And today I did......

[dyna-ti]

Today.
Sat on bum drawing.

Attempting to come up with the design for a wooden spoon. Something modern, preferably made from two species(1 of them maple)
Its in payment for a leather bag i need made to fit inside a box im making for someone else . All very confusing
Bike station shares its premises with the bag maker Trakke and i was up there on the scrounge
Owner offered me some nice golden brown finished(it really is a deep luster colour) leather. Im never a fan of the finish they put on leather and so will instead use the inside rough face as the finished lining,which actually looks far better.

Then he offered to make the bag i need for me :shock: I could do a reasonable job on my machine but the pro's will make a superb job of it.
Payment- Like for Like
He'd shown me some nice wooden spoons, bowls and the like and expressed an interest in that type of thing for a swop.
A spoon however nice is quite a simple thing so ill also opt to do him a nice turned Quaich, and some simple bandsawn out teaspoons for their staff to use.(I noticed a guitar on the premises so ill use that for the teaspoon shape, in quartered oak.

No power in the camera or id show you a prototype of the spoon design is that screaming i can hear ??

 

[zigzag]

Love this stuff Andy, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Get the camera charged and let us see how you take this from start to finish.

 

[velomaniac]

I dont love this stuff being technically cack handed but today I did one of the weirder aspects of my job. I recommenced use of the works saddlemakers Singer sewing machine. I need to repair and maintain harnesses fitted to cattle for attaching bags that collect their manure. Told you it was weird, an artisan craft for an unpleasant purpose. Unpleasant for me, cattles opinion is unrecorded :shock:

 

[The Ken]

I can't believe the sh!t you put up with at work velo

 

[velomaniac]

You dont know how accurate, both actual and metaphor, that statement, is TK

 

[Rumble]

At least you do something at work. I'm meant to be in HR, which can at least be interesting sometimes. Since I moved companies in the summer I just look at spreadsheets all day and write reports that no one ever reads.

 

[velomaniac]

Funny, thats how we view our HR dept. When I started in 2000 we had one HR officer, now we have 4 or 5, we're never sure. Nor can we figure why as 2 did the job very well for 5 years but now lots of staff and if anything less obviously done.
I'm sure Rumble that your HR dept. is pretty efficient, alas I wonder about ours.

 

[clubby]

Finally got around to stripping my 1997 Judy C long travels, the original forks from my STS. Been on another bike since but been sitting in the loft for a few years now. I don't think they have ever been fully apart, all I've ever done is replace the initial springs with stiffer versions. My main concern was the damping cartridge, which is one of the really reliable (sarcasm) plastic ones. Fork came apart easily, although the judy butter had turned into judy treacle! The elastomers were in bits as expected but everything is in working order. There is some pitting on the stanchions but not too bad, and the worst area is right at the top where it meets the crown and I don't think this part is ever used. The damping cartridge sound a little squelchy but no leaks and is giving good resistance both ways. Just need to find new elastomers or preferably springs then get them rebuilt. No idea what I'm going to do with them, but it was fun messing about with them.

 

[Jamiedyer]

Velo wrote:

I need to repair and maintain harnesses fitted to cattle for attaching bags that collect their manure. Told you it was weird, an artisan craft for an unpleasant purpose. Unpleasant for me, cattles opinion is unrecorded

I do it the easy way for my samples mate, I just take it straight from the source
No waiting for it

Jamie

 

[dyna-ti]

I think the clever money would, if intending to store something like that,take them to bits and remove any perishable parts like elastomers :? Ive had a set of x2's effectively strored for 6 months and thought it an idea to drain them and blast air through the hoses. You know how corrosive dot fluid can be, better not having the seals bathed in it :?


Repairing harnesses :shock: WOW you really are a bit of a dark horse V ....................
Can i ask if its just stitching/restitching or if youre also good at manipulating folds and creases ,thinning down sections for flush joints or to enable it to sit in a tight section without being too bulky :?
One is intending to 'stitch' the leather bag into the box along its edge along a rebate in the boxes edge. I was thinking i would have to shave that leather edge so it wasnt too bulky and rise up causing the lid not to close properly or fully :?
Probably use a scalpel to 'shave' along the leading edge to thin it so i can fold it over to prevent a cut edge from being seen :? If you catch my gist Velo :?
Is it ok to shave like that or if theres anything you can think that might present a problem ,please speak up





PICS
First is the 2 piece. A handle with a concave plate stuck into one end (im pants at explaining so prefer visual descriptors, any probs ill try to explain
I want the handle to curve around as seen in the pic. The reason for this is it is naturally stronger and will support the 'spoon' better. Timber cut into curves have whats known as short grain sections. Its these sections that can snap. By selecting timber that has a natural curve in it we will always find the grain and fibers of the timber curve with it ans no short grain will be present
The concave spoon section will sit at right angles grain wise to the handle, This also gives it maximum strength and removes any possibility of the section splitting.
From this idea i proceeded to the handle and to its section. Obviously too thin a section could prove flimsy and too thick a section could prove too bulky or heavy so we have to compromise. My solution is a long drawn triangular section tapering at the handle end and thickening at the spoon end which gives plenty of material to support safely the spoon section itself :?
Aslo because its triangular the lower section is thicker which lends more support to the concaves lower edge but the upper where the chaps nose /lip is going to be its a far lower profile.

Pic2
Laminating
Laminates are made up of thin sections glued together. the sections are alternate straight and then cross grained.This gives it strength and rigidity. Layered up in alternates heavily glued. A heavy coat of glue makes the veneer fibres softer so when its placed around tight radai they dont split or snap
Once the glue has set each layer holds the layer above and below and prevents it from moving or in this design, from springing out straight
Imagine if you will, a candy cane shape, curved at the top.
Bring the curve right around till it touches the main shaft. so we have something that looks like a capital 'P'
The circular part of this P holds a flat disc, this gives the spoon(if you can see it )

Just considering this while writing the above.
I could as in the pic fold it evenly around the former(MDF bit in the middle) this would create a nice spoon shape and also form the handle which can glue together :?
Due to the nature of laminating, theres nearly always a bit of spring back and its this reaction im intending to use to give me a bit of play for fitting the concave disc , as in i bend it open slightly and the disc will have a little tongue protruding where it sits against the shaft, this will give it max strength for mounting in the shaft.
Again its hard to describe these processes :? sorry