Quote from Fëanor on Jul 18th, 2009, 6:06pm:Was out all day today finding some wood for making my first atlatl, actually I was out all day yesterday to and found some ash which I took home and was going to steam shape but I over bent it and it broke.
Went to another place today and finally had to settle for some birch.
Going back to the first place in the morning and getting some more ash.
Now there is just the problem of curing the wood because there is no way I am waiting a year for it to cure and my oven is quite small so I might have to go with a composite and drying shorter pieces..
Oh well, get back when I have pictures.
Fëanor,
I recently cut down a large ash tree in my back yard. I have a huge pile of limbs. I've been using them as part of gates on my corrals, made a walking stick for my grandmother, had the trunk cut into tomahawk targets, and if I can find a piece with out a ton of knots in it, I'd use it in a bow. And I STILL have a lot left over. Where do you live?
On steam bending the wood, I heat the wood, then bend it and while it's bent, cool it with a damp rag. Also, hot, wet wood gives no warning. It just seems to snap. The important thing is to do it in stages and have patience (which I sorely lack). As for the composite, the atlatl below I made for my brother. It's actually made from my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th atlatls, as I snapped them all. I glued the sections together with lap joints and plain old white glue, then braided a knot over them to help hold them. It's 2 feet long, and throws as good as any of the others.
K'Jev
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ATLATLS & DARTS (Read 61296 times)