Thread: What are you working on?

Sharp looking call Aaron! Didn't know that ducks were so picky about shiny things though, I would think most of it would be covered by your hand wouldn't it?

Neat looking chisel handle Kavik79, I really like the brass ferrel on the end.

I liked the brass on Kacik79’s chisel too. I think the detail put into the random facets and the two finishes on the brass is a lot of detail.

Yeah, nice tool handle and details too. On the call, not being a duck hunter myself, I didn't know ducks are so skittish-I guess that's why you hunt them from a blind. But as an occasional dove hunter back in the day, I know that once the season got going, the least little thing would send them in panic flight in a different direction, out of gun range, so it makes sense.

The call I copied, a commercial one in bocote, was also gloss-finished, as are many I saw while doing my research. Anyway, my son loves it, and according to him it makes all the right duck sounds (which are very loud and annoying in the house lol!). If it puts a duck or two on my table, it will be worth it. If I get some of the customers my son promises, I'll ask them what finish they want.

In other news, I'm back on that DI shaving brush handle today with freshly-sharpened tools. I just finished with 240 grit and am taking a break; that stuff eats sandpaper like a fat kid eats candy! Not sure DI and carbide jibe too well, even on fresh faces, maybe cuz they're both super hard?

Funny-blowing that pic up just showed me some leftover scratches I need to go back and clean up before moving up-yikes!

Here it is basically finished, just sanded and polished with its own oils to pop its natural chatoyance. Looks like I need to buff some scratches out of the brass band too. I got that idea from duck calls lol. Since the matching razor and scales are going to have all brass hardware and wedge, I thought the band might complement it. I've got a 22mm Maggards SHD fan knot ready to epoxy into it.

I look forward to seeing how the set looks when completed-getting close.

SHD: nice turning! that duck call looks amazing

I agree that the brass ferrule on Kacik79's handle is a really nice touch.

RezDog: The hollow grinds are actually pretty symmetrical and smooth. The random grinder scratches makes it look uneven depending on the light. I think you may be right about it being a re-grind though. I started sanding last night while some epoxy repairs were drying on the scales and noticed the stabilizer grinds were a bit wonky and didn't go all the way to the spine.

Thanks all, appreciate the compliments
One of these days I'd love to get a metal lathe, but in the mean time, it's nice that brass is soft enough to work (slowly and carefully) with HSS tools on a standard wood lathe!

Also, i just like brass :-D
Nice idea on the band on the brush Scout.
Would you seal that with the same CA method?

Originally Posted by Kavik79

Thanks all, appreciate the compliments
One of these days I'd love to get a metal lathe, but in the mean time, it's nice that brass is soft enough to work (slowly and carefully) with HSS tools on a standard wood lathe!

Also, i just like brass :-D
Nice idea on the band on the brush Scout.
Would you seal that with the same CA method?

No, desert ironwood is super dense and oily. If you've never handled it, it is astonishingly heavy and hard-3260 on the Janka scale. Turning it for the 1st time was an education to say the least. Like ebony and all the dahlbergies (rosewoods, African blackwood, etc.), it basically polishes itself and needs no finish. If I do anything, I might buff in a couple coats of beeswax or Renwax.

One other trick I picked up from somebody's turning video is to grab a handful of your wood shavings and burnish the piece while it is running on the lathe just squeezing it on-if you've never tried that, you wouldn't believe how that removes stubborn low-level sanding scratches. Given a smooth finish without too many heavy tool marks, you could almost do that alone for a really nice satin finish without sandpaper.

As for putting on the brass band, I just sneaked up on the diameter for a press fit, then turned in some grooves for a tight epoxy fit. We'll see how it looks once I get it all together-I'm just waiting on some brass for the matching razor wedge. I too love brass!

JJ-You are the king of resurrecting Freddies-show us pics of the finished product!

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

JJ-You are the king of resurrecting Freddies-show us pics of the finished product!

Will do. Probably post up a few in progress pics as well. The last of the bug bite repairs is drying, so I started hiding the hone wear - lots of sanding in my future.

Right, right. Sorry, but I was meaning just the brass, not even the wood. Was wondering if that would get some sort of seal over it, since it will be around a lot of water and soaps.
Or just the occasional buffing to keep ahead of any tarnishing?

I dunno about you, but I've got pretty caustic skin oils...i can't keep many metals very shiny after handling them much.
Wasn't sure what similar effects some soaps may have on speeding up the dulling of that polished finish?

P. S.
Yeah, love the shavings burnishing method on harder, oily wood!

P. P. S.
This thread is really making me want to go through and sharpen up all my turning tools.
Thanks for the (much needed) inspiration!

Originally Posted by Kavik79

Right, right. Sorry, but I was meaning just the brass, not even the wood. Was wondering if that would get some sort of seal over it, since it will be around a lot of water and soaps.
Or just the occasional buffing to keep ahead of any tarnishing?

I dunno about you, but I've got pretty caustic skin oils...i can't keep many metals very shiny after handling them much.
Wasn't sure what similar effects some soaps may have on speeding up the dulling of that polished finish?

P. S.
Yeah, love the shavings burnishing method on harder, oily wood!

P. P. S.
This thread is really making me want to go through and sharpen up all my turning tools.
Thanks for the (much needed) inspiration!

Okay, sorry I misunderstood. But no, I won't be sealing that brass. I've got another brush in acrylester and brass that a former SRP member made for several of us back in the day, and yeah, I just clean and buff it occasionally. My son the engineer also designed me a solid brass brush that gets the same occasional treatment as needed.