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Each nettle would have to be a different length. Imagine you wanted the distance from the ring to the hammock body to be 10 inches.
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This is where creativity can really take hammocks places. But if you want to get even more creative you vary the length of each nettle. A 50 inch wide hammock should have a 25 inch nettle. For a basic clew the nettles should be the length of half the width of the hammock. The length of the nettles will determine how it affects the hammock. Each strand that descends from the weaved area is called a nettle. The clew is a real piece of magic for comfort and flexibility. This helped to stop the nettles from sliding off. You will notice in the photo that I have a single line of white rope attached to each nail. Your platform needs to be how ever long your nettles need to be plus a few inches. So, if your hammock is 50 inches wide then your nettle needs to be 25 inches long. Generally the clew should be the length of half the width of your hammock body. The length of the nettles will determine how wide the clew will open. If you are going to use larger diameter rope then you would most likely want the space between each nail to be wider and the platform as well, but not by much. In this case you would need the platform to be 13 to 14 inches wide. You are creating a clew with 12 nettles and you think one inch between each nettle would be adequate. I have my nails about one inch apart and that is fine for weaving and placing. The question to answer ask oneself is, "Is it wide enough for ease of use?" the distance between each nail won't have an affect on the clew. The width of the platform isn't the most important. There is a four inch gap between where the ring is placed and the edge of the platform, which makes it easier to weave the clew together.
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this simple platform jig lets the user place finishing nails anywhere desired. I wanted something that would let me create vastly different types of clews without having to make many different jigs. was that I didn't want to go buy wood when I scrap pieces sitting around. There were two reasons I created this jig. Follow his instructions and your hammock can become a real slice of heaven.Īfter creating my first clews I decided that I hadn't explored enough how clews can create an amazing hammock.
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Hansen has a simple "picture frame" jig that is great for creating a pattern type clew and there is nothing wrong with that. I suspect that as clews are explored a smaller hammock body and clew could increase comfort while decreasing packing size and possibly weight. I would also like to challenge any mindsets that clews don't belong on camping hammocks and that they are made with bulky rope. In this post I would like to share some basic information on creating a jig and information on nettles that shows just how practical it can be to make them. Derek Hansen has created a wonderful video tutorial on how to create a clew so there is no reason to try and recreate what he has done. Or it can be just following a pattern, nothing wrong that. But once the basics, and I mean there is only a few basics involved, making clews can become more about creativity and exploration than frustration. As expected, the first time for anything is slow because you are going into the unknown. Picture0309142240_1 by bohlmann.eric, on Flickr