le couteau

[pmike5869]

Bought a blade from Premium, added some desert Ironwood, MOP inserts and mosaic pins. Wish the detail of the Mop showed more of the beautiful folded silk look of it. Oh well, when Mr sunlight decides to make an appearance I will see if it can add more detail.

[orvet]

Very nice Mike!

Desert iron wood is great stuff.

Dale

[DocRon]

Very nice work! Mike, how deep is the MOP insert? Did you add the insert to the wood before installing the handles? What's the trick in getting an accurate fit of the inlay? I apologize for the basic questions, but I've never tried an inlay and have always wondered how it's done. Thanks.
Ron

[pmike5869]

The inseert is about 1/16 thick when I started to dress it down to final surface. The way I do it is; First cut out and place the inserts about where you want them and see if they "belong" there. Then, I make sure the surface under the insert is reasonably flat. When using metal inserts you can shape them to an uneven surface but MOP is not so friendly. Next, use a small amount of super glue to hold it in place and I mean a small amount here. Super glue has great peel strength but much less shear strength so it will come off if you use sideways pressure to remove it. Then, scribe all around the insert with sharp point or a pencil. After you remove the insert you have a perfect outline of the place where the insert goes. I use several burrs and bits on my dremell to do this and gradually try to see where you need to remove stock. I use a magnifying visor here to really see the detail of the fit. Don't be in any hurry and make sure the bottom of the cavity is flat as the underside of the insert. When you are ready to set in place, the insert should rest completely in the cavity. Now, only use enough epoxy to secure the bottom of the insert. You don't want the epoxy to fill the sides of the insert/gap. After curing, I make some putty out of freshly cut fine sawdust off a 220 grit clean sheet of sandpaper. Be sure to rub the sand paper well befor you do this to eliminate any actual sand from your patching putty. Mix a small batch of epoxy/sawdust to the consistancy of peanut butter and force it into any gaps that may result from the process. Sand and finish to existing surface. No one can be perfect and there will be some gaps. The longer you do this the better you get at it.

[DocRon]

Mike,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Your great explanation should be part of the tutorial folder. Thanks again.
Ron