Hi ducksterman, I saw your post and am trying to respond. I’ve never tried to post an image before so there will be some learning curve. I found the instructions for posting an image but have not been successful.
I was able to set up a photobucket account, but am unable to upload an image. I keep getting ‘invalid path’ errors when I try to submit my BMP image. I don’t have a digital camera but I was able to scan a hand drawn sketch into my computer, just can’t seem to get it to upload. I will try again later.
If you think it will help I am happy to try a written description…
OK, I think I figured it out, I have to enable popup advertisments to use photobucket…
Wow, it worked! Sorry about the size and load time…
The ‘C’ channels are from Home Depot, in the elec department next to the metal conduit. They also sell special locking nuts designed to fit within the channel. The pegs are 3/4" dia. hardwood dowels with sections of threaded rod set in epoxy ( I used machine bolts with the heads cut off) the pegs slide along the channel and can be locked into place with a twist.
The head and tail stock are made from scrap 1/2" plywood and use a locking nut/washer made from a bolt with the head cut off, this time I used a bolt the had a smooth shank above the threaded portion. I cut off the heads and rounded the end to make a smooth stud.
To apply tension while twisting I use a daisy chain of thin rubber bands and a bent paper clip hook. Depending on the rubber bands I need 4-5 looped together in a chain. If the tension is too little the strands will twist up on themselves an tangle, too much and they will break.
To use the jig I first lace the pegs with fly tying thread (I like UNI 6/0) the pattern and number of strands are based on Henk’s and Claude’s formulas in my previous post.
When the strands are layed up I begin the twisting, using a cordless drill and a hook bent from a section of coat hanger wire. I start by hooking the daisy chain/paper clip to the last thread loop in the tip end, and gently pull the thread bundle off the pegs, letting the rubber bands take up the tension. I hook the drill onto the butt end and spin the strand until it is twisted to 90% of it’s original length (the masking tape marks the 10%-90% length)
When one strand is twisted I gently place it to the outside of the pegs, and hooking the butt end back onto the head stock for temp. storage.
I then move the second strand to the center of the jig and twist it to length.
To combine the strands I move them both to the center and twist in the opposite direction. As the strand entwine the leader stretches out agian. Twisting is done when it gets back to almost it’s original length and the detached leader is twist free.
I would do a few things different on a new jig…
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I would use some blocks of scrap wood between the channels to give me a little more working room for twisting. The jig currently has about a 1/2" gap between the channels, I wish it was more like 2"
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The tail stock on my jig never gets moved, I would use a design with 4 bolts to increase the rigidity. The head stock slides to be adjusted, using wing nuts would let me move things w/o a wrench. Some times I just leave the head stock in place and use two more pegs instead.
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I made a bunch of ‘S’ hooks from bent paper clips. I now use one at each end loop of each strand. The loops tend to tighten up after twisting and are hard to open again to fit over the head/tail stock studs. The ‘S’ hooks have one end with a small almost closed gap to fit the thread, and a large diameter opening at the other end for slipping over the the head/tail stock studs. I leave the ‘S’ hooks in place at each end untill the leader is finished, makes things much easier to handle.
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Since I use knots to attach my leader instead of loop to loop, I just put a drop of super glue at each end to prevent unraveling and cut the finished leader free of the jig. I build in an extra 2" each end to allow for the tag lengths. The extra length also lets me use a big loop at the start and end of the thread bundle when laying up the jig. The extra strands and knots from the loop are cut out with the tag ends.
[This message has been edited by kengore (edited 25 February 2006).]
[This message has been edited by kengore (edited 25 February 2006).]
[This message has been edited by kengore (edited 25 February 2006).]