WWA Info Exchange

Well, I have a marking knife, but it is quite large, thick bladed, and just doesn't fit my hand very nicely... and the Schwarz also had a recent article on dovetail marking knives and that got my creative juices flowing (especially after seeing the prices of $29-$79 for dovetail knives)....



So after the zoo (and our first swim in our pool of the season) I took a bosch jig saw blade and stared at it for a while...

And discovered that the factory shank fits PERFECTLY into a 7mm brass pen tube - the blade even has two wings that hold the blade in place nicely when it is inserted...


I cut off the shank and then used my disk sander and a scrap as a jig to create the point. I then flattened the piece on waterstones and then cut the bevels on my slow speed grinder freehand (I need to figure out a jig if I ever do it again) I then flattened the back and sharpened the blade on waterstones.

I drilled a 7mm hole in some sapele and glued a 7mm brass tube in place. I then turned the handle "closed end style" on the lathe and also turned it "eccentric" with the live center turned off center on 2 axis. This created a wooden butterknife shape at the end while the end nearest the headstock (the brass tube end) remained round. I removed it several times until the handle fit my hand nicely (the flat sits in the crook between the thumb and the hand and it registers nicely) In addition, it will not roll off the workbench because of the oval handle. I then sanded and put a finish on the handle.

this pic kind of shows the oval shape of the handle - the dot on the end is a photographic mutation-- the handle comes to a rounded point.

I put some gell CA glue into the tube and then inserted the blade... I then added 2small wooden toothpick wedges (one on each side) just in case. I then wrapped white yarn around the transition, using thin CA glue to bind it-- this created the necessary transition between the blade and the wood handle. I think I'll use thinner thread (colored perhaps) or fly fishing line if I ever do it again.

Fun and useful project that only took a couple of hours... just thought I'd share the technique as well as the whole thing worked so well with a standard pen kit.

The cork is to keep the business end safe
Thanks for looking
Lawrence

Great job Lawrence!!!
I really like that knife!! It is a little small for what I want to do but, I like your using your head along with scraps and a used-up blade! (Now I wish that I had thought of the jigsaw blade idea.)
I made another knife yesterday using plans that Gene PM'd me.
Will post photos here in a little while after the finish dries.

Rog

_________________
Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Rather than use the toll-less blades, get some of the old fashioned type (with the 2 holes) and rivet them to the handle. Split the handle, insert the blade, rivet closed. Should lock up the blade rock solid so it doesn't spin or twist while in use.

Not a BAD idea but, the Bosch blades are a bit thicker and stiffer than the old flip flopy blades with the holes for set screws.
You wouldn't BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE when using them for the intended purpose (in a jig saw) and not just as knife blades. I don't care for a blade flexing and following grain instead of the stright edge.
One of Chucks plans used hacksaw blades and they are too thin for me too.

Rog

_________________
Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Great work Lawrence.

_________________
Frank
WWACOAUX#1
"I love the smell of Sawdust in the morning, it smells like, victory."
WWA'ers I've met: Popeye, Ed Avery, Stephen Wolf, Rockfish, Rodedon

it took me a day or two, but I finally found the site where I (believe) I got the idea for using a jig saw blade-- the article is named "a knife for marking dovetails" but it is certainly worth perusing this gentleman's other articles and I thought I'd share if anyone was interested.
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/index.html

Lawrence

For those of you that are interested in marking knives and making them, I had posted a couple links in the "Daily UareL" HERE. This was posted on May 10th. This included the link Lawerence cited.

_________________
C J K
in beautiful -
Oxford GA, USA

Well, now I'm embarassed... I hadn't cheched the daily URL in a couple of days Thanks for doing an awesome job Chuck and sorry I missed it-

Lawrence

I'm thinking that we ought to expand this a bit to cover general marking and measuring tools and how to use them in various tasks. Such as pin type and blade type marking gages, knives for thin pin dovetails vs those for marking out mortices, and so on. Whatcha think? Or is that topic sufficiently covered elsewhere?

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Lawrence - Not to be embarrassed! I just wanted to put in a plug for "The Daily UareL"

Gene - I will do some poking around and see if I can't find some sites to link to for some of the things you suggested.

If anyone has some site for the other marking and measuring tools just PM me.

_________________
C J K
in beautiful -
Oxford GA, USA

Cool. There's a ton of things we could discuss. Uses and adjustment of carpenter squares for example.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)