Hand made kit

**Dranoweb** · 16th August 13, 09:01 AM

So I have been busy tonight and I have yet more pictures.

Also a special thanks to "Downunder Kilt" for the pictures. when I initially set the pin on my kilt pin, I set it 90 degrees out of whack - then glanced across the workshop to see the picture on the screen, and managed to rotate it more appropriately while the solder was still hot.

Below: the whole show as it stands, less the buckles and a couple of items to come.
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Treskle design kilt pin (before I fixed the angle of the pin)
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Solder to white-metal bonding
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Treskle before fill
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Crane design - not as happy about this one - lost alot of detail, but it does still hold that "ancient feeling"
It comes down to the surface viscosity of the white metal I'm using - budget metal - budget result.
I need some pewter I think
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Treskle design fresh out of the mold
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Crane design during polishing - before fill
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Crane design with a new "experimental casting process - keeps the thickness down, and thus the weight.
this one will likely go on the bride's sash.
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Back of the wolf pin - this was a test for the clip attachment - another pic coming as I'm at my attachment limit.
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**Dranoweb** · 16th August 13, 09:05 AM

Last little picture here: the wolf pins from the front - to get around 10 images per post limit.
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**Dranoweb** · 17th August 13, 12:27 AM

Another work in progress - I will be making a Sgian Dubh as a gift to the piper (along with a decent bottle of Irish whiskey)
as he will be taking time off work to make it to the wedding.

He is a black powder shooter and kilt enthusiast, so I have tried to incorporate elements of this into the design.
I had to laboriously retrace and rework the piper silhouette as I couldn't find it in vector format anywhere.

piperdetailreduced.jpg

I'm also interested to know if there is any particular protocol behind presenting knives in this regard EG: The British custom of handing over a coin when presented with a knife.

**Hopper250** · 19th August 13, 08:29 AM

Man the whole lot looks so great, if I wasn't married, I would be trying to get you to make a set for my wedding.

**Dranoweb** · 19th August 13, 09:42 AM

I still have to post a pic of the one I'm handing to the piper - kinda screwed up the fill so have to re-melt and start again.

however there has been alot of interest - and as a result I'm going to look at procuring some virgin metal, and making a few for sale>
you guys will be the first to know

**Dranoweb** · 19th August 13, 09:53 AM

Few more pics as promised:

I need a little more work on my graphics, I had to hand carve alot of this one.
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after a thorough polish it looked good.
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Tried some better lighting, but this only shows up the screwed epoxy - I think the sub zero temp in my workshop messed with the curing.
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A couple more artsy shots for those who are fans of the tartan
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A slightly better pic after some repair - but I'm still not happy and will melt this one down and try again.
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A sample of the kit against a sash for artistic feel.
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**Dranoweb** · 21st August 13, 07:39 AM

Melted down my attempt at the piper handle - and remade it. Quite happy I did, the results are much better.
I took the liberty of using the laser to cut the blade seating, pouring gallery, and the guide holes this time.

Very glad I did, and also progressed to using some graphite as a lubricant - this iteration is by far the best.
Some reworking of the graphics was in order too - one can no actually make out the pipe, tassels and mouthpiece.

The right hand mold half before casting
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No more alignment issues.
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A quick polish and the detail begins to appear.
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The blade is perfectly flat now, no funny angles.
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after a decent polish and cleanup - epoxy fill time - still setting at the time of this picture.
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Think the piper will be happy with this?

**TheOfficialBren** · 22nd August 13, 04:13 AM

Originally Posted by Dranoweb

I'd be quite interested to see some of your work too. I'm planning on making some leather punches with a variation of my casting methods soon.

Here you go, mate. Here's one of the belts that I made a while back and posted to this thread:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-masses-79240/

PM me if you get a minute. I have an idea to run by you. Your casting is looking pretty sharp. I love your Tree of Life design.

**Dranoweb** · 25th August 13, 06:14 AM

For those of you still following this post - I'm up to the sheath stage.
I'm interested in opinions again, as I feel it may be a little too thick.

Some photos of the assembly stages - in case anyone has better methods.
Anyway enjoy the pics - feel free to throw any comment my way as I take them all on board, and it all helps to create a better end product.

The remaining parts laid out - and the dummy blade for the mini Sgian Dubh going to my nephew
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two prototype halves, out of the laser, sanded and epoxy ready.
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Clamped - waiting patiently for the epoxy to dry
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First look and test fit.
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Checking alignment - this shows the thickness - and what I'm not entirely sure about.
does this look good to you guys?
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Detailing in the laser cutter after 1200 grit sanding
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Almost complete
The design is a slight rearrangement of the knotwork splines used to make the handle.
I just removed the pommel end and converged the splines to a single point - hoping this looks ok, as it's been a long day in the workshop.
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The prototype display with original handle design
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prototype displayed with piper handle design (this one is going to the piper along with a bottle of whiskey for his troubles)
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The sheath still needs some varnish - I'll probably go with spray on marine varnish - I'm considering staining the detail instead of relying on the laser burn to make it stand out.

Another idea was to use epoxy and graphite powder to fill, but I would loose the sheen when I sand it.
I tested this on some leftover epoxy fill and was unable to get a cleanly sanded finish - would be interested if anyone has ever worked with the stuff.