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Flax Brake: a Double-Cleft Hand Brake in Hardwood
The brake breaks the dried woody core of retted flax into fragments and leaves the fibre whole. A hinged hardwood sword drops between thin boards set edgewise in a frame; a double cleft is handier than a single one.
The picture: a simple single-cleft brake (Лапоть, CC0).
Intermediate
Two days
Instructions
1
1
Legs and base
Legs and base
Cut two plank legs. Mortise one into a heavy hardwood block so the brake stands solid, and join the legs with two stretchers.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank2 pieces
Hardwood Block1 pieceTools needed:
Hand Saw
Mortise Chisel
Wooden Mallet
Try Square
Pencil2
2
Frame
Frame
Set three thin boards on edge between the legs, ends mortised in, leaving two even gaps. Bevel their top edges toward the front, but not sharp.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank1 pieceTools needed:
Hand SawMortise ChiselWooden Mallet
Spokeshave3
3
Sword
Sword
Shape the sword from one piece: two laths that fork over the middle board, a handle at the front. Bevel the lower edges, not sharp. Bore it and the back leg for a wooden pin.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank1 pieceTools needed:
Hand Saw
DrawknifeSpokeshave
Auger
Rasp4
4
Pin and test
Pin and test
Whittle a hardwood pin and fit the sword. Check that it drops into the gaps without bottoming out; plane the laths if it binds. Lay a dried flax bundle across and strike: roots first, then tips, then the length.
Tools needed:
DrawknifeWooden MalletSpokeshave5
5
Sword travel
Sword travel
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Materials
2- 4 piecesPlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
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