Wheeler's Steel * Stuck in the metal with you

This is such a great thread. I'm going to say this is the best one I have ever seen on this forum.

Rob Thomas
 
i stopped using the sharpys to mark the fronts of the wood as in some cases the color will bleed quite deep and require alot of sanding to "get it out"

i will use pencil form now on but i too have a "jig" liek that for marking lines
epic thread and one hell of a great read
 
Mike Quesenberry said:
Stewart,

The best part about this jig is yet to come and I guarantee you will be cheering not laughing. I was struggling with handle shaping and Nick told me about this jig. Hang in there and let the guy get some rest.
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Cool Mike... I'm looking forward to it. I figured he might be having us on with this one and seeing if we were paying attention. :p
Just givin' him the gears.:D
 
Man, you guys are brutal! ;) :)

I think Mike Q is right Stuart...we'll see what you think later ;) :D

I actually have several different points for that surface gauge... one with a pencil, one with a silver pencil... Butch is right, you can certainly screw up a handle with a sharpie if you're not careful. I found out the hard way, that Sambar stag sucks up the ink like it's dying of thirst! :eek: :foot:

I've got a bunch more pics, but Angi is here and I'm cooking dinner :D

EVERY time I've sat down at the computer to deal with emailing Lorien pics it has been AT LEAST 2 hours... Angi works VERY HARD at a real job all week so I'm not going to ask her to sit around while I do that now, sorry guys ;)

Mike T- I knew I was forgetting something!!! ;) :p

Rob T, thanks again for the phone call... I am extremely flattered by your request and really enjoyed talking with you!!! :) :cool:
 
Like that height gauge Nick. Don't sometimes you just want to guess at a measurement and see how close you come? :eek: ;)
 
John White said:
Bruce,

I'm taking notes on Nick's dedication as well as the tooling. The man's serious.

John
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Ya know what the master does when the student gets too cocky? The master cheats.:D

edited: Maybe "cocky" isnt the right word but when Nick has MS's taking notes on a basic build you know tha man has some skills. Its been said a thousand times that Nick makes a beautiful, clean knife, not many of them and at a very fair price. If you are fortunate enough to even get one you know that every aspect of your knife has been crafted to perfection by a dedicated maker that will stay up until 4:00 am to make sure its right and at least one MS just a little jealous maybe. That drop dead gorgeous shop alone is something we all want not even to mention the muscles and good lookin girlfriend.
 
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Bruce, I have a pad full of notes now. I can only imagine what Nick's MS submission knives will look like, HINT, HINT!!!! Nick. Keep it up Nick, great WIP thread, and thank you Lorien for putting this together.
Brion
 
Of course Bruce, the MS thing is simply formality in this case. I am sure we all agree that Nick already has the skills needed to get the label.
 
Nick,
This thread is giving me the itch to make a few fixed blades.

Have you considered using your mill to square up the face of your handle blocks?
I now mill all of my bolsters and handles so I know that they are square.
 
Wow... you guys sure know how to make a fella blush. THANK YOU :)

I don't know about Ms's taking notes, but just having them not wonder what the hell kind of idiotic things I'm doing is a big plus! :)

Patrice, I really appreciate that, but we best wait and let a panel of 6 judges decide that when the time comes :)

Bill- Sorry I missed that, the 416 for this guard started as 3/8" thick X 3/4"+ wide.

David, the general idea of a broach isn't hard to make, in fact I have a couple that I did make. But to make one that works so amazingly well takes the expertise of a precision machinist like John Perry. He puts the teeth in the broaches with a surface grinder, and they are perfect. They are beautifully tapered, which isn't just aesthetically pleasing, it makes them work VERY WELL. They have turned walnut handles and copper ferrules. The two broaches I bought from John are two of the best tool investments I have in my shop!!! :)

Chuck, I do mill the face on some blocks, but even with a carbide bit turning balls out, this particular wood tends to tear if you mill the face. I tried it with this one's sister block last summer.

I should be able to get the next batch of pics to Lorien sometime tonight. :)

Thanks again everyone!!! :)
 
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NickWheeler said:
Chuck, I do mill the face on some blocks, but even with a carbide bit turning balls out, this particular wood tends to tear if you mill the face. I tried it with this one's sister block last summer.
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Have you tried HSS tooling with a sharp edge? Most carbide tooling I've seen has a small radius on the tip and is designed to cut with tool pressure. Sharp HSS tooling shouldn't build up much tool pressure and may prevent the tearing.

This thread is great, btw. Thanks for doing this!
 
Nick,
Thanks for showing so much detail in this WIP.
This WIP process has been such a learning event
for so many people, especially me.

As a retired teacher I really appreciate how much
time you've spent producing a wonderful instructional
tool.

Bill
 
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