Becker BK2 Ebony and Maple Inlaid Scales - 3D

[inlaidknives]

Putting ebony and maple scales on a new BK2 (my first Becker!) and I thought I would share as I go. I will probably end up doing some inlay work on them after I get the basics sorted out. Enjoy!

Mock ups. I like the thinner strips of Maple but they won't be thick enough to keep the factory scale depth (which I like).

 

[inlaidknives]

I will probably cut these on my CNC mill so I want to go ahead and glue the ebony and maple together now. To get a thin and strong glue joint I flat sanded the ebony on my granite block and planed the maple (old toy block) on the big boy plane. You could do this by hand with a block and it would work just fine.

 

[inlaidknives]

I forgot to mention that I did the mock ups with Basswood (thick) and maple laminate but I will be using the toy block for the actual scale.

Here is the gluing & clamping. Titebond will squeeze them together as it dries. The last pic is as far as I got today, one square edge planed.

 

[granitestateofmind]

Putting ebony and maple scales on my new BK2 (my first Becker!) and I thought I would share as I go. I will probably end up doing some inlay work on them after I get the basics sorted out. Enjoy!

Mock ups. I like the thinner strips of Maple but they won't be thick enough to keep the factory scale depth (which I like).

Very cool project. Is that a mandolin mold (I know it's not called a mold, but I can't think of the term presently)?

 

[DanTheKnifeMan]

That's going to look cool, can't wait for the end result

 

[inlaidknives]

Thanks Granite and Dan!

Very cool project. Is that a mandolin mold (I know it's not called a mold, but I can't think of the term presently)?

That is actually a mandolin in an early stage of a build... made a nice stand The neck. point and tail blocks are all glued up and the ribs (sides) are bent and squared. The cardboard is acting as a temporary inside mold. Me and my shop partner are really interested in finding ways to use the scraps of awesome wood we have left over after a mando build, hence the maple and ebony.

 

[inlaidknives]

Thanks Granite and Dan!

Very cool project. Is that a mandolin mold (I know it's not called a mold, but I can't think of the term presently)?

That is actually a mandolin in an early stage of a build... made a nice stand The neck, point and tail blocks are all glued up and the ribs (sides) are bent and squared. The cardboard is acting as a temporary inside mold. Me and my shop partner are really interested in finding ways to use the scraps of awesome wood we have left over after a mando build, hence the maple and ebony.

 

[daizee]

More!!

 

[inlaidknives]

I may not make it in to the shop today but I went ahead and scanned the scales. Whenever I digitize a part I like to start with a regular old flatbed scan of the part alongside some type of object for scale, usually a ruler. Later I will import these to my 3D software to start the process of recreating the scales in 3D. Someone probably has them here on the forum already but I don't know that person (yet!). Here is a shot of the actual scanning and then the 3 scans: inside, outside and profile. I figure some folks may want a copy of the scale for patterns so the full res version of the inside scale is available here ---> http://thenew76ers.com/images/Knives/BK2 inside scale Full Res.JPG

Next up: Rip and plane the maple/ebony block.

 

[Eero]

Nice. I can't wait to see how these turn out. I've seen some CNC G10 Becker scales but never wood.

 

[inlaidknives]

Back to the Becker! I had quite a few orders to fulfill in the last few weeks so I have been limiting time on the BK2 but it just sold ...so time to crank it up!

CNC/3D primer: I have had a few folks show interest in the Becker scales with shell inlay work. Since I need to create a wooden scale before I can inlay AND I love the feel of the factory scales I decided "why change what works?" and went full ahead with creating a 3D model of the original for the CNC machine. 3D work (including 3D printing and CNC) can be faster in terms of actual cut time but often require a substantial amount of work, design and programming before a cut can even begin. We use the CNC for very specific parts of instrument building process, mostly to build the patterns, jigs and fixtures or for those tasks which have been calculated to benefit the most from the use of the CNC as the main tool. Truth be told you could easily cut and shape a large number of knife scales by hand in the amount of time required to program this single model ...the decision to take a part or design to be milled on the CNC machine is all about efficiency and you have to consider the programming time into your planning. For me this design work will make it much more efficient for me to make scales in a number of different materials, experimenting with wood types and if desired modifying scale design (in the future). In short, I don't recommend this approach to make a small number of scales!

Process:We don't have 3D laser scanning availability at the shop yet so I went to a surface probing technique native to the Shopbot platform. The probe (shown below) moves incrementally along the X and Y axes "looking" for the edges and surface of the object being scanned. When the tip of the probe touches something it closes an optical contact and the machine records the position. The probe then moves along until it contacts the surface again. After the probe has covered the entire object (which took about 4 hrs on this scale) the computer creates a 3D surface by connecting all of the points in a 3D skin, or a web of points.

