A New Build (Along)

[BrokenolMarine]

BACK on track... Sorta... at least talking about the shop, knife work, and the project. LOL.

I spent the time working on getting the shop set up and cleaned. I have been rearranging, and thought you might like to see the knife bench(s); well, the main ones. The 1" belt sander would be behind me in this pic.

111 knife bench.jpg

On the opposite side of the knife benches, would be the leather working benches, back to back.... this way I can reach many of the tools that work for both. Plus the paper towels and the tape in the roller rack and the optivisor and sharpening strope on the sides.

112 leather bench.jpg

So... while waiting for the drill bit, I looked at the next project. THIS will definately be a keeper, unless someone wants to cough up around $300 to $350 to take it. The costs involved in the project will run around $225. The blank was around $150+ The wood is cocobolo, and the inlays will be turquoise and nickel silver including the corby bolts. Note that the turquoise in the picture is REAL and not an imitation plastic. Came directly from the mine.

The blank is a damascus etched and smoked finish.

109 next up.jpg

I laid out a possible inlay pattern. Miss T liked the possible but said, NO copper, Silver would look better with the blade pattern. My design specialist was right of course. So I rethought the pattern and there will be silver on the bolster and the butt/endcap. Will have silver corby bolts as well. It will be a challenge, and hopefully will turn out well. Slow and steady. I didn't choose highly figured high dollar cocobolo as I just wanted the dark background to make the inlays pop. THEY will be the focus.

110 possible plan.jpg

I have to make a trip to Jantz, and while I'm there I have a list of supplies including a jewelers handsaw and blades, restock on some supplies, and a special vise to hold knives while drilling or carving, if they have gotten them in. And of course the Silver Bar Stock, and some brass round stock I need.

[RetiredSeabee]

Ooooh that is gonna be pretty!
Love your work bench layout and shop. Wish I had the space.

[BrokenolMarine]

Thanks, It's an old garage, the previous owner used for a workshop. I just had it insulated and replaced the lighting. I am considering cutting the adjacent space in half and adding a bit more space to the shop I have now... My options are limited as far as recreation goes... so adding a bit more floor space in the shop would be, um... therapy. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I would likely roll a few of the less used big machines into the space and put some of the shelving out there, The space would be insulated and climate and controlled.

[BrokenolMarine]

THE BIT ARRIVED...

So I was able to get out to the shop and do the inlay. I practiced on some scrap wood a couple times, and the first time... didn't go so hot. But I learned from that mistake. I took more time outlining on the second time and used my scalpel. Did much better. For the actual knife, I didn't guess at the depth, I used my micrometer to measure the thickness of the tie tack and then I knew how deep I wanted to cut. I made four very shallow cuts, checking each time before I got it where I wanted it.

113 didnt guess.jpg

After that Forstner cut was done, I put the tie tack in the centering hole and carefully marked the location of the edges with the scalpel. Pulled the Tie Tack and checked. Looked good, and I put it back and deepened the etch. Then, tongue held firmly in the corner of my mouth, I used a half round carving chisel to cut the rounded corners, and a mini carving slightly curved chisel for the other lines. I tested upside down. Nope. Traced around with a very sharp pencil and looked at the areas that it showed needed a bit of attention. Addressed those. Eventually it fit.

It wasn't perfect, but not too bad. I learned a couple things. I NEED really good mini chisels. NEED them. It'll do for now.

114 far from perfect.jpg

115 not too bad.jpg

I've ordered 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and will try the procedure I looked up on youtube to get high gloss finishes from raw brass. It involves we sanding and washing with warm soaping water often, and definately between grits. THEN moving to rouge. I want this as nice as I can make it.

[BrokenolMarine]

This will arrive in a custom fitted box. Here is the start. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the wood I'm using for the sides. I used a couple pieces I sliced from a tree I brought from VA. I THINK it's osage orange. I won't bet on it. If you know, let me know. The vertical lines inside the box are from the planer. I had the same lines on the outside, but a half hour with the card scraper removed them.

