Making a Knotting Table

8/13/2019 Making a Knotting Table

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Knotting table and tool advice

Making a Knotting Table(or: How you too can take an innocent T. V.

Table and make a weapon of mass

inscrutability from it, in three easy steps.)

Last updated Dec 20 2011

Well, when you think about it, it's a lot easier to buggar up something that's already

been built than it is to

buggar up your own creation f rom scratch.

So, I got meself some of t hose wooden T. V. tables in a set of f our, with a lovely litt le rack for storing

them,

and all for about $50 USD. They're available from TARGET, WALMART, KOHLS (usually), KMART, or

any number

of discount stores. It's a standard "X" leg table and it's all wood. (

The all-wood part is important.)

There are several interest ing features here that need enumeration.

On t he f loor, I have a cheap-o rag rug (appx 60 CM x 1 M), the which are readily available at almost an

Dollar

Store", or at WalMart, K-Mart, Target or other large discount stores. Usually the y're about a dollar oso each

and I'll use one for five or six months and the n just discard it when it gets too dirty to be sustainable

Buy five

or six and store t hem.

This only applies if you're working on a hardwood floor. On concrete, I use a large piece of he avy

cardboard

(sold at most packing stores to make irregular sized boxes or for mailing picture f rames) instead. Th

rug

allows one to slide the t able back or pull it forward without scratching or wearing the hardwood floo

as well

as catching any drips (and there are many/ MANY drips!) of the superglue I'll discuss later. If your

room has

wall-to-wall carpeting, use the sheet of cardboard in conjunction with the cheap rug. I can guarante

you that

drips of superglue on carpet ing are the best way possible to have the local constabulary

investigating your

sudden and violent de mise at the hands of your "Significant Other". DAMHIKT.

Along both short sides I have drilled six holes(REVISED: Make eight or ten holes per side!) at 40

above nadir
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(see the picture and note the clipped skewers sticking out the side of the table top ) the size of a mediu

bamboo

skewer or a litt le larger. From the se skewers I support finished work, work in progress and rolls of

line,

suspending same f rom dowels lashed so that I can get thre e rolls of line suspended vert ically, usual

two

wide. In this ite ration, the first dowel is quite a bit longer than the t op of t he table and I could

actually put four

reels on that one alone.

In the f ront of the table, I took a piece of 1" x 1" oak railing stile and cut it to be the same thickness

as the

table top, then drilled thru it in two places in the front and attached to the leading edge of the table

with four

washers between it and the table's edge. (Provides clearance to pass a line or to sweep off the table

top)

(REVISED: I did not make t he oak item the same length as the tablet op: I recommend you do so as it

provides

more working area. If necessary, add a third screw/washer set in the cente r and space the othe r two

out a bit

more, as you may find required for stability.)

Into the top of this false edge I have drilled two lines of holes, one series 1/4" apart and one series

3/8" apart

from screw to screw. I use these with the clipped skewers to support square knott ing work. Also, I

have

lashed t wo skewers vert ically on the front of t he bar just inboard the screws and I pass a long skewe

under

the se lashings along the top and use that to clamp any work that requires it. Also, at both ends alon

the t op I

have drilled holes which allow me t o store my awls vert ically. (In the picture I have one sitt ing in onc

of the

center holes, but they usually sit to the right in their own holes.) For the holes in the bar, drill only

about 3/4 of

the way thru t he bar... don't

go all the way thru t he workbar or your skewers will drop out and be useless.

DAMHIKT

You' ll also notice two t urk's heads at either end of the bar.... I added them from vanit y, nothing more

They're

useful for holding pins and sail needles but the grommets are basically used only to hold pliers or

nipper's

handles and I find it easier to just put them on the tabletop. Stab myself a lot less, to boot.

(Let me say that if you f ind some cheap bamboo skewers of medium size, buy TEN PACKS of t hem an

store

the m... you will go thru a few each project . Good to have all the same size t o fit t he drilled holes.)


