Clay Bar
Clay bars are available at auto parts stores. They come in different grades (this blue bar is a #1/Fine) and sizes (at 100 grams, this is one of the smallest). It cost around $12 and comes in a resealable pouch to keep it from accumulating grit.
SBM
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Having grown up with both horses and wooden boats, farrier’s rasps have always had a place on my bench. To that end, farrier’s rasps come in many different grades: they’re all quite aggressive, but a “Black Master,” for instance, will give a smoother finish cut than a “Red Tang,” which is in turn better for fast stock removal (I use both). Good feed stores and farrier’s supply stores will have a selection of brands and models to choose from. And don’t buy the cheap ones; like any other tool, you generally get what you pay for.
Thanks, clay bar and farrier’s rasp. I will try both!
I learned a version of the rolling hitch in the Boy Scouts. It was called the Taut-Line hitch, and we used it to tighten the guy lines on tents, etc. Looks like pretty much the same knot.
Yes, the Taut-line hitch is the same thing. I should have mentioned that as it is pretty well known, but I didn’t find it by that name in Ashley’s. I had thought the taut-line hitch worked because the line looped through the eye of a tent stake, and the tension on the standing part of the line helped the knot function, but the rolling hitch creates friction and will hold itself in place even if the standing part of the line is slack.
We have used farrier rasps for years to clean up gobs of epoxy. They save a lot of 36-grit paper.
The sliding hitch reminds reminds me of the mountaineer’s Prusik knot (a loop of line used to ascend a rope), which I have used while boating.
The Prusik knot is another kind of friction hitch. It is usually tied with a closed loop of cord wrapped around a climbing rope and has two or even three turns on both the high side and the low side.