First knot pen

[Stubach]

Tried my hand at a Celtic Knot pen the other day. Made from firewood black walnut and maple (need to stop stealing from the wood pile ).

Lots of learnings but overall pretty happy as a first attempt. Also first time using Shellawax and EEE, yeah, like those a lot.

Kit: Vertex Click from Rockler

 

[KenB259]

Decent first attempt and gutsy using aluminum in it. If you don't mind a little helpful criticism, I can tell your infill doesn't exactly match your kerf, that is why the alignment is off a little.

 

[jttheclockman]

Not bad for your first one. You now learned the steps. As mentioned the infill needs to match the kerf of your saw cuts exactly and you need to be able to glue them in without any flex when clamped. The do not cut all the way through the blank works great for keeping alignment. I also would use a contrasting color to make the knot pop. You are on your way. Keep at it and have some fun.

 

[Kcimdrib]

Very good first attempt keep going.

 

[Stubach]

Thank you for the info, and I don't mind helpful criticism at all. I'm here to learn and enjoy.

Yeah, the first cut I tried the not cutting all the way through and realized my inlay pieces weren't exactly correct thickness so I ended up switching to full cuts, second cut my makeshift jig didn't hold things quite right before setup. I modified the jig for cuts three and 4 and they came out better.

Now my head is swimming with ideas on how to make a better jig for this process. Seen some nice ones and I'm trying to couple those ideas with my concept to fit what supplies I have available. Luckily I came into possession of two free 1'x2'x3/4" HDPE panels I was planning to use to make resin molds but I'll divert some to this project I'm sure.

As for the aluminum inlays…strictly speaking this isn't my real first attempt. Previous attempt was with maple block and BW inlay which I did with the partial cut through method. Inlay was much tighter fit but the epoxy I used didn't fully set up on my 45deg shop (even though I gave it overnight) or it had a ton of voids. When I went to drill the blank it pulled apart as the drill recessed from a stroke. Aluminum lines insert was already set and ready to go so rather than make another BW inlay I just moved on to my planned second attempt.

Third attempt will be after I get home with aluminum lined BW on maple. Nice having a firewood stack rich in maple and BW to pilfer from and a recycle bin full of cans to make test blanks.

 

[KenB259]

Thank you for the info, and I don't mind helpful criticism at all. I'm here to learn and enjoy.

Yeah, the first cut I tried the not cutting all the way through and realized my inlay pieces weren't exactly correct thickness so I ended up switching to full cuts, second cut my makeshift jig didn't hold things quite right before setup. I modified the jig for cuts three and 4 and they came out better.

Now my head is swimming with ideas on how to make a better jig for this process. Seen some nice ones and I'm trying to couple those ideas with my concept to fit what supplies I have available. Luckily I came into possession of two free 1'x2'x3/4" HDPE panels I was planning to use to make resin molds but I'll divert some to this project I'm sure.

As for the aluminum inlays…strictly speaking this isn't my real first attempt. Previous attempt was with maple block and BW inlay which I did with the partial cut through method. Inlay was much tighter fit but the epoxy I used didn't fully set up on my 45deg shop (even though I gave it overnight) or it had a ton of voids. When I went to drill the blank it pulled apart as the drill recessed from a stroke. Aluminum lines insert was already set and ready to go so rather than make another BW inlay I just moved on to my planned second attempt.

Third attempt will be after I get home with aluminum lined BW on maple. Nice having a firewood stack rich in maple and BW to pilfer from and a recycle bin full of cans to make test blanks.

When you build your jig, my advice is to make sure you change the gut angle. Almost 100 % of people cut their first knots at 45 degrees, myself included. Knots though, look so much better at a greater degree. I like mine at 53 degrees.