A New Build (Along)

[BrokenolMarine]

Next, I had to prep the blank and the bolsters for epoxy. I put a 120 grit sheet flat on the work table and drew the bottom (Inside) face of the bolsters across a couple times, then checked for daylight with a ruler. Beautiful, dead flat. This also scuffed the underside which will have contact with the blank. I REMARKED the blanks to insure the inside face and the correct sides were marked.

Note how smooth and shiny the blank is....

88 too smooth.jpg

Beautiful huh? Nope... Too slick for good adhesion. We need to rough it up. Cut a small section of 120 and folded it for control and roughed both sides of the blank, careful to stay in the area defined by the tape. We'll be covering that area with the bolsters and the scales, don't want to scuff the exposed areas to detract from the appearance later.

89 Rough it up.jpg

Mixed the 5 minute epoxy, and then expoxied the bolsters and pins into place. Clamps apply pressure to insure good contact.

90 epoxied pinned and clamped.jpg

*** A little humor... the new hens have started laying. Here is an egg... Grade A XXX Extra Small? It's sitting in the cap from a half gallon of milk.

Grade A xxx small egglette.jpg

[BrokenolMarine]

Well, I got out and took the blank out of the clamps. Sanded the pins flush and started to install the right scale. Can't just throw it on. First I had to use the scalpel and the acetone to remove the bleed out of the epoxy, want a nice tight fit. Cleaned everything up where it needed to be, and then got the scales aligned. I checked and rechecked then clamped the right panel in place. It may LOOK out of alignment as it's a little over at the bottom of the bolster, but remember the scales are oversized right now. I want them overlapping the blank. Sanding will bring everything into place. The key is that it's flush and tight against the bolster, with no gaps and the scale covers the blank all the way around. Check, check, and recheck after clamping. THEN rotate for center punching for drilling.

91 align the scales.jpg

Rotating the blank flat, and resting on a pair of 123 blocks, I center punched the two holes I'd need to drill for 3/16 brass pins. These will be mosaic pins in this one.

92 center punch.jpg

[BrokenolMarine]

The center punched scale was taken to the drill press and with a backer board underneath to prevent tearout, carefully drilled the two holes. I brought it back to the workbench and then drew a line between the two holes, measured and marked the center, and a 1/16 inch hole will be drilled for the inlay in this scale.

93 center for inlay.jpg

Back to the drill press and switching bits to the 1/16; I drill the hole for the inlay. This will ONLY be drilled in this side, the other side will NOT get an inlay, unless I decide to put an accent dot on the other side. Likely not.

94 all drilled.jpg

Back to the bench and I check the fit using two 3/16 brass rods. Tight, and flush against the bolster. Remove the scale, mix the epoxy. Set up three 123 blocks for support and fit the scales and insert the brass rods to insure alignment. Clamps x 3 to pull everything tight. Quickly remove the brass rods and clean them off with Acetone. They are not the mosaics and don't want them epoxied in place by mistake.

95 epoxied and clamped.jpg

Clean up, put away, and set aside to cure. Go inside for lunch. Planned to come back out in an hour. Call from neighbor, there was a home invasion and assault. Sheriff's Office and PD are looking for the suspect. Went out and told Miss T to lock her shop door, and I locked the back door to the house, we keep the front locked. (Retired from 30 years in LE, I don't trust anyone... LOL.) I'll be staying inside for the next couple hours...

I doubt very seriously the suspect will mess around farmhouses... NOT a smart idea in Oklahoma...

[BrokenolMarine]

Last night, I did slip out and epoxy the left scale into place. During the process I noticed that the scale wasn't lining up exactly as I wished. I fired up the desktop disc sander and adjusted the angle and boom... perfect. Um... but it was now JUST a tad short. This was one of those "learning moments." NOT a mistake, as no one will EVER know... except you guys. I'll fix it later.

96 clamped last night.jpg

This morning, I went out and took the knife out of the clamps, let's examine the project so far....

The left side: Doesn't look too bad, but something is missing... Oh yeah, holes for the pins.

97 out left side.jpg

The right side. Also looks decent. Nice joint with the brass.

98 out right side.jpg

The spine... NOW you can see the oversize that I planned. We have fitting to do. Looked pretty good from the side, didn't it?

99 out spine.jpg

The belly view... again, you can see where there is fitting to do. Intentionally oversized, so we can shape it to fit. In both the spine and belly pics you can see how the left scale is a tad short and the blank protrudes past the scale. How will we ever fix that?

100 out belly.jpg

We have work to do, stick around.

[BrokenolMarine]

Time to get to work. First I moved to the desk top belt sander and began to shape the spine. Using the top of the sander, I brought the wood of the scales to meet the blank. I very carefully brought the edge of the brass adjacent to the spine to match. (Pucker there) Next I reversed the knife and where the angle wasn't too great, I could use the rounded top of the belt sander to match the wood edges to the knife blank. Slow and steady get's 'er done.

