A New Build (Along)

[BrokenolMarine]

Good progress on the knives. Is there no float switch shutoff on your AC drain?

No, and if there had been, I would have had the AC guy override it. I climatized the shop due to the equipment and the chemicals in the building that could be damaged or ruined by extreme heat and cold. It was 103 this afternoon, ACTUAL, without the heat index. My shop is inside a metal building though heavily spray foamed. With no AC it would likely heat 130 inside. So, emergency pan for water inside. We keep the AC on in miss Tina's shop as well. She has two high end machines in there that can't take the heat. Most folks have NO idea what quality sewing machines cost these days. Four figures and the first number is usually a two, at least. Her last machine started with a six and that was during the 50% off sale. List was over Ten K.

[markiver54]

I have a/c going in my little shop all summer, even when I'm away at the cabin, (like now). It is primarily to prevent high humidity which will rust my cast iron table saw, amongst other things. Got to keep ALL the tools dry.

[BrokenolMarine]

I have a/c going in my little shop all summer, even when I'm away at the cabin, (like now). It is primarily to prevent high humidity which will rust my cast iron table saw, amongst other things. Got to keep ALL the tools dry.

There is that... but I buff mine with crumpled dollar store wax paper once in a while and it not only helps to keep them from rusting, but the wood glides across so much easier. A tip from the woodworking forum. (I used to wax all the tool tops with turtle wax about every six months... what a job.

[markiver54]

Good tip Jim. I have also been known to use "Master Blaster" brand dry lube aerosol on them but that stuff is not good to breathe, so the wax would probably be better. I was not aware of dollar store wax paper though.

[BrokenolMarine]

I got out to the shop this morning and pulled the scales out of the clamps. Fired up the bandsaw and trimmed away the excess carbon fiber liner, then over to the drill press and redrilled the hole thru the liner using the holes in the scales as a guide. Next up was to take the brass rod stock and some 120 grit paper to insure a good fit. I clamped the rod in the drill press and turned it. With 120 I'd sand a 2" section and then turn off the drill press and test fit in the scales. Turn it, test fit. You want it snug, but not have to fight to get it thru the scales. If you have to hammer to get it thru, you can crack your scales during assembly. (Don't ask me how I would know this.)

So, I taped the front edge of the blank, test fit the scales and pins, then mark the blank.

32 marking.jpg

In this picture below you can see the carbon fiber edge of the liner. Gray looking huh? No worries, I tested and sanding up to 800 grit it will polish back to black.

33 carbon fiber.jpg

[BrokenolMarine]

Next step is to remove the pins and scales and set them aside. Now we have the marked edges for the front of the knife scales so we know where to rough the blank. See how smooth and shiny? We don't want smooth and shiny where we hope to epoxy.

35 Ready to roughen.jpg

I cut a thin strip of 120 grit sandpaper and using a fingertip for control, I sand both sides of the blank to get it just rough enough to provide a solid grip for adhesion. Remember we sanded the contact side of the carbon fiber liner earlier. Just want to roughen it up a bit.


right side:

36 rough right.jpg

Left side:

35 rough left.jpg

[BrokenolMarine]

No interuptions this time, Miss Tina is mowing. She loves riding her zero turn... won't let me ride it.

I insert the pins from the back side, just poking thru about 1/8" as a guide and coat the blade blank in the appropriate areas with two part epoxy. then I carefully fit the blank on the correct side and push. Click... I both feel and "Hear" it seat. CAREFUL not to touch the blank or the scales with epoxy fingers I clean any reside off with acetone. Is the room spinnning?

I push the pins most of the way thru, there is about 1/8" stucking thru on the opposite side now. Coat that side in the proper areas with epoxy and carefully I seat the scales. PUSH, and click. Feel and Hear the scale seat.

Now I apply the clamps with just enough tension to keep them in place... then tighten them a little here, there, and there. Then HERE, there and there. Evenly spaced, don't want to crack a scale NOW...

Boom! Epoxied and Clamped.

