Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Horned Smoother Part X


Herein lies Sven's last post.

Totally fun project. I added a little decoration to the wedge by carving my initials in the top portion and carving a curvy element at the bottom of the ramp.


The finish is a couple coats of BLO followed by a couple coats of wax. Sven's already gotten a nice suntan from sitting by the window in my shop, but after a few years of use, he should have an even richer color.


A few words about the jig. I built it as a clamping device that would allow me to flip the blank around quickly without having to fuss with actual clamps. It was worth its weight in that alone, but it proved to be an excellent work holding device when working with the blank on end or on its side. I made a few spacer blocks to hold the blank more securely during those times.

To make the jig, I sat the blank on top of a board, slid the clamping blocks up to it, and screwed them in place. This made for a very tight fit. So tight, that the first few times I removed the blank from the jig took a little muscle. After a bit of use, however, because the blocks were pine and the fibers compressed, it became much easier to remove and reposition the blank.

The clamping blocks that were positioned along the sides of the blank have a space between them so that I could see my layout lines.

Sven's dimensions are 8.5" long x 3" wide x 2.25" high. From the sole to the top of the horn is about 5".  I decided to leave a little extra length to the heel so that my hand wouldn't come in contact with the iron.

Now....what to build next?