Here we correct my "Learning Moment" from the previous night. CAREFULLY, and in short spurts so I don't overheat the knife blank and release the epoxy... ... I sand away the excess metal exposed by my mistake (Um, learning moment. Once I have it sanded down to meet the wood, I slightly reshape the tail of the knife. When I have done as much as I can at the Belt Sander, I move to the oscillating sander, and shape the curves on the bolster and the sharp curves on the scales, then roll those sharp curves.

I take this rough shape to the drill press and using the holes in the right side as a template, I drill the holes thru to complete the holes for the pins, in the left scale, using a wood block under the knife blank to prevent tearout. We are HERE:

101 rough shape and drilled.jpg

I work the knife on the 1" grinder for about an hour and a half, working thru 80, 120, 240, 400, 600, and 800 grits, to get where I want to be for now. The final step is to move to the workbench and work the bolster curves by hand using the shoeshine method, buffing and shaping that by hand from 120 thru 600 with 1/4" strips.

102 hand shaping the bolster.jpg

We are getting somewhere. The next step will be to insert the pins and glue them in place, then work on the inlay. Pics of the progress so far to follow.


Left Side:

103 left side.jpg

Right Side:

104 right side.jpg

Spine:

105 spine.jpg

and Belly:

106 belly.jpg

We have come a long way, but still have a bit to go.... Once I have gotten the pins and the inlay done, I'll buff and polish more, and polish the brass with the rouge.... I want this as nice as possible....

[Shakey Jake]

Lookin' Good!
Jake

[BrokenolMarine]

Got out this morning and spent an hour cutting and fitting the pins to the knife. They are epoxied in, with about 1/32 of an inch protruding so I can sand them flush after the epoxy cures. These are the mosaic pins cut from the 12" rod I picked up at Jantz the last time I put together a special knife. One of these rods is about $24. The 1" pins are $5 each. I'll cut and fit my own.

107 pins in.jpg

I'll let the epoxy cure for about 2 hours, even though the package says it's firm after five minutes. I am going to be sanding and sanding generates heat. Once I have sanded the pins flush, I'll go over the entire knife again, including the brass bolster, with polishing compound to try and remove all the scratches. I'd like it to be flawless, if possible. I am an amateur after all...

The last, and most stressful step, is cutting in the inlay. I can't do that before I finish all the rest, as sanding in any form would change the depth of the inlay. Once I cut that pocket, it's cut.

[BrokenolMarine]

That mosaic, is called Labrador... if you look close, you'll see it's a pawprint.

[BrokenolMarine]

Went out and worked a bit in the shop. I was going to start on the inlay, but I was stymied at every turn.

Got out the caliper to start my measurements. Battery was dead. Tossed it. Keep spares on hand. Opened the package, the positive side of the new in the package battery was green with fur on it. Use by date, 2020. I reverted to old school and measured the inlay with the dead caliper, then transferred the measurement to my machinist's rule. 11/16 x 11/16.

My plan was to use a matching forstner bit and with a measured depth drill the round hole the correct depth, then use my "small" carving chisels to open the 10, 2, 4 and 9 o'clock positions to match the tie tack.

63 that inlay.jpg

Hmmm, my forstner set doesn't have that bit. I'll have to see if I can order one.

I don't want to try and free hand that inlay if I can avoid it. Too much work to slip up now.

I set 'er aside and started on the other project... A fillet knife.


If all goes well though, it will look something like this, only set just a tad deeper.

108 a peek.jpg

The fillet knife will have scales made from an old cutting board so they can be easily washed, but with RED liner to pop some color. I imagine no one is interested in that build.

[BrokenolMarine]

I ordered the Forstner bit.... and have been working on the fillet knife while I waited. Two days... an interesting build. I used old cutting board for the scales, and added red carbon fiber liners for accent and corby bolts rather than pins to insure they didn't come loose. I shaped the scales for a comfy grip, but this will be a working knife, made to bang around and USE... so I didn't try for perfection, just wanted it to look okay, not embarrassing.

I'm thinking it came out okay, Miss T said if "Feels Good in the hand."


Overview:

13 Shaped and polished.jpg

Closeup of the scales and corby bolts in place.

14 close up of scales.jpg

The accent added by the red liners, they also added a needed bit of thickness.

16 spine.jpg

I'm good with it. If I get bored, I may try and polish the brass corby bolts a bit more... but if not, I'm good ...
Overall it was an interesting build... but basically the same as the other two....

[BrokenolMarine]

Watch this space, the drama is thick. Will I blow the inlay or not? The crowd is dying to know....

[BrokenolMarine]

The bit is due tomorrow.... Yup, I'm excited.

