other ailments that keep us from doing what we love, here's a neat little trick I picked up from
Wayne Shelden.
The preform is supported on a beveled block of wood that has a layer of leather glued to it. There
is a second piece on top of that one to keep the torque only on the flake being removed. Your almost
guaranteed to break the point or blade without it.
I place the Ishi stick through an eye-bolt, which is fastened to the top of my workbench, and apply an
upperward pulling motion to remove the flakes from the bottom. The measurement for the boards under
the eye-bolt are: top; 2"x 8 3/4"x 3/4" & bottom; 4"x 8 3/4"x 3/4". These create a shelf for the block to
rest on. I mounted a board on the back to keep it from pushing away while flaking.
I've had numerous e-mails requesting measurements for the block, so here goes. The top portion is
from a piece of treated decking: 7 1/2"x 4 1/2". As you can see, it has been beveled on a table saw
and notched where the flake removal takes place. The bevel isn't critical. You can shim up or down
with rubber pads under the base to control the angle. I did, as I said before, cut out what the Ishi
would have chewed up anyway from the notch. From the front of the block, to the back of the throat
the length is 2". This is the back that the point or blade rests against and will need to be deeper for
wider blades. :-)
I also added two wedges to each side of the bottom. They're: 4 1/4"x 2 1/2" and tapered from 7/8" - 0"
and glued on with rubber cement. These help with the angle I've gotten good results from. Try and
experiment ... you may find something that works better for your particular needs.
Several people have asked about the tip on my stick, so I've included a picture of it and another
of a point I was working on so you'll be able to see how much control you actually have. By turning
the tip flat you can get wide flakes and thinner ones from a verticle approach. It's curved to keep from
getting a double strike on follow through. Once you get started you'll see what I mean.
Wayne has his whole setup mounted on a stump and takes it everywhere as he travels to the different
knap-in's. If you have an opportunity to see him in action, pull up a chair and watch. He makes it look
like a barrel of fun ... which it is, once you get the hang of it and is a super nice guy to be around!
The old block, in the top left corner, is one he let me have for a pattern. There's also one for making
short flutes, but you have to move the backstop to use it.
Give it a try, seems to work rather well ...