116 a box.jpg

The top is from a slab of curly maple left over from another project. The grain caught my eye. It's awesome. I will roll the edges over to give the top an interesting shape. The inside of the box will be leather, and hold the knife secured, and have my logo stamp somewhere.

117 top grain is awesome.jpg

Watch this space for the progress on the polishing and the box.

[BrokenolMarine]

Both the box sides and the top will have a lot of sanding to do... probably to 400 to 600 grit.

[BrokenolMarine]

The sandpaper for the polishing of the brass on the knife came in yesterday. The belts for the box are due in today. I got out this morning with a bit of dawn, some warm water, and the four grits of sandpaper and went to work. Slow and gentle circles, 1000, thru 3000, rinsing often, and then the red jeweler's rouge to polish the last bit. Buff, buff, buff afterwards. Not perfect, but better than ever before. I broke out the Watco Oil finish in Medium walnut and applied the first coat, and we are looking good so far. Another coat of Watco later this afternoon, and then several coats of wax and I think we are done with the knife.

118 polish and finish.jpg

I worked on the trim for the box... Miss T and I looked again at the mahogany for the top edge and she said she thought it would be awesome. I had spent two hours on dados and sizing, and then tossed it. I had intended to run the lining up over the rim of the box, hiding the edge under the mahogany trim. She said it would be perfect and encouraged me to finish the sanding and make that an accent like I had intended. I corrected the one corner 45 degree angle, shaving just a hair off, and glued it up. (A picture frame basically) It will be applied after the interior of the box is done. Then we'll sand them both together with tape over the inside to keep the box clean inside.

Sorry it's been a slow project, but shipping sucks.

Watch this space.

[BigAl52]

Watching. Do we get to know who the lucky person is receiving this knife?

[BrokenolMarine]

Watching. Do we get to know who the lucky person is receiving this knife?

The inlay is a clue. The Doc is getting this one. I got a great present from him for my birthday, he is one of my longtime friends and I just like to do things to surprise him. He knows about the knife, I have sent him in progress pics. He doesn't know about the fillet knife, (It was Tina's suggestion.) He certainly doesn't know about the box... Since I know he won't USE the knife, I thought I'd give him something to display it in. LOL. He was my ortho doc for thirty years... and Tina and I both love the guy...

[BrokenolMarine]

UPS brought the new belts for the bench sander this afternoon, so I was able to get out this evening and work on the box again. I had gone out after lunch and glued up the mahogany frame that will conceal the edges of the velvet liner. Note the 123 blocks on each end. They are doing two jobs, holding down the frame flat to the bench as they weigh about a pound for the pair on each end, and insuring the frame remains dead square. So many uses.

122 mahogany frame.jpg

I unpacked the belts and skipped the 60 grit and started with 80 grit and rolled the edges of the top of the box. Then switched to 120 and smoothed them a bit. I'll likely go to 325 before I apply any finish, but wanted to see what the grain is going to look like. I wiped the top with Mineral Oil, which removes the sawdust and grit and pops the grain a bit. It fades when it dries and leaves no residue.

119 top shaped.jpg

I had sanded the box itself to 120 as well and while the rag was still damp, wiped the box too, and sat the top in place just to get a feel. I LIKE It.

120 box sanded to 120.jpg

A higher angled view of the combo. The mahogany frame will go between the box and the boxtop, and create an accent. Should look good. That curly maple top is really showing it's stuff.

121 higher angle view.jpg

More sanding to do on all of it, and I have to form the interior bed for the knife then fit the velvet to that. We are close though. We are close. I will finish the box in Watco Golden Oak to highlight the grain, then wax it...

[BrokenolMarine]

Worked on the insert for the box this morning. First I took the frame out of the band clamp and checked to see how it would look. I think the accent strip will look good and bring out the colors in the box and the top while also hiding the overlap of the velvet liner. We'll see.

