Mule Team Tutorial

[sal]

Hi Nick.

This is a really superb tutorial. Thanx much for sharing.

sal

[Fred Sanford]

http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/index.ph ... .htm~smain

Great job Quickbeam!!

Thanks Shike. Exactly what I was looking for. They have lots of stuff. Looks like a good place to buy lots of stuff from.

---

Nick (Quickbeam),

Was that stabilized wood you used? Just curious. Thanks! :)

[Quickbeam]

Hi Nick.

This is a really superb tutorial. Thanx much for sharing.

sal

My pleasure Sal, I enjoyed putting the knife and the tutorial together.

Was that stabilized wood you used? Just curious. Thanks! :)

No, but it was high quality DI, the wood for the scales cost £25 on it's own. It will never be as hard wearing as synthetic materials such as micarta but it is quite tough and much nicer to look at.

Nick

[agent clark]

So the pins and lanyard hole are just press fit, then sanded down and polished with the wood?

[quattrokid73]

I've got mine about half way done. The only thing I am confused about is how do you manage the height of the pins as compared to the handle material? Obviously the pins don't sand down as easily as the handle.

[Brad S.]

This really is a very well done tutorial. Nice job Quickbeam. You pretty much do it the same way I do it, minus some powertools. I dont really feel that you need to fill the holes with epoxy, just adds more weight, and the strength added is so small... Id rather save the epoxy. But hey thats me.

Tip to those of you that are trying this yourself. Clean the glue line as soon as you can!!! Acetone is the key. If you miss cleaning it right away (which I do... alot!!) wait till the glue cures, and then heat it slightly with a heatgun, not to hot, just somewhere between warm to the touch and hot.
When in gets their the epoxy becomes gummy and can be scraped off with ease. Just peel it off the surface.

I've got mine about half way done. The only thing I am confused about is how do you manage the height of the pins as compared to the handle material? Obviously the pins don't sand down as easily as the handle.

Drum sander on the Dremel, or a Grinder, hand files, belt sander...

[quattrokid73]

Tricod, I've got it all roughed out nicely. Scales are nice and thin the way I like them, showing nice even spacing between the colors of my G10.

Now I'm just wondering my options for finishing G10. I've never worked with a material like this before.

Do you sand to a high grit, wax, or what?

I remember you mentioned sand blasting.......and we have a great sand blaster...

:D

Just waiting on my small Tec-Loc for the Kydex sheath I'm making...then I'll be all set.

[Brad S.]

SANDBLAST!!!!! Dont think, just blast it!!!

It looks better and feels better. What Sand blasting does is eat away at the resin, but leaves the fiberglass, so it creates a layered look, that I think looks even better on G-10 that is layered to begin with.

Check out this photo, this is blasted Silver G-10 and you can really see the layers and I think it gives a a subtle layer of depth.






I sand to 120 before blasting. If I were to not blast it I would sand to 600.

[quattrokid73]

Awesome. looks good. I'll be sand blasting away on Saturday!!! Tomorrow I have to finish a model of a search and rescue flashlight and a 3d puzzle of a snail, then I'll have time to finish the mule.

I've got yellow foam behind my ears.

[Brad S.]

I've got yellow foam behind my ears.

Ahhh I hate yellow foam!!! My school gets it in huge blocks. 2feet X 2feet x6 feet. Part of my job is to cut them down in to smaller sizes. I'm covered in Yellow foam for weeks at a time!!! :rolleyes:

[quattrokid73]

Hah yes we get 7lb yellow foam and the blue insulation foam also. The shop techs are always cutting it down for us. I just started using Ren-Shape which holds a nice edge but is VERY hard to model smooth organic shapes in.

I'll post pics of the Mule this weekend!!!

PS. After bead blasting, do you put on any wax or oil?

[Quickbeam]

So the pins and lanyard hole are just press fit, then sanded down and polished with the wood?

They are very snug and need to be tapped into place, sometimes you have to put the pins in a drill press and sand them down a little to get a good fit.

You can peen them to add a mechanical fixing but I find the epoxy is strong enough without that.

I've got mine about half way done. The only thing I am confused about is how do you manage the height of the pins as compared to the handle material? Obviously the pins don't sand down as easily as the handle.

I use files as much as possible as they keep the area around the pins flat. I don't change to glass paper until I'm ready to finish the wood.

[Quickbeam]

This really is a very well done tutorial. Nice job Quickbeam. You pretty much do it the same way I do it, minus some powertools. I dont really feel that you need to fill the holes with epoxy, just adds more weight, and the strength added is so small... Id rather save the epoxy. But hey thats me.

Tip to those of you that are trying this yourself. Clean the glue line as soon as you can!!! Acetone is the key. If you miss cleaning it right away (which I do... alot!!) wait till the glue cures, and then heat it slightly with a heatgun, not to hot, just somewhere between warm to the touch and hot.
When in gets their the epoxy becomes gummy and can be scraped off with ease. Just peel it off the surface.





Drum sander on the Dremel, or a Grinder, hand files, belt sander...

Thanks Tricod! The only reason I fill the holes is to prevent any possible rust developing over time. I use the epoxy to seal out air and water as much as possible. I don't think it adds any strength. You are right about the glue line, this is the part of the build that needs close attention. A clean crisp glue line is a sign of careful builder!

That folder is awesome, did you make it?

Nick

[Quickbeam]

Double post, sorry!.

[hiredgun]

Nick,

I want to thank you for posting your tutorial. This might sound crazy, but I had no confidence/courage to do a handle job myself. Well, thanks to you I've done my first one and I'm working on two more as I write. What a great hobby for me to take up! You have my gratitude.

Soon I'll post some pictures to this thread if you don't mind.

Cheers!

James, aka hiredgun

[Quickbeam]

Nick,

I want to thank you for posting your tutorial. This might sound crazy, but I had no confidence/courage to do a handle job myself. Well, thanks to you I've done my first one and I'm working on two more as I write. What a great hobby for me to take up! You have my gratitude.

Soon I'll post some pictures to this thread if you don't mind.

Cheers!

James, aka hiredgun

Hi James,

Three years ago I was in the exact same position as you, through the shared knowledge of other forumites I've discovered a great hobby. I'm glad to be able to pass some of the knowledge on. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos of your knives.

Regards

Nick

[Quickbeam]

I made a new sheath for the DI Mule, here's a couple of quick photos...





Thanks for looking.

Nick

[scout]

Quattro, Desert ironwood just might be harder to sand than the pins. :)

Thanks for this tutorial. It's always cool to see the different techniques that people use.

[warriorsociologist]

Outstanding tutorial!

Now I have 2 blocks of ironwood burl, brick red spacer material, epoxy, and brass pins/tubing on the way for my 2 S90V Mule Teams.

[duff72]

you can also use a piece of marble tile with the sandpaper to flatten the blocks it is incredibly flat and even. sometimes home improvement stores will sell leftover pieces on the cheap :D just an idea