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Raymond Richard dagger blank WIP
- Thread starter Lorien
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,391
at this point, the guard is pretty close to done. Still finishing work to do, but the shape has been chicken-eyed to being close to symmetrical and all the edges are finished about how I want them.
I still can't believe how well the parts fit together so far. Very close tolerances. I can install all the parts by hand by 'walking' them on, and they come off similarly. Nice and tight!:thumbup:
I spent hours working away on the copper spacer. There is some work to do at home tonight with the drill press, but almost done with it.
I really hope to have all these parts epoxied to the tang sometime tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to getting the handle on and especially to coming up with a complete knife. I think it's going to turn out really nice.
I still can't believe how well the parts fit together so far. Very close tolerances. I can install all the parts by hand by 'walking' them on, and they come off similarly. Nice and tight!:thumbup:
I spent hours working away on the copper spacer. There is some work to do at home tonight with the drill press, but almost done with it.
I really hope to have all these parts epoxied to the tang sometime tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to getting the handle on and especially to coming up with a complete knife. I think it's going to turn out really nice.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 9,574
I'm loving this thread too Lorien, Ray's one of my all time favorite makers, especially when it comes to working by hand with a hammer, so watching you collaborate with him on this one is making me green with envy 
Great work man, and Thanks for letting us watch.
Great work man, and Thanks for letting us watch.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,391
the fittings are heavy man. Heavy.
So, I filled them with Drillium...
I doesn't matter because it will never be seen, (or does it?) but the next time I do something like this I will use a center punch and align the holes before I drill them. That way, I can maximize the amount of material that needs removed. This is good though, I'm trying to get it to balance at the guard. There is the concentration of mass which I hope will make this somewhat heavy weapon feel lighter than it is.
Another thing which I've discovered is going to be crucial to my enjoyment using the drill press, is a vise. It was quite scary holding these little metal chunks under the press. I discovered that cutting fluid is VERY important, as is low speed and a lot of patience.
My hope is to finish up the fittings and get them all glued on by the end of the day. I'm so pumped to get this finished! Of course, then it's sheath time...
So, I filled them with Drillium...
I doesn't matter because it will never be seen, (or does it?) but the next time I do something like this I will use a center punch and align the holes before I drill them. That way, I can maximize the amount of material that needs removed. This is good though, I'm trying to get it to balance at the guard. There is the concentration of mass which I hope will make this somewhat heavy weapon feel lighter than it is.
Another thing which I've discovered is going to be crucial to my enjoyment using the drill press, is a vise. It was quite scary holding these little metal chunks under the press. I discovered that cutting fluid is VERY important, as is low speed and a lot of patience.
My hope is to finish up the fittings and get them all glued on by the end of the day. I'm so pumped to get this finished! Of course, then it's sheath time...
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,391
last night I fired up the drill press and drilled some nice, straight holes into this cocobolo here;
after hogging the wood out with files and a cordless drill, I mixed some of the sawdust into my JB Weld and this is where I'm at currently;
I'll let it sit overnight and hopefully everything is straight and true. Then it's back to the drill press for the pin hole and some shaping with files.
after hogging the wood out with files and a cordless drill, I mixed some of the sawdust into my JB Weld and this is where I'm at currently;
I'll let it sit overnight and hopefully everything is straight and true. Then it's back to the drill press for the pin hole and some shaping with files.
Lorien when I am gluing one up, I always go around the glue joint with a razor blade to see if I can feel any gap in the joint. It is easy to fix by adjusting your clamp before the glue sets, but afterwards it is wide glue joint and the handle gets trashed.
The knife is looking great! I can tell you are hooked on this stuff and there is no saving you now.
The knife is looking great! I can tell you are hooked on this stuff and there is no saving you now.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 28,391
so she's all glued up now. Last night, I noticed that epoxy kept squishing out in little blobs between the handle material and the copper spacer. I used a razor blade with thin fabric over the point to wipe away the epoxy. It did a pretty good job of keeping everything clean and fortunately no more epoxy squeezed out over night.
I'm filing the profile into the handle now, but being cocobolo, I'm taking my time. The stuff can make a guy feel like shit if he breathes too much dust in.
Looking forward to bringing it home tonight and keeping the fingers crossed that I'll get that hole drilled right.
I'm filing the profile into the handle now, but being cocobolo, I'm taking my time. The stuff can make a guy feel like shit if he breathes too much dust in.
Looking forward to bringing it home tonight and keeping the fingers crossed that I'll get that hole drilled right.
- Joined
- May 13, 2005
- Messages
- 407
Man this is looking great my firend! Can't wait to see it done!
/Magnus
/Magnus