Help with four ring celtic knotwork...

[happycat]

I read the tutorial in the library by Gary Greenberg on knotwork pens, and have been having a go at it...with limited success. I built a nice pen sled for my table saw, and have been experimenting away. The first attempt blew apart on the lathe.
I switched to epoxy, and worked harder at getting my insert wood exactally the same width as my kerf. This one stayed together, but didn't really "make a knot". It looked more like a broken chain or something. I cut all of the cuts on the right side of my miter sled, which I'm guessing was my mistake.
Heres my question: Assuming I numbered the sides as shown in the tutorial,(1-facing you, 2-opposite side, 3- on right, and 4- on left, how should I proceed to get the knot? 1 & 2 on the right side of the miter sled, and 3&4 on the left? That would be my guess, but I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks very much!
Ed

 

[toolcrazy]

Nope, you do all the cutting on one side. If you want 2 loops, then you cut only side 1 and 2, if you want 4 loops, then you cut all 4. Cut them in order 1,2,3,4. Sound like you didn't get the cuts deep enough and when you turned it, you didn't get it turned deep enough to take away the main blank, IE broken chain.

 

[VisExp]

As Steve said it sounds to me like you are not setting your blade high enough. Assuming your blank is 3/4" x 3/4", the finished diameter of your pen is 1/2" and you are drilling through the exact center of your pen. I know a lot of assumptions You would have to set the height of your saw blade at just over 5/8" above the bed of your sled. That way when you turn, you turn away all the waste wood and some of the inlaid wood so the pattern is continuous around the pen.

All the cuts are made from the same side of the blade. Set up a stop black so that all the cuts are exactly the same distance from the nib end of the blank. Using your numbering system I would make my cuts in this order: 1, 2, 3 and 4, although the order of the cuts is not that important.

The most critical thing, aside from having your blade at the right height, is that your inlays are exactly the same thickness as your blade kerf. This applies to a lot of segmented work!

BTW, your "broken chain" can be a nice pattern itself. Have a look at this pen:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36076

P.S It would be great to see some of your bladesmithing work. Post it in the "Other things we make" forum

 

[happycat]

Thanks guys. I thought I cut deep enough, but aparently not. I'm going to put it back on the lathe and take it down a bit more and see what happens. I used a stop block (this time). I'll try and get some knives up on the "other things" forum. Thanks for asking. Well, back at it... I'll post a pic if I actually get it right. I really appreciate the help!
Ed

 

[GaryMGg]

Ed,
If it doesn't turn out correct, this would be the place to post the pics too.
From photos, we'll more'n likely be able to help diagnose other issues.
Not only are all of Keith's suggestions correct, you also need to drill down
the center of a square blank.
So, to reiterate:
1. Absolutely square blank
2. Stop block on the sled's fence for positioning
3. Inserts the same size as the saw blade's kerf
4. Clean up any overhanging edges and glue after gluing in the insert -- keep the blank square
5. Drill dead center

Overlooking any of those can cause a CK to come out looking like something other than intended.

Hope that's useful.