MAKE YOUR OWN SNOWSHOES

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SHAPE THE BOW

You can rip a rough bow from the quartered log, using a circular power saw and a rip guide (or split off the section by gradually and lightly tapping a froe down the log's length until it separates along the line you want). If necessary, remove any excess wood with a wide chisel and wedges, so that the cross section extends 1" in from the inner edge of the bark and measures about 1-1/8" in the other direction. Check the bow for slight blemishes, then cut it down to 82" in length . . . and save the leftover piece to produce crossbars for use on the snowshoe frame.

Next, shave the wood to the right dimensions: The thickness of the completed bow (measuring inward from the bark) should taper from 1/2" at the ends . . . to 3/4" in the areas that will form the sides of the finished shoe . . . and back to 1/2" at the middle of the bow (which will become the snowshoe's foe). Be sure that the sides adjacent to the bark-covered edge (which, once shaped, should be 3/4" wide) are at right angles to it . . . and leave the bark on through the steaming process to come. (When the finished bow is placed on the jig, the bark side will run around the outer border of the shoe.) Mark the center of the bow with a pencil, and you'll be ready to form the hand-split beauty into a recognizable snowshoe shape.

STEAM AND BEND THE FRAME

First, put together a simple steaming box from two 8-foot 1 X 6's. Rip a 2" strip from each one, and glue and nail the four pieces together, using butt joints, to form a long, rectangular box measuring about 2" X 2"inside. Then cut two blocks to cover the ends ... drill an opening for the spout of a teakettle in one and a couple of small steam-escape holes in the other . . . and attach them to the box (hinge one so that the bow can be easily inserted and removed). Seal the seams carefully, since the sides of this container should be as steam-tight as possible. The bow must be exposed to the hot vapors in the box for a minimum of two hours ... otherwise it could snap when you try to bend it onto the jig.

When the wood has been thoroughly steamed, you'll want to work it quickly and smoothly onto the drying frame. Hook the center (which you marked earlier) under the protruding block at the curved end of the jig. Then carefully bend the bow around the stretchers on the toe section, below the ends of the upper block at the middle, and down into the V-shaped heel. There, secure the frame with small wooden wedges and hold the tail pieces together with a C-clamp. Tap the tail gently to one side or the other to straighten it, and lightly hammer any sections that seem to be out of line.

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