Bustle Plywood Board Help!

[T.Manns]

I'm currently working on a men's traditional bustle but have run into a problem. This is my first bustle and I've gotten as far as completing everything on my dowls and feathers but I'm stuck. My one question is;

How do you get the dowels into the plywood base?

I figured some sort of drilling is required but I'm confused. I've sketched out my U-shape on the plywood base for reference but I have little to no idea how to put the dowels into the base. If anyone can gave me some insight either with a description, illustrations or photo it would be deeply appreciated!

Thank you in advanced!

[wyo_rose]

Well, I'm by no-means an expert and never made a bustle, but here's what I've seen:

The U shaped bustle board had a u-shaped groove along the U edge. The first feather had an extender that was fitted into the board at the top. Then the rest were strung together with spacers, fitting into the groove. Then the last feather had an extender that was fitted into the board at the other side of the top. That way you can just take it apart easily for storage or travel.

[T.Manns]

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for your input!

[billyjoejimbob]

I am hoping that you have loops on the end of the dowels and ARE NOT talking about poking the dowels THRU the plywood. (you mention "into" a few times)

[T.Manns]

Originally Posted by billyjoejimbob

I am hoping that you have loops on the end of the dowels and ARE NOT talking about poking the dowels THRU the plywood. (you mention "into" a few times)

Well, it's all up in the air right now. I've been trying to find methods but to no avail and I've heard of people simply drill and "shoving" the dowel into their appropriate places but I simply haven't a clue.

I can kinda' picture what you mean by loops but can you elaborate a bit more. I'm honestly just looking for the best way of actually taking the completed dowels (which currently do not have loops at the end of them) and attaching them (somehow) to the plywood base that I have.

Again, this is my first bustle. Gotta' start somewhere as they say. >>;;

[OLChemist]

Being a woman, I've never done any of this. However, I have seen several bustles made and learned some of the basic techniques in a traditional arts class. That said, here is one way to make the bustles that have the trapiziodal bases. (These are not the same as those Wyo-Rose described.)

The bustle bases I've seen have a roughly V shaped heavy wire. This wire is fastened to the back of the base and the ends of the V's are run through holes in the plywood to the front. The V is sort of folded by this. These wires then support the weight of the feathers and hold them in the loose cone shape.

Boot lace sized holes are drilled at the ends of the U. Two more holes are drill about a 1/4" apart on the middle of the bottom of the curve in the U. The laces holding the two strings of feathers will be threaded through these. Then at at least one point of each side of the U, drill two holes about a 1/4" apart, straddling the U shapped line. These will hold a short lenght of lace to tie down the strings of feathers. The more pairs of these you have, the less your strings will flap away from the base.

In the middle of the U, drill a pair of holes a couple inches apart to attach your rosette or feather nest or whatever. At the lower edge, drill a couple of holes to attach your trailers.

Loops are attached to the end feathers extenders, before wrapping with tape, yarn, floss, etc. These loops need to be very strong and well attached. I've seen bustles with loops made from the plastic strapping used to bundle newspapers, latigo boot laces, or thick buckskin. The tighter the loops hold on to the lace on which you will string your feathers, the neater your bustle will be. After attaching the loops, finish off your extenders.

String the all the feathers with a right curve on one long boot lace. Then string the others on another lace. Keep the bases fairly close together. Thread one end of each lace through the holes at the top of the U. Then thread the other end through the holes at the bottom of the U. Tie the ends togther on the back side. Keep this pretty tigthly tied, since it will stretch some. Then use short peices of lace to tie the strings down, using the sets of holes you made on either side of the U.

Now to hold the cone shape you will need to run a second lace through the shafts of the feathers. This involves punching a hole through the quill on the back side of the feather, with a small, thin sharp awl. You will need to space out the feather a mark where you are going to make the holes. (With experience these holes can be made before assembling the feathers.) Once this is done, take everything apart and make the holes.

Put everything back together. Run the second laces through the feathers. If your feathers slide around on the lace, string tile beads on the lace between the feathers to mantain the spacing. This lace controls the size of the base of the cone formed by the bustle. The shorter the distance between the feathers, the more conical the bustle.

Once you have the strings fastened to the base again, tie the ends of the secondary lace -- that are at the bottom of the U -- together. The other ends are tied to the wires. The tension on this lace will help determine the shape of your bustle.

