[nobby2 (Neil)]

The only variable I hadn't tried was the choice of wood. I was using pine as I didn't have any handy hardwood.
Today I did a quick and rough job using an Australian Hardwood ?? possibly blackbut, from my builder next door neighbour (handy) and it works just fine. The close grain timber must exhibit more flexibility than pine. It required very little force and i can even use a nylon wing nut (short term test).

Thanks Matt you guessed it!

Today I also started tidying up my spreadsheet for the basic balance test. Its the Krieg and Berry weight and distance calculation from the balance point. As I am using much heavier timber on the prototype its not going to give me the desired result however it provides a framework for future use.