: Thanks Paul! I kept trying to figure out what type of scarf I could use, and
: the one you showed looks like a really good one. How long to you think it
: should be?

Standard size for a scarf joint would be 12 to 1. For a 1 1/4 inch thick loom you would have the taper extend over 15 inches. Allow for this overlap -- and a bit more, when you make the loom.

It might be easiest to make the scarffor the loom first, the secure it temporarily with string until the paddle blades are attached. This way you don't have the paddle blades getting in the way as you cut the scarf, and you cna trim the loom to length after your scarf is done, cutting an even amount from each end to get the scarf centered on the loom.

A 15-inch-long joint is going to spread the forces over a large area, and be nearly as strong as the original materials. But it is a big area to cover with lashings! If you cover the entire area with a continous lashing that is a lot of wrapping. Consider three lashings about 2 to 3 inches long. One in the center and the others by each end.

: I had thought of maybe using dowells instead of hooks like in your picture.
: Just a little different way to suit the same purpose I think.

If you cut the tapers full length, without any stops at all, then you could make the stops by drilling a hole, centered on the line of the taper, where a stop should be. Use epoxy to glue the dowel to one side. It will obviously project out of this half circle, and form your stop. Once the epoxy has hardened you can remove any part of the dowel which entends out from the shaft, and re round that part of the loom. If you go this way, you could cut your loom halves at a taper on a table saw, then use a router to groove the length of the taper. Or, for the wavy pattern shown in the previous illustration, you could cut this on a table saw with the blade tilted. There would be lots of trial and probably lots of errors in your setup.

After that the drilling and glued in dowels would create your stops. Personally, I wouldn't use dowels inserted perpendicularly to the scarf, because I think you would need to fit them a bit loosely in order to easily assemble the loom. Then again, they might get wet and swell inside their holes, and make it hard to take the paddle apart. Inserting the dowels as stops will allow you to use the bindings to always draw the pieces tightly together, despite slight swelling or shrinkage of the stop over time.

: So after fitting this joint would you drill a couple of holes for lashings
: and then wrap the whole thing with sinew after it is lashed?

You don't need any additional holes for lashings. Wrapping the thing with the sinew IS the lashing. I would avoid any holes other than where the stops go.

You would put on a lashing like you would lash the end of a rope. You lay a loop of sinew on the loom about 1/2 inch longer than your lashing will be. Then bury that loop by covering it with wrappings which go around the loom. Keep these neat and tight. When the loop is nearly covered, stick the end of your sinew in the remaining hole. pulling on the free end of the loop drags the end of your sinew under the tightly wrapped lashing, securing it.

If I get a chance I'll try to draw a picture, or find one already drawn somewhere on the web.

Good luck with your project.

PGJ