SteveJ
Member
Here is my first attempt at a five sided knot. Had some glue issues and probably need to start with a larger blank. Overall I'm not too disappointed in it. The next one will probably have to wait a couple of weeks.
Five sided knot
- Thread starter SteveJ
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sorcerertd
Member
That looks great, but it does make you look twice after seeing so many regular Celtic knots. I'd love to see what it looks like turning in a video clip.
SteveJ
Member
Since this was merely a trial I used a cheap 3/4 inch dowel which was pretty soft. It splintered some while cutting and even more while turning, even when doused with CA. When I get back to it I'll use a larger and denser wood. I managed to cut the grooves with the Byrnes tablesaw and the Celtic knot jig and a couple of pentagons cut on the laser and glued to the end of the blank to provide flat surfaces to ride on the saw bed.
SteveJ
Member
I didn't take any pictures along the way but will on the next one. As for a video, I'll have to see if I can set that up!
GFHWoodWerks
Member
Very interesting, I like it.
Brian G
Member
I think it's great, and I'm glad you gave it a try. I've wanted to, but haven't had much extra time to experiment. With the daylight shrinking, I'll gain more evening shop time.
jttheclockman
Member
Interesting for sure. Now you said something in your description that got my wheels turning. We have a few 3d printer people here and laser people. Would it be possible to make jigs (so called) of solid sort of wheels with 5, 6 ,7, 8 sides? Make them say either 3/4" or 1" around so that they are just low enough to fit on the ends of a blank. Now you can either chuck them up to a lathe or bandsaw or even tablesaw. Just spitballing here. they should be very accurate. I may try this using my router sled on the lathe and making a long block of them and then cut to width any size I want. I know I am about 2 months away from starting my pen turning adventures again for the year but maybe someone could attempt this. Making on a lathe would be fairly easy using an indexing wheel in combination with a router sled. What this does is now gives you the amount of flat edges needed for amount of knots you want and they would all be accurate which is what is crucial when doing these type knots. No measuring needed.
SteveJ
Member
That is essentially what I did. I glued a pentegon to each end to give the flat surface needed. Unfortunately the depth of cut on the Byrnes saw doesn't give much room for the end piece. I also think this knot would look better with thinner inlay. Unfortunately for me, that means I need to build a jig for the bandsaw (I know, building jigs is supposed to be part of the funā¦)
It may be that cutting at a different angle would also improve the look of the finished knot.
It may be that cutting at a different angle would also improve the look of the finished knot.
This is basically how I'm trying to do 6 sided ones.
jttheclockman
Member
Yes I basically do that when I make the nuts and bolts for these desk clocks. Simple jig. 2 sides are always parallel so you work off the center of the block of wood then.
randyrls
Member
Good Steve! I made a "Celtic Knot jig", and then refined it in Version 2. Allows you to make both the kerf cuts and the inlay pieces. With a round blank, You can make odd numbered slices. Hmmmm.... I thought I had posted a file to easily mark odd number celtic knot sizes for cutting, but didn't find it in the Library.
SteveJ
Member
Randy, it is found in the library in the jig section and oddly named "Celtic Knot Slicing Jig Version 2".
It is far more complicated than what I did, but my method sacrifices end pieces which must be laser cut for each blank so it isn't easily transferable to others.
sorcerertd
Member
So it's not just me. Whew, I feel much better now.
randyrls
Member
Hi Steve; Yes; I started on a "Usage" article as opposed to the "Build" portion, but never finished it. I will have to Get-R-Done; but part of the Usage is how to mark the blank accurately for any number of sides and position it against the fence.Randy, it is found in the library in the jig section and oddly named "Celtic Knot Slicing Jig Version 2".
Start with a round blank. This is marking the blank for cutting instead of positioning the blank. Open your favorite spreadsheet program. This is an example. If you want 7 sided marks, enter the same (any number) into 7 cells in a column. Highlight those 7 cells and create a pie chart. Remove all the "pretty stuff" so you are left with a line drawing. Center the blank over the center of the blank. I drill a small hole in the blank using the dimple made by the tail stock. Then a pin in a scrap of wood is used to position the blank over the pie chart. Finally; mark the blank.
Sheesh! That was a lot more difficult to describe than to do.
Off to church now!