When the 3D scan is complete the rough 3D model is ready for trimming and smoothing. Unfortunately I didn't snap a pic of the rough 3D skin but the probing gets the base of the CNC machine (spoil board) and can be quite noisy so the surface is really bumpy. I do something very specific inside of the scale for the middle scale fastener (maybe more on this in another post) so I don't need a hole cut all the way through. In the 3D software I removed that hole and created clean paths for the other holes and counter sink platforms.


Here is the finished prototype model. Today, I should get to cutting a few scales out of pine or other scraps and inspecting the positions of key components. If need be i will make adjustments to the 3D model and cut again. Once the model is correct I will cut some out of the hard woods. The idea is to get the holes and profile correct, the final shape will be finished by hand.

I will post some pics of the first test scales when I get them cut!

 

[inlaidknives]

Cut a test scale in some pine molding. Here are some shots of the milling process:

Rough cut -

After the finish cut, the light colored wood makes it look flat... it's not -

Checking the profile and other dimensions, needs a small adjustment near the thumb stop -

Got lucky and the first hex pocket fit! -

Finish cut on the back scale -

Both scales fit and centered. The light colored pine makes them seem flatter than they really are, they match the curves of the factory scales pretty near perfect -

You can see the profile better here -

I'll be milling the ebony and maple later this week! I will be ordering another Becker for myself the day I ship this one. Any suggestions for something a little smaller, for camping and finishing... These are amazing chunks of metal! I had to resist the urge to use the blade as a finishing hammer.

 

[tjswarbrick]

Loving this thread. Can't wait to see the end results, but even the pine looks great.

Smaller, camping BK2? That's the BK16.
Has smaller handles, however, so you'll need to rescan the scales.

BK10 is a bit trimmer than the 2 and would be a nice compromise, using full-size scales.

 

[inlaidknives]

The test pine scales went well. I made a few adjustments to the CNC routine and cut the ebony and maple blocks. Here is the scale right after the finish carve, very little waste:

To align the scales to the blade I used this metal dowel and the lanyard holes:

Fit looks good, still needs a bit of scraping and sanding to get the feel right:

The lighting makes the ebony look flat, it is really a good match for the original:

You can see the profile better here:

Ebony can split on the grain, I think maple will support it and take care of that. I really like the way the maple and ebony contrast with the blade but the line makes the scale shaping look less dramatic. I will probably end up staining the maple black or very dark brown. What do you guys think?

This thing feels awesome! The weight is great (I will weight them all and post a comparison for future reference) and the ebony kind of "sucks" to your skin for a nice grippy feeling.

Now I can finally get to work on my ACTUAL skills, inlay! I will post another picture when that part is done and I get my forum membership updated to crafstman (waiting on my new bank card, got hacked at Home Depot :grumpy.

Danny

 

[granitestateofmind]

Scales look great! Glad to see you mention going Orange....'cause I was kinda wondering about that and had refrained from posting hitherto. Also because this is totally beyond home shop stuff....so it certainly didn't seem like a "how-to". I have been thinking about making a DIY 3D router pantograph, tho. Be cool to see some inlay work in wood scales.

 

[The Warrior]

Awesome work my friend.

 

[inlaidknives]

Thanks Warrior & Granite, it was an awesome learning experience. I will make sure to post the inlay when I am finished, Granite.

BTW - I already put a BK16 into my shopping cart This BK2 is too big for me but I like the style. I mostly use knives when camping so I think I will go for a 'tweener' to keep it lighter. The BK2 is a bada$$ knife though! I guess I will have to make a new routine for the smaller Becker scales


On "going Orange" - I upgraded to craftsman, still waiting for it all to switch over. I hope it is soon because I got "busted" earlier for sharing a pic where you could see some of a business card, I thought it would be OK since I wasn't selling but I can definitely see how it would be viewed as a promotion (cause it was so sweet!) and a violation of the rules...but the moderator was fair and kind about the whole thing. I am 100% supportive of paid memberships on forums and I am glad I found one I can actually post this stuff and guys (and gals) are into it. I sell stuff locally to keep me busy, I really use the forum (as a lurker) to learn about new knives and how people use them, and it has been awesome for that!

 

[Dexwithers]

Looks awesome man!

Two of my favorite woods are ebony and maple.

 

[rycen]

inlaidknives

Thank you again

 

[Eero]

These scales look fantastic. Once you get all the prep work done it looks like you could easily make scales in all sorts of different materials and types of wood. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the BK16 :thumbup: