A week or so ago I asked Constant if he would make a bunch of SA Springbok Rugby themed kits for me. I loved the design he came up with and sent to me so I promptly ordered them.
They arrived today and I was eager to have a go.
Here are my thoughts and experiences with them. I did ask Constant if it was ok to write something and his reply was...'As long as you are honest, you can write what you want'
I opened the pack and thought OMG !!!! They are all smashed to smitherens, but the box was fine
Why are they broken??
Of course they weren't broken at all, just some REALLY small bits.
I'm not sure if he does this with all the kits but the 'waste' bits were still in situ in some of the barrels. Certainly no problem getting them out, though I did bend up a bit of wire to poke them out from the inside, which made it easier. Next I studied the inlay parts and two things struck me.
First was that I'd never get my big hams to pick them up and get them in place. The second 'problem' was something all REAL men suffer from....
failure to read the instructions.
The main part of this inlay comes in one piece and when I offered it up to the barrel, I thought that there was no way on God's green earth that they were going to fit. I'd position the back leg and the head would be about a centimetre away from fitting. Now what?? Did Constant make the parts for different kits?? I thought about it for ages and decided that the only way I'd get them in was to deliberately break them and fit the broken bits in. So I shot Constant and email and then went to his site.
Bingo!!! Several other kits had instruction to break the delicate and beautifully made parts.
At first I thought that was just stupid, why not just lazer smaller parts??
The only one being stupid was me, when I realised that breaking them would leave no or very little evidence of the break, compared to a laser cut line.
So, I chopped off the head and legs. I tried to be clever and used a sharp blade on the inside. I just pressed down on the blade till the parts snapped. The blade cut about half way before each piece snapped off, leaving a clean edge.
The instruction on the site ( and those that Constant sent ) said just to use small spots of CA to hold the bits together as the gaps should fill with sawdust to fill them nicely. Gaps??? What Gaps??? These parts were really 'snug' to put it mildly.
There was a suggested sequence for installing these bits ( the bits you break/cut) and there is very good logic in that suggestion...but...
I found that when I cut the parts, the cut would follow the grain and therefore if a particular part went in first, then the angle of the cut wouldn't allow the next bit in. This is difficult to explain, but if you need to do it, then look at the bits before you follow the suggestion.
Once all the parts were in, I CA'd the tube in. But first, as the barrel was longer than the tube, I decided which end to insert the tube from so that the design would be central.
Turning it gave no surprises until I came to sanding. I was worried that the green dye would bleed into the light wood if I wiped it down wet to apply the finish. I dry sanded and just rubbed a tissue over it to clean all the dust off.
I'm no expert on CA finish but this was kind to me and went on very well.
There really is a lot more shine than the pic suggests.
Now that I was feeling brave and cocky I 'double sleeved' a tube from an EB and did another one. ( these were made for Sierra's)
Over all, am I pleased that I bought them?? Oh yes!!!!
Would I buy more?? Oh yes!!!
My best tips would be 'Get the instructions' and work somewhere that if you drop a piece, then you will be able to find it.:wink:
These two have already been claimed. The EB by my wife and the Sierra by my youngest son who is an avid Bokke supporter even though he plays rugby for a Welsh club. But he does wear his SA colours to practice:biggrin:
They arrived today and I was eager to have a go.
Here are my thoughts and experiences with them. I did ask Constant if it was ok to write something and his reply was...'As long as you are honest, you can write what you want'
I opened the pack and thought OMG !!!! They are all smashed to smitherens, but the box was fine
Why are they broken??Of course they weren't broken at all, just some REALLY small bits.
I'm not sure if he does this with all the kits but the 'waste' bits were still in situ in some of the barrels. Certainly no problem getting them out, though I did bend up a bit of wire to poke them out from the inside, which made it easier. Next I studied the inlay parts and two things struck me.
First was that I'd never get my big hams to pick them up and get them in place. The second 'problem' was something all REAL men suffer from....
failure to read the instructions.
The main part of this inlay comes in one piece and when I offered it up to the barrel, I thought that there was no way on God's green earth that they were going to fit. I'd position the back leg and the head would be about a centimetre away from fitting.
Now what?? Did Constant make the parts for different kits?? I thought about it for ages and decided that the only way I'd get them in was to deliberately break them and fit the broken bits in. So I shot Constant and email and then went to his site.Bingo!!! Several other kits had instruction to break the delicate and beautifully made parts.
At first I thought that was just stupid, why not just lazer smaller parts??
The only one being stupid was me, when I realised that breaking them would leave no or very little evidence of the break, compared to a laser cut line.
So, I chopped off the head and legs. I tried to be clever and used a sharp blade on the inside. I just pressed down on the blade till the parts snapped. The blade cut about half way before each piece snapped off, leaving a clean edge.
The instruction on the site ( and those that Constant sent ) said just to use small spots of CA to hold the bits together as the gaps should fill with sawdust to fill them nicely. Gaps??? What Gaps??? These parts were really 'snug' to put it mildly.
There was a suggested sequence for installing these bits ( the bits you break/cut) and there is very good logic in that suggestion...but...
I found that when I cut the parts, the cut would follow the grain and therefore if a particular part went in first, then the angle of the cut wouldn't allow the next bit in. This is difficult to explain, but if you need to do it, then look at the bits before you follow the suggestion.
Once all the parts were in, I CA'd the tube in. But first, as the barrel was longer than the tube, I decided which end to insert the tube from so that the design would be central.
Turning it gave no surprises until I came to sanding. I was worried that the green dye would bleed into the light wood if I wiped it down wet to apply the finish. I dry sanded and just rubbed a tissue over it to clean all the dust off.
I'm no expert on CA finish but this was kind to me and went on very well.
There really is a lot more shine than the pic suggests.
Now that I was feeling brave and cocky I 'double sleeved' a tube from an EB and did another one. ( these were made for Sierra's)
Over all, am I pleased that I bought them?? Oh yes!!!!
Would I buy more?? Oh yes!!!
My best tips would be 'Get the instructions' and work somewhere that if you drop a piece, then you will be able to find it.:wink:
These two have already been claimed. The EB by my wife and the Sierra by my youngest son who is an avid Bokke supporter even though he plays rugby for a Welsh club. But he does wear his SA colours to practice:biggrin:
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