There certainly seem to be a lot of tips coming out of this thread...by people adding their experience and from this we all benefit from new ideas...great stuff indeed!! Keep the ideas flowing!
Ok...leaving my knob out of the equation for the moment
...an update on today's work.
I have been discussing the iron setup with a number of people and getting some great advice but also this has given me a bit of a problem.
Whether we go for a single cut iron or a combination iron/cap iron setup is something I have been discussing offline...but either way I have now come to a decision point because if we choose the latter then we need a mortice in the bed. I was going to hold off but then I thought that it wouldn't hurt to just put a mortice in so that later on I can choose either at will. So..first thing to do today was to cut that mortice.
All was going well and then a setback!
As I was approaching the breakout...I thought to myself...shall I stop now and cut the remaining piece by hand...and I wish I had done now. Ordinary wood would have been ok but I keep forgetting we are dealing with burr here and guess what...
So...back to my restoration experience and out with the Titebond...and instead of having tomato soup with cheese and ham toastie being offered by Annie...I sat outside for half an hour and held the piece until it set up...
It'll be ok...this glue is better than the wood and it's hidden anyway but I was a bit annoyed for a brief moment!
Ok...so now on to the lever cap block. First to slowly shave it down on the mill until it
just fits....
I stuck the widest iron I currently have in the plane to test the geometry...note here that the bun is moved forward from its resting place as the bottom of the block is still there and obstructs the bun at the moment.,...
I then passed the assembly over to the QA department to check that the scribed shoulder depth was correct...
ALFIE confirmed that it was exactly as marked so the next stage of shaping the shoulders could go ahead! :mrgreen:
I was looking at Konrad Sauer's lever caps and fell in love with the huge chunky shapes...so it was with this in mind that I revised the thickness...keeping the entire block in place for now and shaping only the neck first.
So..to the shoulder cutting.
Richard once showed me the benefit of drilling thick stock in order to cut it and used a pillar drill to get vertical alignment. With the milling machine...a high level of accuracy was achievable and using the digital display I was also able to ensure symmetry for my sketched curves.
Another tip I learned from him was the use of a cold chisel to cut the bridges...
This is where we see that you should never throw away basketcase tools. A friend at work gave me this old Marples chisel with a view to putting a new edge on it. The entire tip had been snapped off!!! I just gave him another one and threw this one in the gash bin....until today! Grinding a double bevel on both sides of the stump I created a nice little cold chisel which was ideal for this job and made short work of the cutting:
After a few minutes and a lot of noise the job was complete....
The very rough protuberances were quickly removed using a nice turnip Nicholson file....
Files are the only tools I always buy new...or new old stock if possible. Again from bootfairs it's worth looking out for the good names as these are hugely expensive but a good file is worth it's weight in gold...
Once the worst points were filed down we were now in a position to create the final contour using an abrasive drum.
Axminster make a set of these and they have come in very handy more than once before.
You need a little luck sometimes and guess what...one of the drums was exactly the correct diameter to create the correct shoulder radius!!
I mounted this in a drill chuck in the milling machine because firstly the mill will go down to incredibly slow speeds allowing the job to be undertaken by hand safely. Secondly it allowed me to use the machine vise opened just the right amount to lower the drum between the jaws and allow the same jaws to act as a 90 degree platform to keep things plumb...
The top of the arm was formed using my little £10 linisher from the bootfair...
I knew that would be a grand investment! :wink:
So...what I thought would be a nightmare turned out, by using a combination of good tips and machines...a breeze!
I think that the chunky knob which looked a bit out of scale yesterday now suits the chunkiness of the plane and cap perfectly...
I had been ready to make a slimmer one but I had a gut feeling I would regret doing so and this turned out to be correct.
Tomorrow I am working so on Thursday I shall be shaping the neck, cutting the toe of the cap and scalloping out the underside.
Until then...
Cheers
Jimi and ALFIE!