RobF -> RE: Rosette making (Jan. 14 2024 14:15:26)
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Howdy Stu, I’m a little time crunched, too, so I’ll just fly through the points with brief observations… Stu: Firstly, when I initially made my blocks (for each row of the rosette) one of them somehow got depressed in a certain area. (Maybe I clamped too hard when glueing) so now they while piece, and every strip I slice off of it has about a 20mm length dent on it. A. Toss that sandwich and make a new one. It’s the quickest and easiest out. Stu: Also, when I began to plane each strip from each block. Down to 0.5mm they were all just breaking up and shedding. I think this must've been an issue with my plane being too blunt? I tried to sharpen and thought I had a really sharp blade but it still shredded. A. It sounds like the blade is still too dull, are you cutting with the plane at an angle? The angle gives a slicing action as opposed to shearing if you approach the strip head on, so if you weren’t angling, try that. Stu: So now I'm using a sanding block with two strips of veneer taped to it to thickness each strip. But every so often the strip im sanding gets stuck on the taped on veneer and bends and buckles. (Sometimes snapping) A. Only sand in one direction away from the clamping spot. It’s buckling when your sanding swipe goes back towards the clamp. I would personally return to the plane method and try to make that work, however, but honestly there is no one definitive way. Whichever works for you is the correct method at that particular moment in time. Stu: I've seen it done with a scraper with two veneers taped onto the work bench. But this feels a bit harsh and liable to snapping too. A. I use a scraper, one of those Lee Valley string inlay scrapers. I also have a pull scraper setup, too, which is an old school in concept but made by a local machinist but honestly the plane method works just as well. Stu: So I'm still trying to decide on the best method. I think it's the sanding method but it takes a while because I deliberately cut the steps extra long on the bandsaw to avoid any early breakages.. Are there any other methods of thicknessing these strips? Some kind of jig/plate for my drum sander that all strips sit in and can be done at once? Or is the drum sander for such a task like using a sword as a tooth pick? A. Drum sander is too blunt an instrument, unless it’s one of those mini machines that rich guys use. Stu: I also seem to be struggling with the strips coming apart as they get down to 0.5mm. I suppose that's a lack of glue when I initially glued the blocks? A. Not enough glue, or the glue is drying while you’re applying it. I started using a traditional method I saw on a Ramirez video. While dry, layer your strips in the correct order to make the stick. Hold it in one hand at the end and fan the strips out. Then dip your other hand in the glue and use your fingers to coat the strips. Close the fan, grab the other end, fan it out, and finish coating the strips with glue. Then close it up, form the square with your fingers (surprisingly accurate when done by feel) and gently squeeze out the excess glue. The stick can then be placed in a form and clamped. Messy, but very accurate and fast. Following on this, and regardless of how the glue is applied, the form should be accurate to the final dimension. Don’t clamp with pressure, the form should be constructed in a manner to prevent this (this is how you were taught, actually, but it’s easy to forget). Finally, check your veneer thicknesses. I bought a crapload of veneer from Gurian when he was closing up shop and they sent a bunch of poorly dimensioned sheets. Making a perfect rosette is hard enough without using flawed raw material so avoid disappointment by checking first and discarding/repurposing faulty sheets. As far as the clamping jig goes, Ethan makes his by routing a channel in wood, the course you took used Teflon sheets to make glue proof forms, you can use hardboard to do the same and glue-proof it with plastic boxing tape, John Ray preforms his sticks with a curved jig, my nephew does something similar, with excellent results, another friend preforms with a press, Pablo has a video showing how to make a simple sanding jig to add the taper, which is what I’ve done ever since seeing that video, you were taught how to taper using the curved blade of a no.5 plane (also a great way except I would recommend sourcing an old plane and make a purpose built clamp for it, to avoid deforming the sides of your ‘good’ plane in the bench clamp). There’s a thousand ways. Finally, I think is important for new makers to foster a creative yet matter-of-fact attitude towards jig making. Just get in the habit of thinking up new ways to make jigs and try to take the idea of jig making in stride as being a normal part of the process. When you visit the shops of other makers, scan their shelves and ask about any interesting jigs. You’ll learn so much that way, but will also realize each maker has cooked up clever, creative, and unique ways to solve common problems. It’s all part of the joy of it. Hope that helps. There’s no one right or wrong answer to some of this stuff. It more boils down to what’s comfortable and what materials and tools are available. Out of everything I said, I think the last paragraph is the most important.
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