Indians For Guns

i had purchased a Browning tactical hunter folder (http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic ... 20&t=15976).
the knife comes with black G10 scales and titanium bolsters. i plan to rescale the knife with teak burl scales and white coloured bolsters (havent decided on the material yet. the existing scales are very good. thought it might be fun to customise it a little bit.

i shall do a small WIP on the way...will try my best to describe what i am doing.

the folder with the G10 scales and titanium bolsters removed.

the teak plank that i am going to cut the scales from. approx 18" * 3" * 1/3 ".

a close up of the teak plank. i have drawn the outline of the scale onto the area which has the maximum figuring (for want of a better word).

the scale blanks have been rough cut. i apologise for not putting up any in action photos. its kind of difficult to do something and photograph it at the same time... another shot of the two rough cut blanks with the G10 scales on top of them...yes...its recycled wood...thats why its painted...earlier use was as a part of a window pane. a shot of the liner material, epoxy used and the scales. t-shirts make good liner material. i have used liners for two reasons:1) the wood, so close to a knot, is generally brittle and breaks easily. the liner will provide much needed backing to it. 2) while cross-cutting the blanks from the wood blank, i cut one slab too thin... ...so the liner will also increase the thickness of the blanks. the blanks have been made flat on one side using emery paper and then roughened up for better adhesion.

the scale blanks and liners have been epoxied. i used two layers of liner to get the required thickness. the process is simple. a sheet of plastic to prevent it from getting messy. apply epoxy liberally to the flat side of the blank. place one layer of liner on the blank. apply epoxy. ensure that the liner is totally drenched in epoxy. repeat with second layer of liner. wrap the entire ensemble in plastic sheet and you are done. the ensemble has been placed between two wooden planks and a bench vise and 3 C clamps have been used to press the blank and liners tightly against each other. it is important to use the wooden planks to ensure uniform pressure over the blanks. now we wait for 24 hours for the epoxy to cure.

How ownderful Marthandan. Your works are inspiring. It's high time I get off my lazy butt and attempt something like this.

Best Regards
Moin.

Its always good to see you create and modify stuff. Keep it up and send us pictures of the remaining process. Also it would be great if you attach pictures of the tools that you use and outline the way you do all the cutting and shaping etc.

Although it is good to have have patience but you don't need 24 hours for Araldite to cure. 8 hours are good enough and 12 hours are more than enough but this is so if it is properly mixed and an equal ratio of the resin and hardener is used.

I guess you are going to have an hard time getting the plastic off from your blanks. You will be able to sand it off the wood as it is yet to be shaped but how do you propose to get it off the liners. Sanding it off again, I guess.

Will be good to see the remaining pictures and the final product.

update 1
tools used till now...a T6 screwdriver to disassemble the knife. a utility knife and a jeweller's saw for cutting the blank...and of course...a pair of scissors...you have already seen the C clamps and a small bench vise in the earlier post. rajat...epoxy does not bond all plastics, especially polyehtylene and nylon. its a breeze removing the plastic. it just peels off. in the photo below, we can see that the epoxy has competely soaked into the cloth and has formed a good bond. trimming off the excess with the jeweller's saw there were a few wrinkles formed on the liner. sanding using C104 emery paper. a needle is used to mark the positions of the holes

update 1 continues...
1.5 mm holes for the screws are drilled using the power drill. the profile is rough cut. partial holes are drilled so as to flush fit the screws. the wood was soft enough for me to drill by hand (Literally!) the scales have been fitted to the knife. one of the scales is uneven and will need to be sanded further for a zero clearance fit.

marthandan wrote: rajat...epoxy does not bond all plastics, especially polyehtylene and nylon. its a breeze removing the plastic. it just peels off.

True,but it bonds some. Hard to tell from the beginning. Now that it works: It was a good idea!


So far great work. Waiting to see the final product.

i have deleted some of the pictures in the first post since i have reached the maximum board attachment quota. still unable to upload any more photos. can the moderators help me with this?

the next steps are all about profiling the scales. i am using needle files for this along with 3 grades of emery paper- flint 40, 80 and 120 in decreasing order of coarseness.

also tried a wood rasp but that was too rough...so back to the emery paper and needle files.

now, its sand, sand & sand till i get the profile...

Excellent Post Marthandan!!! The step by step Instructions with pictures are great! Waiting for the final finish eagarly...

Going slighty OT - how is the Leather Sheath Project progressing? It would be a pleasure to view the completed version.

Best.

VM

hellfire...thank you...yet to start on the leather sheath. will take some time.