124 accent strip.jpg

The first step in this morning's task was careful measurements, then making a cardboard tray the same size as the interior of the box. I marked the interior dimensions of the box bottom in the center of a fairly stiff piece of cardboard, then added a 1/2 inch border all the way around. Flipped the piece and covered the "OFF" side with plastic wrapping tape. Now, I trimmed it to size, cut out the corner blocks then cut thru the ONE layer of cardboard at the fold points. Then I folded the sides up so the taped side was the inside of the tray and taped it to stay folded.

125 cardboard tray.jpg

Tina found this moldable foam at Hobby Lobby, she had gone to get sewing stuff, but asked if I needed anything. I asked for a couple sheets of foam to build an insert base for the knife. She bought that, but also discovered this stuff.

126 moldable foam.jpg

Never worked with this foam stuff before and there were no directions, so I donned gloves and started. Nope... the soft foam stuck to the gloves like taffy. Tossed the gloves and wet my hands.

Perfect. I packed the tray right up to the top edge and re-wet my hands and smoothed the foam. It won't be seen, as it will be covered with velvet, but... I smoothed it anyway. Then I pressed the knife into the foam to get the proper shape for the velvet to sit into .... I'll let it harden, then I'll cut the tape off the corners and open up the tray and hopefully it wasn't glued to the plastic tape and the mold will pull right off. If it works, we can test fit it to the box, cut / trim until it fits. Then we'll see about the velvet getting molded and glued to the foam with excess to go up the walls and lap over.

Next up, more sanding on the box.

[BrokenolMarine]

The tray needs to cure for forty eight hours, so it won't be ready to mess with until Friday morning. But, I did give the knife some final attention. It got a second coat of stain, then two coats of hand rubbed and buffed beeswax. it is DONE. I am pretty happy although there were lessons learned. Now I'll concentrate on the box and trying to get it to the finish line.

128 its done.jpg

The knife is laying on the liner for the box, though Miss T will iron it for me.

[markiver54]

Turned out awesome Jim...I knew it would!
Beautiful!

[Hatchdog]

Wow, fantastic work on both the knife and the box. The mahogany trim piece is incredible. What a difference just a little contrast makes.

[BigAl52]

Really like that knife and I hope the Doc does to.

[BrokenolMarine]

A drive down to Jantz in Davis, and I picked up the order I have been holding while waiting for the special vise to hold the knife blanks for drilling or inlays. It came in yesterday and they called this morning. It's about an hour down and back. Total out the door? Around $260. But, I refilled the stock for the stuff I needed, and the vise was $110 of that. A one time purchase. I also added a jewelers 5" saw and two packages of blades. The cool thing about the saw is the adjustable width of the span. Break a blade, you can use both broken pieces... I'll post pics of the saw and the vise tomorrow. The rest were just stock, the Nickel Silver bar for the next knife, brass and nickel rods and the like.

[BrokenolMarine]

Here are the VISE and the Jeweler's Saw... note the ability of the Jewelers saw's jaws to adjust to accept various width blades.
The vise, adjusts up and down, width, and then contours to the knife.

knifemakers contour vise.jpg

jewelers saw.jpg

[Hatchdog]

Wow, that vise in an engineering marvel.

[BrokenolMarine]

I agree, I was surprised it wasn't much more expensive. It's actually made for engravers.

[BrokenolMarine]

I have been trying to decide how to proceed on the box. My way of working thru the problems is to work on other things. I had asked Tina to pick up a package of disposable scalpels next time she was out. I had sharpened the one I have been using for the last 18 months within an inch of it's life. There are a LOT of uses for them in the woodworking, leather work and all thru the shop. She came back with a "Castration Kit" from Tractor Supply. Just the name made me pucker up. It was a high quality scalpel and ten pack of replacement blades. No blade cover as they expect you to remove and dispose of the blade after every use.

Project to work on ... so I made a Scalpel sheath to cover the blade....

Then I was back at it, still no solution to the hinge issue. But, I spent an hour hand sanding the top at 240 grit to remove the scratches ... Looks good, a swipe with the mineral oil says it's okay to move up to 325 for that glassy finish.

129 240 grit scratch removal.jpg