The Device And The Choice Of Braids (part 2)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Part 2. Read part 1

When the canvas is prepared, you need to pick up a handle (kosovishche) for it. The author of numerous publications about braids N. Rodionov advises using a Christmas tree for this purpose. Here is what he writes: “The braid (the handle of the braid) must be elastic and strong. Such properties are possessed by a kosovish made, for example, from flat young spruce”.

I am by no means going to dispute this statement, but following the advice of experienced mowers who thoroughly know their business, I use exclusively aspen for mowing. For spruce, firstly, has heavy wood, and secondly, spruce is always very knotty, and knots are the weak point of any wood. Aspen is lightweight and strong enough.

I also happened to see braids with a braid made of metal. For example, a homemade braid had a braid made of an aluminum pipe. In the 80s, one could find a small braid in the store, also equipped with an aluminum braid.

But since we are talking about a braid made of wood, we will continue talking about it … The chosen braid with a length of 170-200 centimeters must be dried. Otherwise, the wet wood will dry out during operation, the canvas will begin to dangle on the mow, and the mowing will turn into continuous torment.

To secure the braid at the end of the kosovishche with a knife or ax, a bevel is made at an angle of 20-30 degrees, 7-10 centimeters long. In the center of the bevel, perpendicular to the blade, a recess is hollowed out (see Figure 6). It should be such that the fore-end (protrusion on the heel of the braid) fits freely in it. We sharpen the free end of the string. This is convenient in that when sharpening the blade, the stitch with its sharp end abuts the ground and does not slip.

You can fix the braid on the handle in different ways: in the old fashioned way - using metal split and continuous clamps with a lag screw (see Figure 7, pos. 1 and 2). And you can also use more modern methods, for example, weld the braid to a piece of pipe or fix the braid to the braid using a bolt and nut (see Figure 7, pos. 3 and 4).

And yet the most common, simple and reliable method of fastening is with a metal ring and a wooden wedge (see Figure 7, pos. 5). Any metal pipe of a suitable diameter is suitable for the ring. The width of the ring is 30-40 millimeters, the thickness is as small as possible. Instead of one ring, you can use two narrower ones.

Now let's get down to the wedge. Its only, but extremely important function is to keep the heel pressed against the bevel of the handle in the ring. And here, unconditional preference should be given to a wedge from an apple tree trunk or branch. In the absence of such, the use of birch or mountain ash is permissible.

There are several requirements for a wedge. First of all, it must occupy the entire space in the ring, without gaps, in order to exclude the shift during mowing, both of the forearm and of the wedge itself. When the wedge is driven into the ring, its upper end should be flush with the butt of the braid. That is, flush. And the lower end protrudes so much from the ring that, if necessary, it can be easily knocked out (see Figure 8).

For the braid to be fully ready for work, it remains to attach the handle. It is placed on the kosovishte according to the height of the mower. It is done like this … The scythe is placed with its pointed end on the ground, and a mark is made at the level of the mower's navel. This is where the handle is installed for a particular person. The handle is usually positioned at a 45-degree angle to the plane passing through the belt and braid. Before putting the handle on the string, it is advisable to hold it in water for 3-4 days. This increases the chance that it will not crack when installed.

The handle is most often made of sufficiently elastic wood (bird cherry, vines and other tree species). On a handle 35-40 centimeters long and 2.5-3 centimeters thick, a notch is selected for about a third of the thickness. And sometimes half. Its length is about 8 centimeters.

Then a groove is made in the groove (see Figure 9, pos. 3), which prevents the workpiece from cracking when bending it around the string. At the ends of the blank handle, grooves are cut for a cord or wire (see Figure 9, pos. 4).

In the place where the handle will fit the string, we put a coarse-grained strip of sandpaper or a thin rubber gasket with a grained surface outward.

Then we take the handle by the ends, bend it around the string and tighten it with a strong cord or soft wire. Copper is desirable, as aluminum wire stains hands. We carefully hide the ends of the wire so that they do not accidentally hurt the hand during mowing. Cut off the part of the handle wood that has broken off from the outside with a knife.

The handle can be made from an aluminum tube of a suitable diameter. The technology is the same as for wood. Only the tube should be flattened very carefully. This should be done gradually, every now and then trying it on in the Kosovishte. If you flatten a lot at once, it may turn out that the ends of the tube will close around the braid and there will be nowhere to insert your fingers.

Remember that the gap between the ends of the handle should be at least 4-5 centimeters. Holes are drilled at the ends to tighten them. In order for the handle not to budge, you can cut a shallow groove on the string, just under it. Or drill a tiny hole from the back of the handle and drive a stud into it.

Sometimes DIYers make and fix the handle in their own way (see Figure 10). It turns out to be reliable and practical. It is with such a handle that the braid is depicted in the painting by I. Glazunov: "Mower". For this purpose, a wooden file handle or any straight stick of the appropriate diameter is suitable - such that it is convenient to hold it in your hand. Through holes with a diameter of no more than three millimeters are drilled in the stick and kosovishche. The hole can be pierced with a hot steel bar.

The braid and the handle are connected so that the holes match. A long bolt is inserted into them, no matter which side. So that part of the thread protrudes outward. We screw the nut onto it and tighten both parts. Be sure to place flat washers under the bolt head and under the nut. Otherwise, the head of the bolt and nut, when pulled, will cut deeply into the wood, and it will be difficult to hold and unscrew them with a wrench.

A significant drawback of a handle with a bolt is that it is designed for the height of a certain person, and you can no longer move it up or down in a string. However, it is enough to make one or two more holes in the stitch at different heights and thereby eliminate this drawback. However, any holes in the braid will, to some extent, weaken its strength. Which is highly undesirable.