Thread: What are you working on?

Mike, great idea using the rivet.
I'll have to put that one in my bag of tricks.
Thanks!

Pete <:-}

I've had some of those rivets for over a year now but yet to use them. I have a set of scales that were warped & I used my iron on them, got 'em straight but the pin holes were like the ones Mike described so I will need to use some of those rivets to do the job. That job Machine Gun Mike did reminded me of them.

“I have one bottle of the Bob Smith Industries that dried up but not before I used it a lot.”


BSI CA is good stuff, I especially like their accelerator in the pump bottle, you can buy refills in large bottles and save a bit if you use a lot of kicker.

Store your CA in a resealable glass canning jar or screw top lid jar like a small mayo jar. I picked up some silicone seals for canning jars and trimmed to fit my jars for a better air tight seal. I use vintage Ball jars with the wire snap lid.

I also store the Accelerator in a separate Ball jar. I read this tip in an old model building forum post, they also suggested not to spray activator anywhere near your open bottle of CA. Most folks are work on a project with the project, open bottle of CA and the activator on the bench. Then spray the project and spray the open bottle at the same time. You just kicked off the CA in the bottle.

The kicker is powerful and just a small amount will kick off CA, Kicker in spray cans is worst, it goes everywhere.

When buying CA look at the bottle, buy the one you can see the liquid in. Loctite brand (see black bottle on the left) has black what looks like a bottle with fins on it, but it is just plastic covering a small tube of CA, you think you are buying a large bottle, but really it is a tiny tube of CA.

Notice it contains .14 oz. once you open, it will not seal, because inside is an aluminum tube attached to the plastic spout. If you want small amounts you can buy CA in the small tubes with a screw on cap.

Yep & when a tip clogs up because some CA dried up in it, I use a pin vise with a small jewelers drill bit & I drill it out. Most of the time I can unscrew the top of the bottle, drill the dried CA out & then use compressed air to blow any out from the tip so that more that might be dried up won't clog it. I've had that happen after drilling one out.

That's how I unclog mine.

Originally Posted by outback

Started work on a Bencini, for MikeT. ...snip...
Attachment 296673

Thank you Mike! It's so cool to watch as they get worked on and then SOTD. A real treat indeed.
Auh yes, the Bencini mystery blade with Tortoise scales..
My buddy ended up telling me that since I can't verify that it's from Italy, he is gonna order a Mastro Livi blade. Lol
I'm going to sell off some other razors to make up for the expense and keep this one as I think it's a good collectors piece, and should shave well but we never know.

I like the idea with the rivet.. With scales that may crack, I assume this adds extra protection from such.
I'm going to look for some small tubing with inner diameter of 1/16" . maybe I could find various metals like stainless, brass, or even silver!
In my storage I have sterling silver rod that I found somewhere.
It would be cool to get a bunch, chop it down and send out some little packages with those three metal options.
Thanks again Mike! You rock!

Any time, bro. I really enjoy it, TBH. Im one of those guys that can't sit still, always doing something, or thinking of how to do it quicker/ more efficiently.

Originally Posted by outback

Any time, bro. I really enjoy it, TBH. Im one of those guys that can't sit still, always doing something, or thinking of how to do it quicker/ more efficiently.

... and share it with others. Thank you.

Speaking of CA tricks, I came across this one on the Crimson Guitars YouTube channel, years ago and have used it extensively.

Yea, Ben and his tattooed head looks…But he is a knowledgeable woodworker and talented guitar maker. He is one of the leading-edge makers, pushing the at times, stogy limits and not afraid to employ technology and techniques that just work. Additionally, he is a designer/maker of guitar/woodworking tools, that can be applied to other pursuits, his vids are also entertaining.

(The Greatest Luthiers Trick of All). Here, he uses garden variety masking tape and CA to make a double-sided tape solution, that is cheap, quick, easy, removable and crazy super strong. Works great for double side taping most anything, from taping an odd sized or shaped work piece to a bench for shaping or planning or on jigs. Works great for gluing sandpaper to anything where you may want to remove it easily, and without residue.

For scales I use Scotch double sided tape, that I buy from the Dollar store. It is, thin and plenty strong, though I do have to remove some residue with WD40 occasionally. I do not like the foamed back tape for scales, white glue and paper works well also.

Ben’s Crimson Guitar channel is filled with lots of good tips and techniques that can be useful for razor restoration and other shop projects, worth watching.

The Greatest Luthiers Trick of All

So what do you want to know, Dave.
How can I help you. By all seeing your question, we can all brain storm it. That's how you come to the best solution.

My process comes from many years as a service tech. If your getting paid flat rate, ya gotta find the quickest way, and beat that time. Time is money..

Like a full restore, where the scales need repaired.

Start with the scales, once the repairs are made and your waiting for it to cure, move to the blade. Then back to the scales till their soakin in oil. Now finish the blade, start the wedge, or start the next project.

Plan your work, work your plan. This is what I do before I even pull the first pin. I've done this with multiple razors going all at the same time. All done in a constant progression, one flowing into the next.