Post your woodwork here

[Rocket-Boy]

When I used to spend a lot of time turning, I quickly realised pine is not your friend on the lathe.

 

need to work at a constant high speed with sharp tools and still it looks like shite when you done. Then over to the sanding grids to complete. Pine is not for turning

Couldnt agree more! I hate turning pine for any reason.

I had nothing else I could use though and needed to get it done in a hurry. So much end grain to deal with so it was a pain.

Even worse was holding it on the lathe, I had to change jaws at least 3 times per ring and turn a jam chuck just to get the damn things done.

Definitely not something Im keen to do again in a hurry!!

[porqui]

Total teaser, I know  but you have to forgive me, I'm so fired up (did the heat treating today) !  You'll have to take my word for it that eventually there will be some woodwork in this project! Promise! Currently I'm struggling to decide between ebony, blackwood, sneezewood and panga panga.

 

I may have some wild olive lying about on a wood pile if you want some. Panga Panga very open grain and a bugger to work with you do NOT want to get a splinter from it. May have Bubinga and African Rose too but very red.

[Hairy]

If anything else .... Panga Panga just "sounds like" the right material for a knife, or panga!

Total teaser, I know  but you have to forgive me, I'm so fired up (did the heat treating today) !  You'll have to take my word for it that eventually there will be some woodwork in this project! Promise! Currently I'm struggling to decide between ebony, blackwood, sneezewood and panga panga.

[V12man]

The sneezewood I have is from an old fence pole from the Jansenville area. They say it never rots and no pest on earth will try eat it! Even fungi and Chuck Norris are afraid of it. 

You will be too after you have tried working with it....

[DJR]

Finally the metalwork is mostly done. I will NEVER again think that a hand made knife is too expensive. If it is done right, it takes heaps of skill, attention to detail and massive amounts of time. My titanium shoulder is hurting today from all the sanding I did yesterday. I had no idea how difficult it is to get that blade smoothe and shiny after the heat treating, once the steel is hard! But the GREAT news is that from here on it is mostly a woodworking project. 

 

We decided to use Ironwood for the handle. D showing how to use a band saw safely. He hates working with it, says it sounds too much like a meat saw!

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yeah, D. The process is time consuming. And... That's cos it IS a meat saw. Just a different table. ????

[DJR]

Looks good, could you run through the process. Steel used, tempering process etc.....

Always wanted to do something similar but I don't have a kiln or furnace for the tempering process.......

The knife making project is a little distraction for my younger son because he decided not to go to the Plett rage, so, positive reinforcement if you will!  It is our first attempt and we are fortunate to have a good friend teach us the whole process in his incredibly equipped workshop.

 

We used a steel called ATS34. It is a Japanese stainless steel with 1% carbon, 14% chromium, 4% molybdenum, 0.5% manganese. The heat treating process I found quite scientific and very precise:

 

The rough shaped blade is wrapped in clean rice paper, then in a thick aluminium pouch before it goes into the furnace at exactly 1050 degrees C for exactly 16 minutes. In the furnace, the paper burns off and uses up the oxygen in the pouch, so the heat treating happens mostly in the absence of oxygen. The chances of getting burn marks in the metal is then reduced. The ATS34 is designed to cool slowly, so it is not quenched in oil or water, but it is immediately clamped in a vice to prevent warping of the blade and allowed to cool to room temperature. At this stage the blade is too hard and brittle, dropping it on a hard surface can shatter it. Next it goes into a container of liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees C. (Overnight in a freezer at - 30 also works) Then back to room temperature before it goes into an oven for 2 hours at exactly 180 degrees C. Then room temperature, then 2 more hours at 180 degrees in the oven. The final tempering brings the Rockwell hardness to 60.

 

There are certainly other ways to do it, but I liked the very precise and scientific approach as opposed to heat it up till it is red and stick it in the water.

Edited December 9, 2018 by DJR

[DJR]

Blade in pouch coming out of 1050 degrees C furnace. I tell you, anything that hot is scary!

[DJR]

Cold steel minus 196 degrees C. Again, something difficult to comprehend. 

[ichnusa]

Wow!

Keep the story unfolding. Loving it!

[Hairy]

you know there is a knife thread that you need to also copy into this story please!

 

Cold steel minus 196 degrees C. Again, something difficult to comprehend. 

[DJR]

Got a bit sidetracked with the steel work, but we have now married the handle and the blade and also rough shaped the wood. The Ironwood is EXTREMELY HARD! The blade is still taped to protect it and the next step will be plenty more sanding to get the brass and wood to about 600 grit. We are at 60 at the moment, but already it is possible to see the wood come to life if you put a bit of oil on it!

[DJR]

Getting things to join like this is really difficult. Much more difficult than to get an accurate wood to wood fit! The brass bolsters in particular gave endless trouble to get them square. Then to drill the holes and rivet it on! I have massive newfound respect for people who can do this time and again! But, with a little help from my friend, I'm very chuffed with the outcome this far.

Edited December 10, 2018 by DJR

[DJR]

Most of my recent woodwork ended up hidden ....... no I didn't build the staircase ........ Ds' girlfriend gave him one of her paintings and he asked me to help build him a frame for the canvas......... well I should have seen it coming .......  but he did help with the sanding! 

[DJR]

Hidden! All my nice joints! But at least the painting looks great, and I know what is hidden behind it.

[DJR]

OK, maybe it is a bit rough and ready, but it will NEVER fall apart!

 

I couldn't believe how expensive pine got, how poor the quality and how inconsistent the dimensions. I found 1 straight piece for every 10 that I searched through!