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Along the top away from you (here , look for the multicoloured lines at t he top of the table) you will

see a black

dot. There are two of them, but the other is not visible on the other side of the table. Equally

spaced under

the dots are two larger brass cuphooks. I use them when I do not have quite so much line suspende

beneath the t able and rig a harness which allows me t o suspend a bag or bucket in which I keep abou

5# of

weight. Either the weight OR the line will keep the very lite t able from tipping forward onto you whe

you aretugging on a piece of fancywork. (I find that my dittybags, loaded as the y usually are with a lot of

tools, make a

GREAT counterweight for this!)

ON the t able you will see a white bott le-shaped object. This is my bott le of Super Glue (Cyano

Acrylate) which I

use for everything from "tipping" lines to doing anti- frays, tacking the bott oms of bellropes prior to

covering,

sealing lashings that will be covered by fancy work and the like. I find it totally indispensable, but yo

must

always take into account that once it 's spilled it will not come off t hat surface unless you have some

"debonder" and are lucky. Use it carefully and D O N ' T B R E A T H E T H E F U M E S ! ! ! When

working with

this stuf f, for Chrissake, DO IT OVER THE CARDBOARD OR THE RAG RUG! (We went thru the "why"

already,

innit?) I've had a rag rug become absolutely solid due to the amount of glue dripped upon it.

Consider the

cardboard or rag rug like the sacrificial anode in your water- heater. It's not necessary, but the re will

come a

time when you are VERY glad you had it . DAMHIKT

NOTE: When using superglue you should (1) NOT work with it direct ly under your face so the fumes

do not get

into your eyes or respiratory apparatus and (2) have a f an of some sort blowing ACROSS the work

area to get

the fumes away from you and to promote the set ting of the glue. Trust me, it really DOES help!

Have a good light over your right shoulder, pref erably on a gooseneck so you can get highlights on

the work,

as well as a good general lighting. I, predictably, have neither, but then, I'm already blind. The bet te

the

lighting, the easier the work.

Try to find a comfort able old chair that you don't mind get ting the glue on. If it has exposed legs, so

much the

bet te r, as you can use the legs for tying off gripe points to hold one part of the work while you do

another.


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The other (and MOST important ) accessories are: the TV and VCR/DVD remotes! I will ALWAYS have

something

on the T V or radio... I can't STAND to work in a silent environment . I need somet hing making noise

(preferably

inte lligent ) while I work. Makes the time go faster.

Well, so much for MY table. The one in the picture is from 2006 and I'm still using it, t aking it to show

for

demonstrations and am generally very pleased with the whole t hing.

EXPERIMENT! Try something new to see if it works bett er for you than the above descriptions! If it

does, let

me knowabout it !

If you'll go to the tut orials page

you'll find links and suggestions for line and books, glue and support.

Let me know if t here 's anything else I can lie to you about.

Incidentally, DAMHIKT?"Don't Ask Me How I Know That".
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5/8

I just had occasion to send some similar information to a f riend in Tasmania, having forgot this page

until I

was almost done.

Interest ing to compare them and see what I missed!

Well, he seems a well-spoken young fe lla and he's got some really good ideas! The "nails instead of

skewers" is a nice idea, but I prefer the bamboo... Don't have to worry about rusting! I use a small

waste

basket lined with one of t hose et ernally annoying plastic sacks from the grocers... Into this I can

throw any

trash, use it to catch drips when gluing and the like, then toss the bag and get another... As for t he

hole in

the table, I prefe r to have the "long braid" disappear over the f ar edge of t he table rather t han have

somewhere that my small tools can take shelter from me. I never use heat so that ne ver occurred to

me...

Good idea, though...

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Or, use a radial button below:

Ah! the work bench: mostly from Viet Nam... one of those little tea-table sets of four with a storage rack

Take a piece of 1"

or 1-1/4" square exterior baluster rail (just drive about and find some berk doing deck-work... the small

rail balusters are

superb) what is free from knots and warps, mark and drill holes sufficient to hold a medium-size bambo

skewer end in two

lines. I used English measure, drilling six holes per inch (well, maybe that really WAS a Whitworth

straightedge!) and at 1/4" on

the other line. Drill about 5/8" in on this "hold bar" and you should need no other fancy grips or clampother than the

occasional "Banker's Clip" for starting centre braids

Now, the table's edge is 18" (give or take) so centre the bar on the edge (I cut [ make that 'found'] 14"

bars so that's what I

used) so about three inches in from each end drill a 3" deep hole for a medium sized 4" deck screw, then

drill a bit larger thru

the "hold bar", and get four or five 1/4" washers per side. Start the screw, put on the washer and screw

tight to the edge of

the table, being sure that it's level with and just slightly higher than the tabletop. This will prevent shar

round rolly thingsfrom plunging off the edge and embedding themselves in your (floor) (cat) (foot) (pick whichever apply)

