Ahhhh...I love Florida.
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Too flat....for me. This ol boy needs hills and snow or I feel I'm on another planet.
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[QUOTE=ScoutHikerDad;1878400]Jerry, here's a question for you (or any other wood-finishing experts).
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BTW, Thanks for the laugh Aaron. I didn't know anything about woodworking or finishing until i joined this group. And with the instructions from Mike i got a good start and went from there.
Far from an expert!
Ive found those blanks at Woodcraft too. But most of them had small cracks or were too warped. Maybe the store near you is better than mine.
Jerry, you do some of the nicest finishes on wood scales I’ve seen. I’d love to see a start to finish sequence if you ever have the time.
Florida ain't flat. Kansas is flat. Upstate where I am it can be quite Hilly and even down near Orlando it is very hilly in places. Course the highest elevation is less than 350 ft above sea level but that's in the panhandle which is really South Alabama. Most of it is 125 ft or less. That's why it's so hot in Florida. Hell, for you mountain boys it must be like breathing soup. The infamous "The Swamp" at Ben Hill Griffin stadium at UF is I believe actually below sea level AND they have real grass. I imagine being from 3500 feet and playing football in that in mid September when it's 96 has got to be damn near torture.Everyone thinks of Florida is being flat and there are no mountains and in fairness the coastal plain is flat but if you go into the interior some of it has quite a bit of topography. Nothing like you're used to though I'm sure.
Well I must have gotten a bug for digging out old projects that were sitting in the box unfinished.
So I bought this blade on eBay probably a year ago
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and I worked on that thing for what seemed like forever. It was really pitted but I just saw this beauty in the blade. I decided to leave it with a patina from the pitting (largely because I didn't have much choice because Iwould have lost the engraving completely if I did.)
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I made scales out of Live Oak snag and had it all done. I started taking it back apart...I don't know why. I think it was to smooth of the wedge which I made out of brass. Anyway...in the process of flattening the pin I gouged a scale pretty deep with the sanding barrel on the Dremel. DANG IT! Into the bag it goes for another day.
So...fast forward to today when I pulled it out of the bag to look at it and out came the blade. While. I did the "Get The Hell Out Of The Way" dance it hit the floor and dinged the toe. DANG IT!! again so I decided now was the time to repair it. I had left the scales thick and very round so I decided the only way to fix the gouge was to flattop them.
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I still have some sanding to do before I re-apply the clear (that is all I put on it. The natural color is so beautiful.Attachment 309050
I'll let you know when I get the 3 coats of clear done and get it pinned back together.
I've thought about it a few times, but Im sure there are a few already here. But maybe not with Tru-oil. I will think about it. I did cut up my leftover piece of Maple into blanks yesterday, and got the rough cutting and sanding on my last two hone boxes done. We will see. But as Mike said, the Tru-oil works. I don't go exactly by the instructions, but with about 10 coats and a week of time it comes together nicely. And the wood your using makes a big difference. It works on most all types, but some better than others.
Paul, you can darken that etch with bluing. Richard did a thread on it some time ago. Essentially you Blue it and then with high grit sandpaper on a hard backer you remove the high areas.