Birthday Build

[BrokenolMarine]

I've still got time, Miss T's Birthday is still a few days away.

[rickhem]

The CA glue finish sounds interesting.
I built some saltwater fishing plugs some years ago, and those finished up with a two part epoxy called EnviroTex. It's supposedly not rock-hard like some other epoxies, and helps keep the plugs sealed even after a few fish chew on them. The people that helped me do these said that the EnviroTex stayed flexible, and was a better finish than other epoxies.
The CA finish sounds neat, your work time is short and the coating is thinner, but it's rock hard when cured. I've used the CA and baking soda trick to fill gaps and voids, and that works amazingly well, just never thought of the CA itself as a finish.
Your threads just keep on giving!

[BrokenolMarine]

I have used all three CA glues in my woodworking to fill gaps and cracks, then sanded them smooth. I use fine sawdust from the same area on the wood, pre-stain it with the stain I plan to use there, or stain it very dark, then fill the hole and add the CA. The glue soaks in. I let it cure, repeat until the fill is proud, then sand off flush. I can usually find the repair, but others rarely comment on them. If you like, I'll post a pic when I get back to my desktop.

[Hatchdog]

The contrast between the pins and the scales is outstanding!

[BrokenolMarine]

The contrast between the pins and the scales is outstanding!

I like the fact that the scales appear to have gold swirls in them.

[BigAl52]

Looks really good BOM. Im sure Miss T will love it

[BrokenolMarine]

I had gone out this morning and applied the first coat of CA finish to this project. As I said earlier, I had never done it before, and like all the rest of the knifemaking, I "Watched YouTube videos" and was ready to give 'er a go. Ah... it wasn't nearly as smooth as I had hoped. I laid out all the supplies, made a last pass at the sanding with 1500 grit, and wiped 'er down with a moist cloth to insure there was no dust or grit.

I donned my gloves, got my lint free cloth and made the first swipe across the scales with the thin CA glue. The grain and scale lit up beautifully. This was going to work grea... what? The little bleed thru from the rag ate thru the rubber glove like the creatures blood thru the floors and everything else in the movie "Alien!" It also burned the tip of my finger INSIDE The glove.

Not a good start.

Doubled, then tripled the rag, and stripped off the gloves. Sheesh. I added more CA glue and made another swipe. LOOKS great. Turned the knife and made another pass, turned and pass, turned and pass, turned and pass, and an overlap. Ugggh. A bit of a lump. Well, they said you might get some bumps, but you do sand between coats to get that sheen.

Put the knife in the clamp to hold it vertical to cure. Went in for breakfast and coffee. I came back out and it looked pretty good as I walked up to the bench, but... up close there were a lot of rough areas. Began wet sanding for the between coat work.

29 wet sanding CA finish.jpg

I started at 600 grit and worked my way all the way around the scales. Rinsed and was disappointed to learn that there was still sanding to do. Got a new piece, spritzed the sandpaper and got to work. With the paper wrapped around the pink eraser and music in the background, I got to it. Rinsed and ... still had areas that looked like... um... didn't look good. Got new paper and settled in. Put 'er in the vise and went to work.

30 up to 1500 grit.jpg

An hour later, working up thru 1000 and 1500 grit, we were looking good. ALL the CA was gone and she was looking good again.

31 thats nice.jpg

[BrokenolMarine]

What to do now? I fell back on a tried and true remedy. All that sanding had proven one thing. The synthetic scale was HARD as a rock. So, I'd use my old faithful....

32 old faithful.jpg

I applied the first coat, and as it dried I started to clean up. I came back and buffed out coat one, and applied a second. They get easier as you go along. More cleaning and quicker drying time. Buff and apply, then come back. She looks good.

33 three coats.jpg

Started on the design and layout of the sheath, should be finished in time for the boss's birthday.

34 started on the sheath.jpg

I'm not ruling out the CA finish, I'll give it a try on some scrap wood when I'm in the shop and bored and see if I can figure it out. Or not. It may not make it to my quiver... I can't master every technique. Some folks are masters, some are satisfied to hack at it.

[BigAl52]

Never seen any hacking in the BOM shop. Looks great

[BrokenolMarine]

Got back to work in the shop on the sheath, and after fiddling with the actual leather, test folding and checking to see if the knife would actually fit, I transferred the pattern to the leather.

35 transferred the sheath.jpg

Playing around with the knife on the leather, I figured out where the welt needed to go, and how it needed to be laid out, and sketched it into the leather of the sheath. I needed to transfer that to a pattern that I could put on the raw leather so I could cut out a welt. I had come up with a trick to use that has worked well in the past. Take clear tape, and join the sticky faces together to form a clear stiff (ish) piece to lay over the area to be traced.

36 A neat trick.jpg

Get the piece lined up and ready, and use a fine tip marker and trace your pattern.

37 overlay the welt.jpg

Go over the lines several times after the initial trace once you are done so they are bold.

38 welt traced.jpg

Now you can cut out the pattern and transfer it to the raw leather, and cut out the welt to be used on your sheath.