Over the Christmas break I paid a visit to MickB's for another fossick. It was very hot and when we were not out hunting rocks I sat in his shed playing with his various toys including the ring saw and band saw. Both are really cool and I absolutely love the band saw. I cut a number of slabs with them, including a set of nephrite scales for a Buck 501 I am doing for my physio, I can see why Michael Hoover uses a band saw, they really reduce waste and grinding time. I also cut out the shape of an traditional Maori tool, more which which will be discussed in anther post one day.
Being a long time fisherman I always wanted to try carving a fish hook (yes I know a few of you hate the cliché 'tribal' styles but I enjoy learning how to do them and they always have pleasing flowing lines) and access to Michael's band saw and the inspiration of the wonderful ones he has done was too much to resist so I dug out my sketch book and modified a few I designed a while ago. The band saw allows for a almost complete preform to be produced from the saw alone.
This is very much a work in progress with a great deal of shaping and sanding yet to do. I drilled a vertical hole in the top today for the binding and had a play with a few different binds to see which one I like. They are shown off here as I cannot decide which one I will eventually use.
First set have a 'traditional' braid. This one has 3 wraps.
This is 3 wraps with the first wrap 'trapping' the standing part of the cord.
Four wraps.
Five wraps.
These are just whipped around the shaft, I like this as it is so simple and does not bulk up like the braid, the downside is you can see the drilled hole easily and I like the illusion of it being hidden.
First with five wraps.
Then seven wraps.
Lots of fun.
David
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