My first restoration project - repost

[Nxspam]

Hi again,

Because I botched my first restoration posting (taking a phone call while I was writing and uploading pictures) I thought I would start over and try again. I'll also split this post up and build it up with replies.

So here goes.

I bought six straights for about $70 and they were all from 1945 or there about. I don't know when they were made, but that was when they were bought - new. They were pretty beaten up and 4 or 5 will need new scales, pins, etc.

To start on this project I had to get a workshop up and running in my shed. This is what I've bought:


First item, a cheap $45 belt / wheel grinder. This item is a godsend for working on the scales. Brilliant! I don't use the stone wheel, just the belt grinder.

next:



I had an old drill - so together with a vice, I built a wheel polisher. Again, a must and this time a very cheap way of doing it.



I installed an on/off switch on the power cable and clamped the drill power button down. I can adjust the speed of the drill by tightening or loosening the the band around the power button.

On the end of the drill is a spindle tap for mounting the cloth polishing wheels.


I found this old ball pane hammer for $1 at a junk sale that I'll use for the pinning.


I bought a stanley coping saw from a regular hardware store. This turned out to be a disappointment. When I made my first set of acrylic scales I just cut two strips of black, opaque acrylic plexi-glass and stuck them together with double sided tape.

I did not need the coping saw (which was really awkward to use) because the belt grinder is fantastic for getting the basic scale shape out of the acrylic strips.

More to come in a moment ...

 

[Nxspam]

The Blades:


These are the blades I picked up. On the far left is a new Dovo Special for comparison. Most of them are 4/8 blades.


This is the first blade I selected. it's the one in the middle of the group shot. It is a Eugen Haering from Solingen, Germany.

To start cleaning it, I removed the old scales with a dremel-like multi-tool. ($40). I gave the blade a scrubbing in water and washing up liquid, then used a brass brush head on the multi-tool to remove rust and the worst of the dark patches.



The dremel copy is good for the initial cleaning.

After that, it's a lot of hand sanding with various grades of wet-dry sand paper, starting at 240 going all the way up to 1000 grit.



I had a hard time finding brass rods and 1/16 stainless washers, but I did eventually find the washers through Amazon in germany and I found round brass nails for the pinning. (These are already rounded on the head).

 

[paco664]

i LOVE the variable speed buffer you made... awesome ingenuity on the variable speed adjuster!!!!


make sure and post up after photos as you go.... best of luck!!

 

[Nxspam]

The acrylic sheet I selected was 5mm thick. Actually too thick, and I had to do a lot of hand sanding to get both sides of the scales the same thickness.

I'm off out to my shed now to polish the scales up some more, and then the blade.

The blade is looking really good now, and I'll be posting more shots later this afternoon.

 

[Nxspam]

On this site, there is a link to a PDF file for scale templates, here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/188023-Scale-Templates

This is great for finding a set of scales to match the blade. I selected this one:



The "Le Dandy".

I cut this out and using a kindergarden glue stick, stuck it to my sandwiched pieces of acrylic.

Then I went to the belt grinder for the basic shape.

 

[Nxspam]

I waited far too long to think about the wedge. I had already starting polishing the scales before I'd considered the wedge.

If you're a first timer like me, don't underestimate the wedge. It's not a trivial matter. Whether or not you make it wedge shaped, or just go for flat, it needs to be very even so you don't get any spaces between it, and the scales once they're assemble and glued.

Here's a couple of shots of the scales and the blade during polishing today:




After separating the scales, the carpet tape needs to be carefully scraped off the insides:



The next picture shows the kitchen tool I used to scrape off the tape and the scales and blade assembled so I could measure the size of the wedge needed:



I stole a white nylon cutting board from the kitchen to make the wedge.

 

[Nxspam]

And here is the finished product:



It's pinned with those brass nails and A2 stainless steel washers.



I'm not happy with the pinning. But I think I will get better at it. I might practice on something else before my project.

 

[Nxspam]

Mistakes made and lessons learned:

I found the wedge and the pinning to be the most difficult parts.

I chose acrylic sheet for the scales that was too thick

I left it too late to start on the wedge. (I wanted a red wedge as well, but forgot to get something to work with).

I should have practiced pinning on something else first.

I thought the wedge would be a piece of cake. It wasn't. The nylon chopping board is flexible and instead of getting an even thickness I ended up with space between the scales and the wedge on one side. I had to take it apart and do it again.

I am very happy with the acrylic material in general. Easy to cut, grind and polish. Also easy to scratch again

The belt grinder is excellent, even if a little under-powered. The drill polishing rig is great, but the two white cloth wheels were poor quality. They shred them selves up.