If you use (as do I) a lot of awls, haemostats, prickers, small fids, or other of the aforementioned "sharp,

round, rolly things", do

as I have and drill a myriad of just slightly differing diameter hols THRU the top of the table. Drill som 1"

deep holes in a row

along both sides of the table's top in line with the cleats beneath, so that you go into but not through

them and these make

wonderful spindle points for sailtwine spools or other things you'd like to live vertically so you can see

them.
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On both edges of the table, drill holes large enuf to take the medium skewer: do these at 45 above nad

and you will have a

super place to suspend rolls of line below the table (1). Do at least ten per side, neatly spaced.

Once you have attached the "hold bar" drilled all the extra little holes, explained to Lynn that this is

really a useful as well as an

ugly addition to the living room, come back from the clinic and found that the table is NOT the most

stabile item (I resemble that

remark, Sir!) in the house, obtain two medium size but GOOD quality screw-in cuphooks and attach then

to the UNDERSIDE of

the table OPPOSITE the end that has the "hold bar" on it. From here you can suspend some weight (I

use a ditty bag with my

unneeded-at-the-moment brass snaps and shackles) to keep the table from suddenly launching every-

(censored)-thing on the

surface thereof, including any badly-placed skewers, directly into your frontal area. The rolls of line

suspended (see (1) above)

below the table also help in this stability, but the ditty-bag-on-the-cup-hook routine is a true winner.

Really, that's all she wrote. It's a convenient height for most chairs, either fixed or folding, it folds flat

and is a snap to

transport, if something happens to it, well, just get the next one (you bought four, d'ye ken?) and do

another one.

A tip (and why I said in 4 inches for the screws): take about 18" of nice line you don't mind losing and a

4" length of skewer

and LASH it OUTBOARD the mounting screws on both sides. I do a loop lashing and then, when workin

on a square-knot belt

or the like, I can stick the belt across the bar and hold it as I pull on it with the skewers and the drilled

holes, then slip an un-cut

skewer under the lashing, over the belt and under the other lashing.... now the belt (or whatever) is notmoving in any of the six

directions that my non-mathematical mind cares to deal with.

Clear as mud, I'm quite sure.

So, today (12/20) I get an email from Anders Toberg of Sweden:

Thank you for a very nice and instructive site. Im going to try to give

something back by mentioning some of my own

ideas/experiences which might be of use to you.

Ive set up my own workbench, although not as elaborate as yours,

but it has a couple of features which I find immensely

useful:

A hole in the middle. Sometimes, when working with a long braid or

something like that, it s nice to just have someplace

where the end can disappear to reduce clutter.


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Rulers. I have the surf ace as a ruled cm-grid, with each 5 and 10 cm marked with heavier line. Very usef ul

to reduce waste,

as you can learn how much rope you need (take extensive notes and learn f rom them!) and cut

accordingly. Cool looking and

perhaps occasionally usef ul, a set of concentric circles around the center hole, also at cm intervals, just

like the ruled grid.

A hook to hang a garbage bag. Its much less boring to clean up as you go than to do it af terwards

A holder f or my soldering iro n (jus t a couple o f eye-bolts and a piece o f sheet metal to protect my right

knee). I usually work

with paracord or other nylon ropes, and its good to have a hot so ldering iron ready, so I dont have to

wait f or it to heat up.

Instead of bamboo skewers, I simply use ordinary four inch nails with the tip f iled blunt.

I also use some tools extensively which are not listed on your page:

Calculator. Good rope is expensive as hell here, so I dont want to waste it. A calculator helps me reduce

waste.

Tape measure. Used in combination with the calculator.

I would also suggest using piano wire for your line pullers. It will hold up much better.

Once again, thanks for an excellent site, it has been a great help for me as a beginner, and its a site I

suspect I will come back

to over and over again.

Merry Christmas from Sweden,

Anders Troberg


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Making a Knotting Table