Whip #4 (Page 1 of 2)

Looking good Hayes, like Ron I also work in 3s and once you know where your belly will end you can do a simple bit of math to work out the drop points, most people eyeball it but I'm very OCD also when you end bellies binding them up can cause kinks in the whip so you do a temporary binding with tape or just finish bellies with a twisted taper (that's my current method)
All in all you eventually find a way that works best for you, we all have our own little ways

Referring to 1/3s, for me, is just that. I bind, as you suggested, closer / tighter at the handle end, and further apart / looser as it goes along to the tip.

I actually do that in layers. I will divide the length to be bound by..... you guessed it, 3. One pass to 1/3, and back up. The next pass to 2/3 and back up. The last to the remaining length to be bound and back up. This naturally helps promote a taper and a natural stiffness / flexibility with out having to overthink it.

I end the bellies with a 4 strand TT, with one of the last two strands going into the other. Then there's no need to tie-off or tape the end of the belly.

Binding the transition with the layered approach, can create a pregnant python looking transition. So, you will have to watch for that.

As for dropping strands, I let the whip tell me when to drop, and over rule it when needed. Bunching means drop, spaces means you dropped too soon.

I used to try to do it mathematically, but more often than not I would end up dropping too soon, or sometimes too late. Now paying attention to what the whip is showing me and drop , or add, accordingly.

But let your experience take you where it will with each successive build to find the method that works best for you.

Ron

Ross, I really like your work so far, you seem very detail-oriented, but then I would expect that of a woodworker. I drop strands as Ron describes. If you get a nice smooth taper started with the core then the rest of it just works itself out. Start your belly or overlay with enough strands to give you an angle of approximately 60 to 80 degrees (some whip makers like a flatter angle, some prefer a sharper angle,) and when it starts to get too steep (max 90 degrees) drop a strand.

Very nice!  You see exactly, the process for a good whip can be shown in many formats but there’s no replacement for making the whip, and learning the process.

Thanks Andrew, I hope not too many more before a method develops!  This one got finished  last night and a handle  made this morning.  I have a couple more photos  how the handle was made if anyone is interested.

No trick but the flood gate might open!

First thing was select a drill bit slightly less than 3/4", in this case 11/16". 

Next was select a piece of maple about 1-1/4" x 16" and drill the end. 

Then turn a spigot sized to fit the hole in the handle. Driving the blank this way centers it well.

Rough shape the handle and confirm hole depth while collar area is still oversize then turn to shape desired.  This handle was sanded with 120 grit, 180, and 220.   Bees wax applied to spinning handle and melted in with a piece of paper towel as a quick finish. 

Should finish this in the next day or so.

Here is #4 completed.  It cracks pretty well without much difficulty from my.  Thong length ended up close to 6' in spite of setting out to make it 5'.  My thought is that it could have been 10" shorter at the handle end but that may change over time. 

Hayes, it all goes together very well.
Nice taper and the handle looks very sleek.
Good job.

How does it crack?

Ron

Nice build! And that handle fits very well!