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(Finished Page 3) WIP Copper Liners & Wood Scales for my BK14

Nsvens89

Nsvens89

Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
1,574
Hey guys I know I am fairly new here but I just thought I would show you what I have been working on, maybe get some ideas from you. I was paying around at my bench and saw a hunk of an old window frame. So I took it to the belt sander to see what was under the old paint and it looked good to me. I wanted to try something different also. I happened to have a few feet of copper pipe lying around and thought to myself I wonder if I could make a copper liner. So I’m giving it a go.

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Here is the wood I am using for the scales nothing too special walnut maybe? I am not really sure how to tell to be honest. I know it’s dark so think it will look nice with the nice and shiny copper.

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This is it after I got all of the old shitty paint sanded off. I think the grain of the wood looks fairly nice.

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This is just a shot of my bootleg belt sander setup :-) Redneck yes but it’s also functional. I’m hoping to get a new one soon but this works for now.

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Cutting the wood down to the right length for the scales.

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What they look like so far

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The sections of copper pipe I’m using to make the liners out of.

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Cutting the pipe length wise so I can open it up. Let me tell you what a pain in the ass this turned out to be. I ended up having to pound a steel spike through the pipe to get it to open up. Then I beat the piss out of it with a big hammer until it was as flat as I could get it. I’m happy with the final product but I’m sure you could probably buy a copper sheet some place and it would save you allot of time. However copper pipe is available at every hardware store I have ever been in and it’s pretty cheap.

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Next I made a small wooden insert for inside of the handle to prevent the scales from sliding around, I just used a paint stick it’s about the right thickness. To be honest I’m not really sure if I will need it though. What do you guys think?

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Lastly I drilled some ¼ inch holes I was thinking of using some more copper tubing but I really don’t want to peen it in there and not be able to take the scales off without destroying them. I would love a way to have the tube in there then have a smaller set of screws in there to bolt them on and off. Any ideas? I have a few but not sure if they will work.

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Hopefully I will get a chance to work on these again soon but there always seems to be stuff dragging me away this week was fixing some plumbing. I hate plumbing!

Thanks for taking a look, and I am open to and ideas or suggestions so lets hear them. More to come soon :-)
 
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Looks like its coming along really nicely! If this is just the start I can't wait to see the finished deal man.
 
waitaminute, what's that undrilled blank on your bench on the right edge of one one of the pictures, eh?

-Daizee
 
Diazee- haha I didn't realize that was in the picture when i took it. Its a section of an old lawn mower blade I ground down into the shape of a knife. Its not heat treated or anything so its not quite functional but it was fun to make none the less. I actually made another one out of an old file. Its about the same size. That's what i keep in the knife pouch of my BK9.

Murph- Thanks for the words of encouragement, I just got back form picking up some bolts I hope will work.
 
Just got back inside from working on it out in the shed. I think she is all finished up debating on if to slim down the handles a bit still. The previous scales were thinner and so I might just be use to that. I'll give it a little time before I decide.

Question: To any of you that have made wooden handles, what do you do to seal it? Linseed oil? polyurethane? on the last set I did I used superglue then sanded and buffed it, I liked the results but it was very time consuming. I'm working on getting the photos uploaded so stay tuned!

Thanks for looking
 
All right guys so here it is 99% done. Most of the pictures are self explanatory so I’m not going to get too wordy. Let me know what you guys think. I will try to get some pictures in the sun tomorrow its hard to get good lighting at my workbench.


The size screw was 8x32 and was 1/2 inch but I ground it down a bit the spacer was 8x32 as well and was 1/2 inch long

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Thanks for checking out my project :-)
 
Very nice!

The scales do look a little bit thick, but how do they feel in hand?
 
CCMI said:
Very nice!

The scales do look a little bit thick, but how do they feel in hand?
Click to expand...

Thanks CCMI. They don't feel too bad but slightly bulky. I'm thinking I will slim them down some more eventually.
 
Badass!

One (newbie) question though: what's the function of the copper liners? I'm wondering what the 2 different metals in contact will do in terms of corrosion or something....
 
Thanks guys!

JWL said:
Badass!

One (newbie) question though: what's the function of the copper liners? I'm wondering what the 2 different metals in contact will do in terms of corrosion or something....
Click to expand...

There isn't really a function in this case but some guys add them to stock handles to make them somewhat wider, that goes for any liner though. The reason I used copper is because I though it would look nice and wanted to see how it ages and turns cool colors. As far as corrosion goes I don't foresee it being a problem copper doesn't rust it just oxidizes, also I haven't stripped the epoxy coating off yet so the copper is just hitting the paint not the tang.
 
Skystorm said:
That turned out dang nice for a chunk of scrap lumber and a piece of pipe, good job!
Click to expand...

Thanks man, still not sure how I'm going to seal up the wood. But ill decide on that after I figure out if I'm taking down the handles some more.
 
As far as the finish goes some folks will do a quick polyurethane dip or a Soak in linseed oil. Damn good work man. I may have to try that or something like it.
 
Thanks Fal'er, I have used poly before but it seems to ware off kind of quickly. Perhaps Ill try the linseed. My only concern with the linseed is if it will really protect it.
 
Looks great, that copper is a nice touch. Does seem like it could use a bit more slimming down/shaping. When I think about the scraps you used to make this it seems even cooler.

Have you heard of the super glue finish? I have never done it myself but have seen it done online and it looks nice and is supposed to be tough and easy. You should Google it and let me know what you think about it.
 
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