Reference Booklet

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RikJohnson
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Reference Booklet

Post by RikJohnson »

per udwin in the weapons thread:
gather my own sap, keeping my eyes open for resinous trees on college campuses usually. You're looking for the hardened globs that ooze out where limbs have been cut/broken off or the bark damaged (fresh sap is too sticky!)
I've found the ideal mixture is about 70% resin/sap, ~25% finely powdered charcoal, and ~5% beeswax. (When I first tried making it, I used about 50:50 sap:charcoal, and it was much too brittle) It is possible to over-cook it (makes it brittle), so you really only need as much heat as will make it fully sticky and workable.
I carry a small waterproof hiking booklet in my range box. Within I put notes on spine, brace, bow anatomy, info on my bows such as string length, etc. Basically anything that i may find useful when I am making archery gear and need to purchase items or remember but cannot remember 'exactly' what I should.

I also have a camping-foods booklet with notes that range from what a tsp or tablespoon of herbs looks like in your palm to conversions to staples to buy before a paddle-trip dopwn a river to simple recipies I like.

NOW, thanks to the above quote, I am making a MER notebook.
This will be filled with my bow-stats, Period references and... vital info like Udwin's formulae for pine glue or how to make oil-cloth to Period foods.
This one will be a home-made booklet or one I find at the renfaire that is small enough for a pouch and looks Period. The one concession will be a pencil or modern pen as dragging out the ink-pot each time i see a great note like this will be a messy pain.
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Elleth
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by Elleth »

Oh that sounds very fun!

Will this be something to carry? Or to keep at home?

I've a "field book" of sorts planned, though there's a number of projects inline ahead of it.
Now that you mention it though, a sort of reference / formulary for the home sounds useful as well!


I'm curious to see what yours will look like!
Is there a particular organization you have in mind?
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Brownno
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by Brownno »

This seems like I great idea to work on especially since I may need this in the future.
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RikJohnson
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by RikJohnson »

My thoughts are that it is not a "how-to-be-a-ranger" instruction book but more of a reference book filled with notes so I do not have to rely on my increasingly poor memory.

Example, there are so many formulae for pine glue, sometimes I get confused as to the best formula because i may be remembering a formula that didn;t work well. So I can turn to whatever page has that and see a drawing of a pitch stick and the formula to jog my mind.

or: a list of my bows with their draw weights and string lengths so I can reference the book when I need a new string and i happen to be near the shop instead of heading home and measuring the bow each time i need one.

or: a list of the best local woods for a bow-drill.

or: drawings of local plants that can be food or medicine like local ephedra which is called "Mormon Tea" here but is different from other Ephedra which is toxic.

I want the book to be small enough to fit into a pouch so I can haul it with me both when trekking and when out shopping like i do with my 'to buy' booklet. No real pattern thoug h once filled, I'll buy a replacement and organize the thing so my Mark-1 version will probably be a loose-leaf notebook to fill, then I can rearrainge the pages when I transfer it to my actual Period book.

I carry a notebook with foods to buy for camping trips, recipies for simple camping meals and other things I need so when I am out and see a hardware store, I can open the book and see.. "oh, I need more linseed oil for my arrows and what is the name of that really great glue to fletch my arrows?"
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Brownno
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by Brownno »

Yea what I was saying is that I may need to start one pretty soon with plants and other things from Wisconsin
The mountains are calling and I must go.
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
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Manveruon
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by Manveruon »

Honestly, it's a pretty great idea, and I might have to consider doing something similar myself. I'm terrible about keeping track of random pertinent information of that kind.
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RikJohnson
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Here is an example

Post by RikJohnson »

These are some random pages (three jpgs of 9 pages actually) from my Archery Range Book that I keep in my range-box.

Image
Image
Image

The idea is a memory jog, NOT a how-to book.
I see the same for a Ranger Book, just a bunch of notes so I don't have to remember which is which and get confused as unless I make pitch-glue sticks all the time, I tend to loose memory or confuse different thoughts on the best formula and why.

Some things would be universal such as pitch-glue and the weights/length of my bow and such. Other things would be specific like edible plants in your area and whick plants to avoid.
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RikJohnson
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Re: Reference Booklet

Post by RikJohnson »

Just started work today during break.
I had a selection of books from a fiber-cover bok of hand-made pages from Indonesia (too large) to a Hobbit Journal (way too large) and so on. pics later.

I settled on a book that was the right size but of mass-manufacture. I can make a leather cover later.

Pages so far are:
- map of middle earth for decoration
-My Bow weights & string length for reference.
-Pine Sap glue, formulae and warnings.
-Oilskin Tarp, how to make and warning.
-Bow Drill, types of wood to use.
-Charcloth
-Arrow Shaft sizes & String formula.

These are simply memory jogs and NOT a 'How to be a Ranger" book.

It's like anything else. A computer geek who works with computers all day every day doesn't need to read up on HTML, he remember it all easily. But for someone like me who codes only every other month when I need to update my personal website, I need the HTML-for-dummies book to look up all those codes! This is the same, a reference and memory job i can carry with me.
Those who give up a little freedom in place of a little security will soon discover that they possess neither.
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