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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Homemade Snowshoes Advocate Issues Additional Tips

Long-time industry snowshoe building advocate, Carl Heilman, has released an addendum to his widely publicized article on making your own homemade snowshoes. The additional points of clarification follow:

It is possible to split two bows from each quarter-log if you lay them out as in the accompanying illustration. After a bow is split off (either by using a circular saw to rip the length of the log at a point 1 inch from the hand-split edge, or by gradually tapping an axe along a line parallel to the hand-split edge), excess wood can be removed from the heartwood side with a power saw . . . to produce the roughly 1 " X 1-1/8" X 8' bow, which is then shaved into shape. (If you don't have access to a shaving bench, the bow can be clamped to a solid surface while you work it with a drawknife.) Snowshoe builders are also cautioned when choosing copper nails to connect the two halves of a shoe's tail not to drive the fasteners through the wood. Instead, drill the bow first, then cut the nail to a bit longer than the width of the tail and washer, slip it through, and gradually peen the end of the nail over the washer with many light taps from a ball-peen hammer. (By the way, the tail of the snowshoe aids in "tracking" . . . that is, it helps keep the shoes pointed straight ahead as you walk through the woods.) When choosing lacing material—either rawhide or neoprene—keep in mind that the former will prove best for dry snow, while the latter is a better "all condition" lacing. (Rawhide will become stretchy and soak up water in wet weather, but not so badly that it can't be used under such conditions.) And when lacing rawhide, do stretch the material, but use common sense and don't apply too much force. As you walk in your snowshoes (you'll probably want to wear them with high-top moccasins and wool socks in dry snow . . . felt pack or good leather hiking boots will serve under most conditions), be careful not to allow one shoe to step on the other, and remember never to let a snowshoe "bridge" between two high points.

Homemade Snowshoes Advocate Issues Additional Tips

posted by daily-noise-news-syndicate-staff at 3:28 PM

 
 
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