Rainbow celtic knot in bloodwood with aluminum accents

[Drstrangefart]

So, it turns out that my table saw isn't the greatest for celtic knots. It ended up being a decent pen, but it took a lot of patching and backfilling to get it there. Used a can of Whoop Ass energy drink for the aluminum. CA finish.

 

[jttheclockman]

You need to crop your photos or use macro so we can actually see the knot better. From what I see it looks good.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I will work on that as soon as I can. Right now it's just the best I can do with just the camera and not really any good editing software.

 

[turner.curtis]

@drstrangefart looks nice, for editing images take a look at The GIMP. It is a good Open Source (free) image editor.

 

[Drstrangefart]

@drstrangefart looks nice, for editing images take a look at The GIMP. It is a good Open Source (free) image editor.

As soon as I get my internet worries fixed, I will be looking into it. My dial-up (Yes, I said dial-up) can't download anything bigger than a Jpg fast enough to not dump the connection and have to start over again.

 

[ldb2000]

If you need a great image editor that's free , small and simple to use but still very powerful get Irfanview www.irfanview.com . It does simple one click cropping and resizing plus it has some other great features for fixing photos like a very good image correction tool and filtering tools . It's a very small download and doesn't eat up allot of resources while it's running .

 

[Drstrangefart]

I'm attempting the irfanview download. See what happens....

 

[Drstrangefart]

Got Irfanview! I'm working on how to save them at their zoomed size....

 

[ldb2000]

To crop the image just put your cursor at a start and press the left mouse button and drag the cursor to create a box around your pen then from the edit button on the tool bar choose "crop selection" and it will cut off everything around the image box .
Then to resize the image so it fits the posting requirements here , goto to the "Image" button and choose "resize/resample" from the drop down list and the resize box will come up , on the right side of the box choose the 640X480 button and then click ok .

 

[Drstrangefart]

Got it, now I gotta figure out how to get pics from my computer loaded up here. I've just been copying the link from my FaceBook page. It eats up a TON of time.

 

[ctubbs]

Allen, I have looked and looked some more at your beautiful pen. maybe I'm just getting old and can no longer see, but I think it is excellent work The fit and finish is excellent and that darn knot is near perfect. What is the problem with it? Every time I try one of those knots, I end up drilling off center and it is pure crap. Yours is very good, congratulations.
Charles

 

[Drstrangefart]

The saw vibrates and wobbles a lot because it's a cheapo. It makes the cut too wide and the cut is wavy. There are some gaps where knot meets bloodwood that are filled with just CA. You can see the printed surface of the can in those gaps. It just happens to be a can that blends into the knot beautifully. I just noticed it because there was color outside of the aluminum highlights. I drilled it off-center on purpose because the saw knocked a huge chunk out of one side of the wood close to the knot. If you want better centering, use a ruler to mark an X running corner to corner, and put a dot on the center of the X. Use the clamp to keep the blank standing straight, instead of stiitng the blank flat, then clamping it down. Drill slowly, and pull the bit out every so often to keep it from drifting.

 

[ldb2000]

Try this link to make your own photo album here on the IAP http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35783

 

[ctubbs]

Thanks, that will help a bunch. While I was posting about the Celtic Knot, Butch came along with instructions about the photo albums here. Butch, thank you also. I have been trying to figure that out for a couple of months now. Great info. Thank you too.
Charles

 

[markgum]

looks great to me.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I added the link to my favorites bar. I will be hard at work archiving everything in there. Thanks for the help!

 

[RMckin5324]

It looks pretty damn nice to me. How do you add the Aluminum? I've been trying to figure it out from other web sites.

--Rick
Medfield. MA

 

[workinforwood]

I think that's an awesome looking knot. Gotta be one of the finest looking celtic knot's I've seen. The placement of the knot on the pen and the pen itself..not really to my taste. I'd prefer that knot on a better kit and centered more on the barrel...that's what I think anyhow. Well done!

 

[el_d]

Great looking knot Mr.Fart.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I think that's an awesome looking knot. Gotta be one of the finest looking celtic knot's I've seen. The placement of the knot on the pen and the pen itself..not really to my taste. I'd prefer that knot on a better kit and centered more on the barrel...that's what I think anyhow. Well done!

I infinitely prefer to do the Knot on a Sierra. I do not have any Sierras or Wall St II's in my shop. All I have to work with is Slimlines right now. I'm still trying to sell enough pens to sustain ordering better kits. That one was a test to see if that type of knot could be done with equipment I already have. Worked out reasonably well. I had to off-center the knot because the table saw knocked out a large chunk of bloodwood right at the knot. I feel I got the best results that the blank had to offer once the knot was completed given the difficulty provided by the saw. Still, very happy with the overall result, and once I get a better table saw, the quality should improve greatly.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Thanks, that will help a bunch. While I was posting about the Celtic Knot, Butch came along with instructions about the photo albums here. Butch, thank you also. I have been trying to figure that out for a couple of months now. Great info. Thank you too.
Charles

Another note: Before cutting and installing a knot, don't assume the blank is perfectly squared up. Measure and run it through the saw yourself and make sure it's as squared as possible. That will make it SO much easier to make sure you are centered when you drill and bring the knot together on the pen. I wouldn't have gotten near as good results without Dad there helping me muddle through it.

 

[phil]

Excellent knot, i love it. i made a jig a couple of months back, but its too dang cold out in the garage to spend enough time to run the table saw. And Butch thanks for the link for the help on the photo albums, ive been wondering about that for a while too!

 

[Drstrangefart]

I gotta run a space heater in the base/shop/ment before I head down there to hang out. It gets pretty chilly in there. Still not a bad place to work if I'd ever clean it up and organize it!