MorganTyre

Wow, great charts. Those are certainly on my want list now.

Legal to hunt here in Texas. They're easy to get as well from what I understand. They mate for life so when you kill the one the other just stands there mourning it. How depressing is that.

Ugh, in another more profitable time I would have snatched those right up. ah well.

Looks like that particular cat is sold but I'm putting another one together within the next day or two. Different style but just as effective.

Very well done. Good prices too.

Bolt rope on a sail.

Double post here. Sorry.

Thank you very much. That particular one is my wife's favorite as well.

That one is for sale or I can do something different if you prefer a different style.

Below is a quick and dirty cotton bell rope. Lanyards of that sort are only $15. Below that is the cat I posted earlier with it's final finish on it. It looks and smells great. Of the things I've made this is one of my favorites.

I finally had some downtime here due to weather and could finish up my bottles. The bottles themselves are no longer available so once these are gone they are gone. $20 each + shipping. PM me if you are interested, post if you have any questions.

Very nice. What I like to do on my pipes is make a pipe "ring" out of a turkshead made from some stiff hemp that is generally wedged down on the stem but can come off when you want to fire clean the pipe. The nicest thing about a clay pipe is the ability to just throw it in the fire when it gets too dirty and then pull out a brand new pipe when the ashes cool.

Are the markings inked or burned?

I'm thinking $100 for that one though I can do equally attractive ones for far less money. I've since tarred it and am very satisfied with the results. I'll post pics of that and the half dozen or so bottles that I've done soon.

To be honest, that one wouldn't be cheap as it represents many hours of labor. Let me try to figure out how much time I have in it and then I'll quote a price. Thank you for the compliments.

Someone mentioned a cat in my buccaneer ropeworks thread so here you go. I'm still on the fence about the tassels though they certainly don't look bad. The whole is slated for a wash in diluted pine tar giving a similar finish to the tarred needlecase in the other thread. A: Each of the nine tales is capped by a five strand matthew walker knot. B: Nine tails, each of five strand flat sinnet (braid) made from a particularly rough flax line. These will certainly flay skin. Tails are roughly 2 feet each. The line making the tails extends the full length of the handle forming the bulk of the grip. C: 8x7 turkshead of cotton D: The handle is made from the same line as the tails, stiffened with nine thin strips of bamboo buried deep inside, served over fully with more flax cord, and then finally grafted over with cotton twine in an under one, over two pattern. The weft is hemp. The grafting took FOREVER with 32 strands making up the warp. The handle is 12 inches from the top of the upper turkshead to the whipping at the bottom. E: 6x5 turkshead of cotton F: Snaked whipping of hemp. All in all this probably represents a full days labor.

A cat I can certainly do. Will get a pic up in a day or two.

Well, a lifelong dream of full self-employment doing yacht rigging and diving is finally underway for me this year. I have big hopes for 2010 and bigger plans for years coming. Part of this is Buccaneer Ropeworks a company devoted to traditional rigging, custom fancywork, and other products of general pirate-y interest. Pictured below are a handful of items currently for sale as well as samples of the sort of work that I do. I'm currently working on a line of knotted bottles as well as some voodoo themed items inspired by the book, "On Stranger Tides". I also stock a variety of sizes of manila 3-strand at very competitive prices as well as sewing palms, real sail needles (WM Smith, available in tubes or individually), modern fids, and other maritime tools. Please PM me if you are interested in prices or having work done. All orders will be handled promptly. Shown is an assortment of brooms, needle-cases, a bottle, a small voodoo doll (available with pins and a burlap bag to hold everything), and a sample of custom work - this being the handle of an anchor windlass.

I should probably move this to plunder but if you are needing 1/4" manilla (which is what my bed is strung with) I can make you a better deal per foot on a cut length than that site has for a full 1200 foot spool. Just send me a PM. The price on 3/8" would be better as well.

I drilled mine on 3" centers which I am happy with but your mileage may vary. The closer you space the holes the less stress each individual line experiences so line type really doesn't matter. Less stress = less stretch. Also, the load is more evenly distributed to the wood so you get less bowing. The downside to a bunch of holes is that setup takes that much more time. Length of your line = the length of your bed x the number of strands you have running the length of it + the width of your bed x the number of strands you have running horizontally.

I originally set the bed up with sisal and had no real problems with stretch once I got past the initial break-in period. I set everything up very tight and have had no problem at all with sagging. I've since strung the bed with manilla because it's actually cheaper for me than the sisal.

That may be do-able. I'll show that thread to him and see what he thinks. Mission, it says on the link that the pelican is 'wrought iron' wrought iron is not a cast item, it is a forged item. Cast iron tends to be brittle and may snap when force is exerted upon it. I think you want the rough form forged, not cast. I think he's right here. That spiral design on the handle comes from hammering in heated wire.

On a side note, did you ever get your Hobbs saw made?

That may be do-able. I'll show that thread to him and see what he thinks.

Possibly. I have a friend who does a bit of backyard foundry-work. I can certainly ask. What sort of instrument do you have in mind?