With this polishing rig, you don't feel intimidated. I've seen a lot warnings about grinders/polishers that are scary. With this drill+vice rig you feel like you're the boss and it's easy to work on.

And that's about it. There was a Salamander Wedge in the batch of six, and I'm going to try to restore that next, including the scales.

... and I need to put an edge on the Eugen Haering, but I don't have a 1000 grit stone to set a bevel.

Thanks to everyone here at B&B for putting their own projects on display. I don't think I would have started on this without help from all you guys.

Cheers,

-Nick (nxspam).

 

[Doc226]

Very nicely done.

The wedge is the hardest to get right and have that nice tight fit. Can't wait to see your next one.

 

[paco664]

nice job... practice makes perfect.... lots o practice....

 

[skipnord]

Dito Paco's comment on the "variable speed polisher". That is a brilliant piece of "make do with what you've got" engineering. Try spiral sewn polishing wheels - they hold compound a lot better. I'm looking forward to what you do with the Salamander wedge. By the way, that ball peen hammer looks like it might be a bit too heavy - that may be part of your peeing difficulties.

 

[Nxspam]

Thanks Doc and Paco. I've got a long way to go before I get up to the standards displayed on this site!

It has been fun and relaxing. I have to learn not to rush the end, and see some more tutorials for the wedge.

For the next full restore, I will post better, and more, step-by-step pics.

I actually did find a use for the grinder wheel on the belt grinder. It was useful for trimming the excess material off the wedge once it was glued and pinned.

Like I said, I'll take on the salamander next, but that's mostly a cleaning and polishing job, then re-pinning.

 

[Dirk-Lerxst-Pratt]

Nicely done. What are you using for a polishing compound?

 

[oc_in_fw]

Looking good, and I like the drill, too. Are you sure you don't have some redneck in you? I will be exploring the pinning situation myself. I have a razor that I want to do, and intend to keep the scales, but I want to get the whole blade shiny. The only way to do that is to remove the scales.

 

[Nxspam]

... that may be part of your peeing difficulties.

Peeing difficulties LOL )

Joking aside, the peening wasn't too difficult, I was just really nervous. I didn't want to ruin the scales. I think I've already found better cloth wheels that are sewn better.

I have a small list of items that I need for the next project:

Small spring loaded clamps for holding the scales while fitting the wedge.
An emery board or nail file for finishing the pins.
A RED kitchen chopping board in nylon for the wedge.
Patience!

Glad you liked the polishing drill. I was going to take the grinding wheel off the bench grinder and try to retrofit it there, but that became useful anyway, and I was afraid that the already week motor would perform worse without the weight of the stone wheel.

 

[Nxspam]

Nicely done. What are you using for a polishing compound?

I bought three cloth wheels and three different compounds from an online hunting knife DIY place here in denmark. This guy sells smaller chunks of compound cut from larger blocks. I cant see what they're called, but the first one is red and is a grinding compound used together with a robust, rough cloth wheel. The second two were polishing compounds: one for wood, horn and acrylic and the final one was for steel.

 

[Nxspam]

Looking good, and I like the drill, too. Are you sure you don't have some redneck in you? I will be exploring the pinning situation myself. I have a razor that I want to do, and intend to keep the scales, but I want to get the whole blade shiny. The only way to do that is to remove the scales.

Yep, you will have to get the scales off to do it 100%. But be careful. I used a dremel and still made a lot of scratches. I'm hoping I can sand and polish them out.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Yep, you will have to get the scales off to do it 100%. But be careful. I used a dremel and still made a lot of scratches. I'm hoping I can sand and polish them out.

I may pay a visit to Larry at whippeddog and get his opinions, or maybe pay him to do it. When I picked up my first straight, I made the mistake of saying I never felt a badger brush. He let me handle a pure and silver tip plug. Now I must have one of those. And he sells samples of Mitchell's Wool Fat, which I haven't tried yet. Okay, it will not be a free visit

 

[Nxspam]

I may pay a visit to Larry at whippeddog and get his opinions, or maybe pay him to do it. When I picked up my first straight, I made the mistake of saying I never felt a badger brush. He let me handle a pure and silver tip plug. Now I must have one of those. And he sells samples of Mitchell's Wool Fat, which I haven't tried yet. Okay, it will not be a free visit

Good look with it. What ever you decide, post some before and after pics. I'd love to see it.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Good look with it. What ever you decide, post some before and after pics. I'd love to see it.

I wil, but until then it can be seen here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it/page30

The member who gave it to me said it has the ugliest scales ever, but I am kind of digging them. I may name the razor Marmalade