[Hatchdog]

Watch this space, the drama is thick. Will I blow the inlay or not? The crowd is dying to know....

Yes we are.

[BrokenolMarine]

Watch this space, the drama is thick. Will I blow the inlay or not? The crowd is dying to know....

Yes we are.

We better start CPR...

Got an email from Amazon this morning....

Trouble with your order. If you have not received your order after two additional days, you may wait for the order, cancel the items and request a refund, or cancel the items and reorder.

So I pull up the items noted and check the tracking....

The tracking on the bit said this:

Package is undeliverable and returning to sender because it is damaged.
Shawnee, OK US

I was NOT happy. My knife has been waiting patiently on the bench for me to continue. I have been waiting impatiently for the bit to arrive, but vibrating with anticipation for today to come. Then wake up this morning after it said, "Out for Delivery" when I went to bed. Miss T had ordered a trio of continuous misting spray bottles and some special cleaner for her quilting iron(s). They also must have been in the same box. Same message:


Package is undeliverable and returning to sender because it is damaged. because we were playing forklift hocky with it in the warehouse.
Shawnee, OK US

Seems kinda silly to wait two additional days to see if my package arrives with the tracking data says they have turned around the DAMAGED package since it is undeliverable... doh! So, I call Amazon Customer Service. That robot that answers is a California Beach Blonde, I just know it. She gives you several options, you choose ONE of them and she says. "Geez, that's NOT a valid option, LIke, You'll have to choose again. Oh Em Gee." I get so frustrated I slap the phone. I restort to repeating AGENT in a fake computer voice until the California Blonde computer has a stroke and an agent picks up.

I tell them I don't Want to Wait an extra two days for a package that is already turned around and sent back. Please reorder the items they know are on the way home and send them to me asap, I have a lonely knife waiting to be finished. The CS rep says let me kick it up the chain to someone that can make that decision... and ten minutes of HOLD time later, Yes.. we can do that.



Thanks... so, we are waiting... (Hear the metronome in the background?)

Waiting...

[markiver54]

I've had a LOT of trouble with Amazon recently. Never used to be a problem...
Something has happened to their system lately and it ain't good. Hope you get your problem resolved soon.

[BigAl52]

Ya and just think you pay 170.00 a year now for Prime and get to put up with that BS

[markiver54]

Ya and just think you pay 170.00 a year now for Prime and get to put up with that BS

I've had several problems this past week beyond Amazon. Products and services are aweful anymore. I think the whole country is imploding.

[BigAl52]

Ya and just think you pay 170.00 a year now for Prime and get to put up with that BS

I've had several problems this past week beyond Amazon. Products and services are aweful anymore. I think the whole country is imploding.

Customer service is gone country wide. Its few and far between. Ive just been going thru it with Verizon with cell phones. Never again will I buy cell phones through Verizon over the internet. Ive been on the phone with them 8 times and my end bill is still not right. Ive been with them 20 years. Last time I was on the phone with them I was so mad if I could of reached thru the wire Id choke the crap out of them

[dave77]

Try T-mobile, I've had good luck with their customer service. Dropped the phone insurance a couple of months ago and was still billed for it last month, called and they said the change just went in too late and I would be credited with the extra payment this month and I was. Also saved a considerable amount on my monthly bill when I switched to them from Verizon.

[BrokenolMarine]

The wife and I just had the same conversation. It's like a large percentage of people working just don't seem to care at all. I can't say if this incident was the fault of UPS's handling of the package or the way that amazon's workers packed the box... We got one a couple months ago with two DVDs packed in a box with a heavy metal object. The dvd's cases were beaten within an inch of their lives. But, I put the DVDs and Blue Rays in Binders to save space, so both were unharmed, and I was going to be tossing the cases anyway. I just played the movies and they both played fine. I did send Amazon an email showing the damage. Not that they cared.

Our regular UPS driver has been with them for more than 35 years and is a really good guy, works hard, we really like him. Most of the substitute drivers are pretty good as well. Most of their frustration comes from either the warehouse folks or upper management decisions that affects the way they can serve the folks on their routes. I can't say the same for the folks running the FedEx routes in our area. Half of them toss the packages in the trucks with no rhyme or reason and spend five to ten minutes tossing boxes around looking for your package when they show up. "Um, do you know how big the box should be?" "I can't find it now, but if I do, I'll drop back by on my way back to town and drop it off."

One driver picked up a large JEEP off road tire and threw it into the back of the truck onto a pile of packages and a white water kayak in the truck to be delivered. No wonder the packages arrive beat up and contents damaged. He didn't last long. We finally got a decent FedEx driver, an older driver in his 60s, from a generation that was taught to take pride in the job. I called in a compliment for his work. THAT was frustrating. They must not get many of those as the girl didn't seem to know how to handle it.

Is your order late?
Is your order missing?
Is your order damaged?
What is your complaint?