Celtic knot---What I've learned.

[knowltoh]

Here are a couple of my better celtic knots. I have a lot that were disasters! I am the type of person who tends to be impatient and I like projects that can be completed quickly. This great hobby has done a lot to instill patience in my personality---definitely a work in progress.

The pen on the left is a Le Roi in Bloodwood and the other is a Le Roi Elegant in Birdseye maple.

I have learned the following doing celtic knots.

1) The inlay must be as close to the kerf of the blade as possible.

2) Starting with a square blank is crucial

3) After cutting the blank for the first inlay, glue and clamp for at least 24 hrs before making the next cut.

4) Marking and drilling the blanks at the center has to be right on or the segments of the knot will not be symmetrical. This is probably the most critical part.


5) Avoid heat buildup when drilling or the inlays may (will) separate.

6)----
7)----

The list could go on, but these were major in my eyes. Start to finish was 7 days on these two pens, but they are best to date.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[BW Design Works]

Good job ! looks like you have it down :biggrin:.

 

[Carrick]

I'm impressed. I haven't attempted the Celtic knot yet, but I am looking to built a jig this week, so thanks for the inspiration.

 

[islandturner]

Those look really good. I've tried and the results were far from nice as these -- need to keep working at it. Congrats...

Steve

 

[Drstrangefart]

I do all of mine with a combination of thick and medium CA, and they take 2-4 hours total, depending on what issues I run into. You have some superb knots there.

 

[Craftdiggity]

I use medium CA for mine and only wait 10 minutes or so after squirting a little accelerator on it. Haven't had a blow up so far.

 

[Texatdurango]

H.....
Comments and suggestions welcome.

I think if you tightened up your design by changing the angle of your blade your designs would look more like knots than X's and O's.

Another thought, have you considered doing a six sided knot, they look really sharp!

 

[Texatdurango]

I use medium CA for mine and only wait 10 minutes or so after squirting a little accelerator on it. Haven't had a blow up so far.

Perhaps not but wait a year or two and watch them start falling apart.

In my mind, pens are made to last a while and the 10 minute build isn't the true measure of a well constructed pen.

 

[boxerman]

Very nice pens. Great job.

 

[W.Y.]

Herb.
You did a real fine job on those Celtic knots. Congratulations .
I have made dozens of them . You will find that with more practice you will get it down to making several in a day . Have even made a tutorial on my particular way of doing them.

I also use CA for gluing them together . Have not made any recently but have had no problem at all with any as far as falling apart etc. from 3 to 5 years back.

 

[Ruby pen turning]

I use medium CA for mine and only wait 10 minutes or so after squirting a little accelerator on it. Haven't had a blow up so far.

Perhaps not but wait a year or two and watch them start falling apart.

In my mind, pens are made to last a while and the 10 minute build isn't the true measure of a well constructed pen.

Crap...I have CA in all my pens, some of them have a lot of CA. If I am not wrong everyone uses CA. If I am getting this correctly this means all of our pens are doomed? destined for refunds to the purchasers and trash cans?
Or am I reading it wrong... that if it does not take days or weeks to build a pen it is going to fall apart?

 

[Texatdurango]

I use medium CA for mine and only wait 10 minutes or so after squirting a little accelerator on it. Haven't had a blow up so far.

Perhaps not but wait a year or two and watch them start falling apart.

In my mind, pens are made to last a while and the 10 minute build isn't the true measure of a well constructed pen.

Crap...I have CA in all my pens, some of them have a lot of CA. If I am not wrong everyone uses CA. If I am getting this correctly this means all of our pens are doomed? destined for refunds to the purchasers and trash cans?
Or am I reading it wrong... that if it does not take days or weeks to build a pen it is going to fall apart?

A bit overdramatic but yes, you caught my point. As mentioned above, some seem to gage their success on the fact that their pens dont blow apart on the lathe but that really doesn't say anything about the longevity of the bonds. I've seen and handled pens that look like crap six months down the road with glue joints so misaligned that you can catch a fingernail on them and the makers swore they were PERFECT when they made them and just don't understand what happened. I quit using CA in segmented pens a while back because I just didn't think the glue joints were flexable enough to withstand the movements in the mating woods. But, to each their own, I was just stating an opinion based on experiences.

I think Herb is on the right track with taking his time!

 

[StephenM]

Congratulations on some nice looking pens! I've gotten the "cut and glue" down pat but am still working on the "drill the hole in the exact center" part. Luckily I have lots of poplar left over from trimming out a room and about 300 sq ft of dark veneer that's the exact width of my bandsaw blade. That should give me enough to practice for 20 or 30 years which seems to be how long it's going to take to learn to drill a hole with my lathe.