars certainly took longer -- remember Brasenose's took an entire month!  This 2-day record is probably previously held by a braided bc back in the dim dark past,... but for now, I'm well pleased by what happens when I really just buckle down.  Very little computer and nothing else happened on Friday the 15th, and the following half day saw it finished.  "It's in me."

Only a few pix were taken during this marathon of concentration.  Here is the first shot, showing the general size and design of the breastcollar, and the buckle and strap.  I was up to the bezel stage at this point (the frames for the jewels).

The bar-shaped metal spots (iron-ons) were already made, and that was a huge help in making the 2-day possible.  But I still had to create all the square plates, cut all the bezels and curl them, and fit them to the plates.  What was new this time was that I tested each tiny circle of bezel to its individual plate's hole, BEFORE they were set (hot glued).  This seems so obvious now, but, I confess, 'twas not always.  I used to really struggle to get bezels to fit after plates were set, cutting and fussing and risking breaking through the leather.  This new way took more patience but went faster in the end.

A tackmaker is always investigating new materials, and I chose to use chamois as an extra layer of padding for the center medallion (or plate).  Having sharpened my knife to where it easily cut garment leather, I ran the risk of shaving too thin, and had to add back.

A stage I had temporarily forgotten about, with the setting of jewels, was the silvering of the holes.  Above you can see that the lower left (8 o'clock position) hole of the central medallion has had silver tape laid in its bottom.  This is to reflect the jewels' light and color.  The third photo (above) shows the silvering of two of the offside holes.

For reasons of reward I chose to hang the drops before the jewels were put in.  This turned out to be all I could do on one day.  Making the rings and hanging Rio Rondo's teeny findings was harder than I'd anticipated.  I made my rings too small at first.

Next day I tackled those rings with more understanding.  I make my own jump rings with a short bar of Aluminum tubing and a piece of stainless steel wire, in this case 24 ga.  Need I mention the work included sharpening my wire cutter... by hand... !!

When the jewels go in they do so in a rush.  It's a smelly process with clear nail polish as the adhesive.  I use Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength.  (There's a certain justice in the fact this polish has actual diamond in it.)  Each sapphire and ruby is chosen for color, clarity and fit.

While the above photo has been PhotoShopped, this one has not.

This shot is included to show the entirety of the tack.  I've left the straps long for the owner to trim as she sees fit.

Now for the fun part!  Alas, it is snowy and cold (and dark) outside, so we must be satisfied with indoor shots.

I have seven Lonesome Glories, but only two glossies, this dun and the black charcoal.  The charcoal is precious and too dark for comfortable tackmaking.  But the drawback to the dun is the white face -!!  Sometimes creative cropping is called for.

These photos show the real color, but it's even better in person.

I will end this post with an interesting photo of every piece and part of Teke tack that has been made so far, for the two Giveaway sets.  The light-colored leather ones include 2 neckpieces, the breastcollar, the cape (crown piece) and the reins.  The dark-colored reins are for AT4.  The unfinished neckpiece at lower left is the extra, made in the course of AT3's two.  Whoever is lucky at BeyerFest can choose the gemstones they want for it.

In future news:

Draw a deep breath people:  Time to push the reset button.

I would very much like to complete AT3, AND at least print out my much-belated Christmas letter, before I start NaMoPaiMo.  Those two are lined up for the remainder of January.  February will bring a combination of work on AT4 and Orlik, with a slight emphasis on the horse!  March will undoubtedly play catchup with finishing AT4 and working on a pair of small-scale harnesses.  

Beyond that, the only thing I'm seeing is a hazy wish to get back into braidwork... possibly another paintjob,... and whatever comes down the pike.  The faintest of wishes are manifesting themselves, as buds beneath the snow: working on my own belt (full scale braidwork), misc Trad headgear, misc harness and horse drawn vehicles (you don't think I could own a Troika and not make the sledge, do you...)!  Thanks go out to certain understanding customers, and encouragement to sculptresses and tackmakers.