Toggles, Deadeyes and Found Wood

I walked home from work today, shaping my first deadeye with my Leatherman tool as I went.  By the time I got home, it was nicely formed and smoothed.  Since the line in the outer rim will be eye spliced tightly on to the deadeye and stationary, it doesn't really have to be perfectly round, so the drill press idea is probably overkill.  I started a couple more of them after I got home.  I'm playing with different ways of forming the groove around the circumference, with mixed results. 

Homemade teak toggles and deadeyes

I also made three toggles  to secure the lines after they pass through the deadeyes.  They're the rectangles in the photo.  Line passes through one hole in the toggle, then through the center of the deadeye, then back through the other hole in the toggle and is tied off there.  This way, when the line is tensioned, the toggle prevents it from slipping.

I also spotted a brush pile in a field along my route home, and found 5 more decent ama attachment sticks.  This puts me close to having enough of those, which is great.  But... it also means that I need to start worrying about the serious wood - the ama, the spars and the outrigger poles.  All of these things are much longer and stouter than what I've found easily in my wanderings.  Hopefully, I'll be able to take stock of what I actually have over the coming weekend, so I can make a plan for finding what I lack.