Quick and Dirty Serving Jig

Back when I made my first bowstring, I also made a serving jig. For those of you who do not know what that is, serving is the thin thread that 'serves' the string, protecting it from wear where the arrow nocks and where the string would hit an arm guard. The jig that spins the serving around the string is quite simple in principle, and for some reason sells for around $20.00. Aside from not wanting to wait and pay for shipping, that is absurd to me (and it should be to you, too).

To make your own, all you need are the following: a piece of scrap sheet metal, mine was brass and about 12cm x 2cm x 16 gauge. Anything will do, as long as you can hammer it and it is not unreasonable (use your judgement); a bolt a little longer than your serving spool and slightly smaller diameter; a matching nut; and two washers (not critical).

Find the centre of the rectangle of sheet metal and hammer a ridge across the width of it. This will be where the bowstring sits while you serve the string. I did this by clamping a chisel in a vice and hammering on either side of the tip, but you can place the metal on a piece of wood and hammer it in with an old flathead screwdriver. Next, find the centre of the ~2cm width inside the newly hammered ridgeline and punch a hole through it with a nail or screw, making sure to go through the INSIDE of the trough. If you are confused, look at the above picture. The divot goes towards the inside of the ] shape, and the hole started on the outside. The reason for this is, unless you spend a lot of time filing down and sanding the shavings on the back side of the hole, it will rip your bowstring apart.

Now measure the length of your spool and find the centre of that. Use that distance and bend a right angle on the sheet metal on either side of the centreline and hole, as shown above. Finish off the jig by punching two more holes, one in each end. I rounded off the ends of my jig purely for aesthetics. Make sure the new holes are large enough for the bold to slide through.

Insert the spool in the jig and slide the bolt through both holes and the shaft of the spool. I used a wingnut because it gives me more control. Tighten down the bold just enough that the weight of the jig does not allow the string to unwind when you hold it by the loose end. If it was not obvious already, you put the end of the string through the hole in the divot you hammered in earlier. This keeps the string in the same place where it meets the bowstring.

For more on the use of the serving jig, check out the tutorial on a simple bowstring.

Backpacking in the Adirondacks

There exists in the world a lure that cannot be satisfied by the ways of technology, which must be seen from the wilds of nature and heard through the depths of tranquillity, vice the emptiness remains. Along the open road this journey began into the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Two days of backpacking through the forests and peaks to the summit of Mount Marcy and back around the valleys beyond awaited with the mist of a cool morning.

The five of us standing outside the Marcy Dam with a clear view to the distant peak we were about to climb.

There is something about the mountain lakes and verdant foliage covering the slopes that, however many times I see it, never fails to hold my captivation. The feeling of standing there was surreal, and even many hours gone does not cease to hold that feeling.

Midway to the summit, the Indian Falls sit atop a massive slab of rock with a view of Algonquin Mountain in the middle flanked by its sister peaks.

All over the mountainside, these purple flowers grow by their lonesome or in clusters, standing out against the greens and yellows and browns with their vibrant hue.

On the trail to the summit, cairns mark the path built by hikers over the years. Piles of rock, there is something inexplicable about them that portrays the utterly placid stature of the mountains and the harmonic balance between man and nature. For decades, they will stand to endure the wind and rain without toppling, and when that day comes, someone will begin to rebuild them to be larger and stronger than before. Both a physical and symbolic guide from the past generations to the new of what challenges await.

Thus marks the summit of Mt. Marcy. Scores of peaks outline the horizon through the summoning clouds of an afternoon thunderstorm, none of which climb to her heights. Of the 46 High Peaks, Mt. Marcy is the highest, and provides a breathtaking view in every direction of the rolling valleys and lush forests.

Well above the treeline, only grasses and lichen grow at the summit.

Lake Tear of the Clouds is, in a basin on the slopes of Marcy, the highest altitude lake in the state of New York. Fed by the cool mountain streams, it is a welcome solace from the steep, rocky descent.

Moss carvings on a river rock

Along a lower lakefront, boardwalks and stairways guide the trail through the rocks towards Avalanche Pass, a sharp crack in the mountains where the land fell away long ago.

At the river crossings, the forests give way to pillars of balancing rocks, like smaller cairns with an equal tranquillity to their stature. Through over 5,000 feet of elevation gain and three hours of pouring rain in the evening, a dinner of rice, lake water and various meats cooked in the rain, and one of the most spectacular two days of scenery I have ever seen, Mount Marcy was my first of the 46 High Peaks, and will certainly not be the last.

Hearth Steel Update

Now that I am with power again, I was able to do a spark test for carbon content. The first smelt yielded a ~2.25lb puck of very dense material. I tried cutting it in half with an angle grinder, but I need to get it to a chop saw if I want to be realistic about it.

A quick spark test yielded the following--

The sparks are nice and long with a slight feathering on the ends. The density of the sparks is decent, and much more active than the mild steel I used as a comparison. (I am no metallurgist and have no idea what these results mean. With luck, someone more informed than I will be able to help me here.)

The second smelt produced far more material, this being a small bit of it. These two pieces that broke off during consolidation straight out of the hearth weigh in at ~.75lb, and the remaining majority was too heavy for the 2.5lb scale by more than a pound.

The spark test for this one suggests something different.

Instead of the same long, straight sparks, these are very fluffy and feathery. It is difficult to see in the pictures, but any slower shutter speed made them too dark to see.

Notice how they do not spray out to the sides as much. What to make of this, I have no idea. More information to come soon!