Whew....

Now there are numerous variations on this, including ways to run the secondary lace that do not involve punching holes in the feathers. Also each Nation has customs and procedures for this type of work, which should be followed. To learn these ways, you will need to find some men in your community to guide you.

Anyway, that is my $0.02 (US) LOL.

[T.Manns]

Wow, thank you very much OLChemist for your detailed explanation! I'll defiantly try asking someone of the community, but for now I will attempt to plan all that out.

[OLChemist]

You're welcome.

I'd give one further piece of advice. Making holes in the quill can go very wrong. I would practice a bunch on turkey feathers first.

You can also run a pair of laces at the base of the feather -- one on each side of the feathers. Between the feathers the two laces are threaded through beads. This makes a loop that holds the base. This avoids the need to make holes. It makes a looser cone. And you have to kind of make a "groove" between the base of the feather and the thread/yarn work. This keeps the laces from slipping. A friend did this on a bustle where he didn't want to pierce his feathers. The caveat is that this method wiggles more and gives a flappier bustle.

[billyjoejimbob]

I heat a needle with a flame and it goes thru the quill like butter. smells bad but it works. kinda like drilling thru mescal beads.

not too thick or the feather will loose its strength.

watch your fingers.

[turtleclaninc]

[quote=T.Manns]I'm currently working on a men's traditional bustle but have run into a problem. This is my first bustle and I've gotten as far as completing everything on my dowls and feathers but I'm stuck.

Sekoh

I use thick raw hide for my base ...mesaure base needed and double the lenth I E if a 8x5 then wet and cut a 16x5 ..fold wet rawhide over cord,sash or whatever will be your waist tie....if you are gonna attatch to a wide belt then just crease rawhide in half mark tie hole 1/2"under crease and punch holes tie to belt bottom..if other ties are used the make holes 1/2" under ties,sash ect. and secure whip stitch other 3 sides together. while wet. mark two holes 1/2" up from bottom each lower corner1/2" in punch holes these will hold your trailer rod carve slight notch in trailer rod at base holes....do this and your trailer wont budge sid to side.

while rawhide is plyable set it to your back ..unlike plywood rawhide will follow your backs curve let dry

i used green willow branches 24" long 1/2 to 3/8 dia ....cut green ...strip bark ....tie slight bow in branches make sure they match each other...let dry

when dry measure on back side of lower biggest end to botton3"up cut a tapper to the frontleaving at least 1/4 " on front place bows on raw hide (rewet) in a v shape from top corners. mark where you like drill 4 to 5 small holes where bows touch lace well and let dry

i wrapped calico cloth around bows and tied a sweatgrass wand to each bow with red enbroidery lace
ihave feather bunches tied to top bows

you should have allready had bustle feathers ready to go, I used a set of fishing spinners on each bow and each end feather on bustle just mark and tie spinners where you want bustle to ride.

mark punch holes and use long ties for center piece

if done right bustle can be assembleda and dissassembled rather quickly

this is a true tradish way the best way in my humble oppinion

[msix04]

one thing i learned is before drilling or piercing holes in the feather quills is to wrap a piece of heavy electrical tape over the area you plan on making the hole through and then make the hole this will help to keep the quill from splitting

[skyscout]

Hi,
you can use the large bobby pins available anywhere,
to attach the dowles to your back board.
just tie them up with sinew temporarily to the side of the dowels ( 7 or 8 wraps is fine) leaving about 1/2 inch of the rounded ends of the bobby pins sticking out from the dowels. then glue ( i use gorilla glue or elmers ultimate) the bobby pins to the dowels to make them permanant. Then finish wrapping the bobby pins after they dry. you can use rawhide like shoe laces running thru the round ends to attach to the back board.
as far as back boards, i use those plastic real estate or election signs that are all over the place. when you look at them on the side view they look like corrugted cardboard.
yes they are thin 1/4 inch or so but i make them 2 or 3 thick.
and man are they tuff and water proof and best of all light.
and you don't need a saw, just a utility knife or scissors to cut them.
i have made my eagle bustles like that and i bet i have the lightest -toughest bustles around.
email if you need more info.
glad to help, all the best.---sky scout