37 epoxied and clamped.jpg

I use old sweat pants patches I cut wet with a touch of acetone to wipe away bleed out from the epoxy while it's still a bit damp. Let it harden you'll be sanding for hours. I especially try and clean off any metallic surfaces. Next I use q-tips to do the same. Cleanup... just a bit. You don't soak things, it could week between the scales and the blade blank and NO adhesion.

38 cleaned a bit.jpg

Note that the carbon fiber LOOKS black while it's wet... this should look good when it is shaped and has all the final sanding done.
Lots to do, we'll began shaping tomorrow.

[BrokenolMarine]

Out after breakfast for a bit of work in the shop. Things will be a little easier on the arthritis days as my shop ride got a tune up recently. The batteries in the chair died and I was finally able to get the VA techs out to replace them, and the seat cushion. This chair is special as it has a built in scissor lift to bring me up to working height on the bench AND the bandsaw. I can haul it around town and use it when I'm out but I prefer the manual (assisted) chair as I have to work to make that one go. I don't want to end up sitting back buzzing around with no effort.

The VA bought this chair when I had to have bi-lateral shoulder surgeries and couldn't push the manual chair for over a year. The prosthetics adviser recommended the scissor lift as he knew I spent a lot of time in the shop and that was MY therapy. They had offered several times before to get me a power chair following other surgeries, but I had declined. This time I didn't have a choice.

39 my shop ride.jpg

First step this morning was to break the "knife" out of the clamps and put them away, then a quick trip to the bandsaw to trim away the excess on the pins. I cut as close as I could to the scales, without scarring the scales. Then to the oscillating sander to knock off the excess around the blade blank. This is my first step to began shaping. Here, I keep the spine flat for now, but roll the finger grooves as the last step on this sander.

40 began shaping.jpg

Next I'll move to the belt sander and flatted the face of the scales, with particular attention to the brass pins, and then began to roll the spine edge for a smooth transition to the flat sides of the scales. I'll also insure that we have a nice smooth spine and even blend of the scale, liner, and blade blank. In the pictures below we have gone thru 80, 120, and 240 grit. The shape of the knife has begun to appear. I have also worked on the front and rear edges of the scales with a thin 1/4 strip of 120 grit wrapped over the tip of a finger. I will move up to 400 to 600 grit on the scales and polish the metal in the spine and belly up to 1,000 if needed.

41 belly.jpg

42 scale.jpg

43 spine.jpg

As we progress, you will see the liner material really darken and turn gloss black. (It's supposed to.)

[BrokenolMarine]

Back at it this afternoon. This would all be hand work. First step was to take some packing tape (duct tape will work) and reinforce the back of each grade of sand paper. If you don't reinforce the tape, a thin cut strip will work for a few passes and then start to break and snap apart.

44 packing tape.jpg

Once you do this, you can cut a strip as thin as you like and use that to hand sand the knife, normally, as if you are buffing shoes. They make various custom holdfasts for this but some of those are VERY expensive. They make sense for production knifemaking where you'll get a nice return on the investment, but MOST of my knives are for us, or as gifts. I rarely sell them. So, I use a Cabinet Maker's clamp to hold the knife and clamp it in the various axis' I need. Either in the workbench clamp, or clamped to the edge of the bench. I then use the strip to sand. You can see the strip and the setup in the pic below.

45 strip.jpg

I went thru 220, 325 and 400 grit today. I was working on blending and smoothing transitions and getting that glass finish.

I polished the metal with the dremel tool, and a polishing head coated with Red Jeweler's Rouge to remove scratches. Looking good.

As I said, I was happy when I walked out of the shop this afternoon. When I head to the shop in the morning to apply the first coats of Watco Oil, I may decide to set up the 600 and 800 grit and sand up a couple more levels before applying the Golden Oak Watco Oil... The knife handle has been wiped with odorless mineral oil to remove sanding dust. This process also gives you a view of the grain and any scratches or defects, But it dries and leaves no ill effect.

46 scale.jpg

47 spine.jpg

48 belly.jpg

We are close to the end. Then there is the Sheath... plus the Tanto still to go. THAT will be fun. I have an inlay for that one, plus Brass Bar Stock to make the bolster.

[Hatchdog]

That grain is really popping, looks wonderful.