Page 255 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Figure 6-60. Leathering a stretch of wire. To deter- Figure 6-62A. To leather a straight taper, such as an
mine circumference, wrap a piece of leather around oar, measure the circumferences of the oar bole at the
the wire. positions where the leather top and bottom will lie.
Draw a midline of the required length on the leather,
and lay out the half-circumference distances on either
side of the midline, top and bottom. Connect the top
and bottom corners to make the taper.

Figure 6-61. The Baseball Stitch, a double-needle
technique, requires a fathom of waxed twine per foot
of leathering on each needle. The twine is middled on Figure 6-62B. To shape a piece of leather for an
the needle, making a 3-foot working length per foot of irregular taper, such as an Eyesplice, measure cir-
leathering an awkward arrangement. In starting the cumferences at regular intervals along the splice and
stitch, the needles are passed in opposite directions, in plot the respective half-circumferences on either side
complete round turns, through both end holes in the of the leather’s midline. In either case, straight or
leather. This tends to distort the corners of the leather. tapered, deduct ⁄16 to ⁄8 inch for elasticity, depend-
1
1
For a much more efficient stitch, see Figure 6-63. ing on the leather.
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