Advice on Joint Hemping

[Bram]

Basically when you are finishing a joint you don't put a full layer of hemp on. When you have a full contact but loose sliding fit, just a few turns of hemp will make a big difference.

I second the advice to keep tension on the hemp as high as you can, especially on the first few layers. Another helpful trick is to 'roll' it: get a stout piece of flat wood and roll the tenon being hemped between the wood and a hard surface (kitchen worktops are generally ideal) to compress it, which means you have to do much less touching up later on.

Good advice. Even windings of hemp as far as you can, and then 2 or 3 "spiral" turns of unwaxed hemp seals the deal! Season to taste as they say.

PS check that your stocks are not unevenly worn, and don't over build up the hemp at the base of the tenon (ie, the last bit that slides in) you want parallel hemping inserting into a parallel stock bore as much as possible.

[One Pipes]

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