The first net I tried to make one was with greenheart arms and handle, just to prove to myself more than anything, that I could do it and if that was successful, then two further nets would be made with laminated cane arms and tonkin/Burma cane handles.
This is a special project; one that has been planned for some time now, but health issues and work have been getting in the way up to now, but that is now behind us so here we go then...
The first thing I ought to say before starting is, that this in no way meant to detract from the wonderful work amply demonstrated here by Northern Nomad, rather, something complementary to it.. Neil has done wonders in producing his nets from scratch-and the latest 'economy' hooped net from a single cane is remarkable in its' practicality...Well done indeed!
The second item is one of special note..
I have made a good many cane rods in the past, but never tried laminated net arms and since these have to be of best quality, I am very proud to tell you, that these have been especially made for this project, by no less a person than Mr. Paul Cook, whose skills and craftsmanship with cane and silk, pen & paint brush, leave us all in awe..
As you may guess, some correspondence has been going on between us over the past few months and this is the result; Paul will make the woodwork, your truly will make the centre yoke and put it together.
It is a great personal honour to work with Paul and I hope that you all will enjoy the results of this joint endeavour.. It is also planned, that, in the future, two further nets will be made between us, but these will be of a somewhat reduced size-for chub or small barbel say-having special, curved arms and different centre yokes.
But back to the present. The two resulting RSW nets to be made now will be stamp numbered and signed and we both hope that you will like them.
The first step was to produce the arms-and you have already seen this! So, before going any further, please refer back to Paul's thread on 'Making the Richard Walker Net Arms'. -It's worth re-reading anyway and will show you, step-by-step, how these actual arms were built.
Two sets were in fact made, which were then posted on to me. (This was a story in itself which may be told someday!!)
..The first thing I did was to make careful measurements of each set, which required only minimum scraping to prepare for further work. At this time of year, it is important that they are not exposed for too long to damp air, so the workshop was always heated beforehand. I have lightly chamfered the edges and put concave cuts on the larger, yoke ends, which will seat on to the brass pivots on the strap assemblies. To see how these assemblies were made from brass sheet, please refer to the 'Making a Richard Walker Net' thread.
For reference purposes only, this new project will be known as nets '1' & '2'.
As you will see, there will be some very slight design changes between them, but essentially they are the same.
The strap assemblies have now been soldered together and the holes drilled. They are not complete yet as the little loops for net retention have not been made, nor have they been finish-filed. However, they have been trial-fitted to the arms and the holes in the latter drilled for the rivets. As you see, I am only putting in four rivets per side, as that is more than sufficient. The extra rigidity and strength improvement by making a spigot location in the spreader block is unbelievable and so these nets will be of a far more elegant appearance (I hope).
Note also that the holes in the arms are lined. This is to prevent any possibility that the riveting itself may crack the bamboo.
Here then are just a few pictures of the project so far...
This is how the end links are made, which accept the split rings and net cord.
Firstly, I cut some 2mm thick brass in to 1/4" wide strips and then sawed it to 3 1/2" lengths..
These were then bent in to loops..
..and now the filing starts.
I will give you the details on this next time..
Regards to all,
wm+
