tdelewis
Elite Cafe Member
Does anyone make bolo ties? What gauge silver is best to use? It is most likely be an oval about 40x36 mm. I have 16 gauge and 20 gauge sterling in my silver supply. Is 20 to thin?
bolo tie
- Thread starter tdelewis
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Goldjockey
Elite Cafe Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2018
- Messages
- 276
Completely depends on the structure of the design. If it’s solid, 20 gauge will most likely work. If heavily pierced you’ll want to use a heavier gauge.
years ago i dabbled with bolas. most folks around here don't wear them. the ones i did were of nickel ( german) silver the guage was about .030" or so. i made a tracing template to save the drudgery of drawing each one.
Marrinan
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
you can buy the backs from IJS (indian Jewelry supply ) cheap
tdelewis
Elite Cafe Member
Thanks, I thought Indian Jewelry Supply was out of business. I did a search on youtub and found a couple of ways to make your own backs. Most of the suppliers backs are stainless or plated. by making your own you can keep it all sterling and there is no need for glue.
maplesm
Elite Cafe Member
This is how I make the ones I use.
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Goldjockey
Elite Cafe Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2018
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- 276
Sadly,' IJS' (Indian Jewelers Supply) is no more.
They filed for bankruptcy, and closed their doors permanently in 2018. The downturn in the Southwestern and Native American Jewelry market largely due to an incessant flood of lookalike (counterfeit) imports from China and the Philippines turned out to be more than Indian Jewelers Supply, and many of their former customers specializing in authentic US made Jewelry products could withstand. That entire US market segment has been absolutely decimated.
Thunderbird Supply (thunderbirdsuppy.com), Albuquerque, and Gallup NM has hung tough in this environment, have picked up the slack, are still in business, from what I can see are doing pretty well, and offer a large number of bola findings like bola backs, bola cords, and bola tips.
Due to a Gubernatorial Executive Order temporarily closing all 'non-essential' businesses in the State of New Mexico, Thunderbird isn't taking orders right now. I expect they'll be back as soon as the order is lifted.
Looks like Rio has plenty of Bola/Bolo findings too: https://www.riogrande.com/searchres...sort=relevancy&layout=card&numberOfResults=36
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