celtic knot ilays not evan
- Thread starter Yella19
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walshjp17
Member
Krash
Member
Hi ,
i did my first celtic knot inlay , aluminium in pine , but the spacings are not even,
as im relatively new to turning pens could anyone suggest a jig to get the cuts more even on a bench top mini bandsaw. Thanks in advance
Using thin aluminum that is thinner than the kerf of your sawblade will create offsets in the segments you cut through on each subsequent cut. The reason the celtic knots you see on this site are in alignment is because, as the library link sent by walshjp17 shows, the segmented material matches the kerf, in this case a table saw blade. You see his guide for the kerf thickness of his 3 different blades. This is so he can match the added material to his saw blade.
I am in the process of writing up some possible correcting steps that can be taken to match the offset segments back up. Stay tuned ....
Krash
Member
Another more likely reason for uneven spacings is not drilling exacly thru the middle.
Sylvanite
Member
monophoto
Member
Celtic knots are exercises in precision craftsmanship. The key points are:
1. The cross section of the blank needs to be as square as possible.
2. The saw kerf width must match the thickness of the inlay. Errors here will result in misalignment of segments of the knot.
3. The saw kerfs must be done in a precisely repeatable fashion. I suppose that a chop saw would work, but the best approach is to use a jig.
4. The cuts should not go all the way through the blank, but rather be only kerfs that leave a thin (1/16" or so) intact strip of the blank. That thin strip keeps the blank aligned so that all you have to do is apply glue and slip the inlay into the saw kerf.
5. Make sure your saw blade is sharp - a dull blade will scorch the wood adjacent to the saw kerf, and the scorched wood will be obvious when the blank is later turned. But DON'T use wax on the saw blade - you have to glue the inlay to those cut edges and while waxing the blade will result in cleaner cuts, it will inhibit gluing..
6. I find the best approach to gluing is to use a good PVA glue (Titebond) and allow enough time for the glue to cure before cutting the kerf for the next inlay. I put glue on both sides of the inlay, and then use that to spread glue on the sides of the saw kerf. Making celtic knot blanks is not something you can knock out in an hour or so - I prefer to make it a quasi-production process where I work on several blanks simultaneously, and take a couple of days to finish those blanks.
7. Allow the glue to cure for a week or so before turning. If you turn too quickly, you can produce a smooth finish only to find that a glue ridge appears several days later.
8. Drill as precisely as possible. If the drill wanders off center, the final knot won't be symmetrical.
1. The cross section of the blank needs to be as square as possible.
2. The saw kerf width must match the thickness of the inlay. Errors here will result in misalignment of segments of the knot.
3. The saw kerfs must be done in a precisely repeatable fashion. I suppose that a chop saw would work, but the best approach is to use a jig.
4. The cuts should not go all the way through the blank, but rather be only kerfs that leave a thin (1/16" or so) intact strip of the blank. That thin strip keeps the blank aligned so that all you have to do is apply glue and slip the inlay into the saw kerf.
5. Make sure your saw blade is sharp - a dull blade will scorch the wood adjacent to the saw kerf, and the scorched wood will be obvious when the blank is later turned. But DON'T use wax on the saw blade - you have to glue the inlay to those cut edges and while waxing the blade will result in cleaner cuts, it will inhibit gluing..
6. I find the best approach to gluing is to use a good PVA glue (Titebond) and allow enough time for the glue to cure before cutting the kerf for the next inlay. I put glue on both sides of the inlay, and then use that to spread glue on the sides of the saw kerf. Making celtic knot blanks is not something you can knock out in an hour or so - I prefer to make it a quasi-production process where I work on several blanks simultaneously, and take a couple of days to finish those blanks.
7. Allow the glue to cure for a week or so before turning. If you turn too quickly, you can produce a smooth finish only to find that a glue ridge appears several days later.
8. Drill as precisely as possible. If the drill wanders off center, the final knot won't be symmetrical.