I hope I have inspired Johan to get his machine finished. He was doing all sorts of private job's for his wife in this QUITE time.
Nice having a chat and a beer with you....so get your lazy ... off the rocker and finish the beast man.:D

Yes you did Kobus. I need that bit of pressure to keep me focused.:)
Thanks for taking the time and the beeer.

Oom jy beter jou ... in rat kry!

Hy is oud en plat! Die rat is 'gestrip' ook van al die sit!:D
Thanks for the encouragedment ... and the kick .. boet. :)

En hy hang af

Niks wat 'n rooikop verpleester met 'n pilletjie in haar hand nie kan regmaak nie.:p

Weet mos wat se hulle `n rooikp wat nie .... nie se hare is nie gedaai nie.Water rat is gestrip vra vir Kobus hy kan ratte sny.:)( Sorry it is a thing between the two of us )

Old BBB is usefull for prototyping. I am thinking to make myself a knife grinder, so to test the size and fit, I first cut it out on MDF....after fitting, took the file to my laser cutter for a quote.......BUT the price came to R 1200.00 for 8mm mild steel.....wow..I think I paid that price for old BBB parts last year...will have to think about this.

Attachment 4544

Attachment 4545

Well it is the weekend again and I decided to finish off my kinfe made from the old saw blade...

Attachment 4546

My son Francois bought some Chinese knifes at the fleamarket and I made new handles for him....The big one is Sneeze Wood and the small one is Camel Thorn.

Attachment 4543

Kobus cut the parts that can be cut from aluminum on BBB then get a quote for the rest from the laser cutter???

Kobus,
Those knives look really good. :)

Thanks Heath,
JR that is a great idea. Will have to start cutting ALU. Never tried that but willing to give it a go.

Today old BBB did really work hard. For a hobby machine that usually cuts small parts he was singing for more than 6 hours. I have a Blackwood slab that I cut about 3 years ago with an Alaskan attachment to a power saw. Today was the day that I had to SURFACE it as the BOSS want's it in her kitchen ASAP. This thing is 2020 x 650 mm and about 50 mm thick.

Took so long because I only have a little 500 watt Makita and a 19 mm cutter.

Attachment 4562

Attachment 4563

Also did the last grinding and polishing on the knife with the Sneezewood handle.

Attachment 4564

19 mm?

wait how did ya clamp it ?

RGDS
IRfan

Kobus,

That is a nice chunk of wood. You have inspired me. Keep posting pictures of your progress.

Hi Gerald. Nice try but old BBB is a 1,2 m wide thicknesser planer not a sander at the moment.
The slab is so heavy it was just lying on the table by itself. When I did the first side it was a bit unstable so I did hold it in place with a few screws on the sides.

Nils I have made a few bar counter tops from Blackwood and Oak before. I like the natural sides

That belt sander profiles looks familier.:) The knife looks good enought to bring it down to the Durban show next year!
Do you still need to put a orbital sander on that Blackwood slab or is it only a matter of light hand sanding?

I ran the beltsander lightly across the slab. Before staining I will use the orbital sander just to get that SMOOTHE look and feel

That saw dust looks like it belongs in my workshop an every day occurance.Now old BBB has grown up :D

This weekend I managed to put that Blackwood working top into the kitchen...scored some points with the BOSS

Attachment 4749

Also busy with another project...will give more details later.

2 x parts mde out of 21mm thick Blackwood off cuts

Attachment 4750

Wow. Beautiful wood grain and beautiful craftsmanship. I'd hate to think what I would pay for a piece of that wood that size here in the US. Way out of my price range.

I envy you Kobus, this is so hard & rare to get in N. America…You’re a luky guy !
To some luther & odd studio furniture makers, this is also known or nic-named “mozembique ebony”.

I had once the privilege to make a custom piece with this for a customer that live around here now but originally from S. Africa !
From the best I can recollect, your photos make me think your wood is more in the family of Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) vs (Dalbergia melanoxylon), both still part of the same Leguminosae family but the Austalian one is more reddish like yours. The African blackwood that I sneezed & embraced was truly beep dark purple-brownish black wood !!
One of the perks of living in the wood kingdom !! :rolleyes:

See these : Dalbergia melanoxylon, African blackwood , Acacia melanoxylon (also called Black Wattle)
Enjoy, Robert ;)

Hi Robert,

You are spot on with the Acacia Melanoxylon. My info from a Mr. RJ Poynton that wrote a book on trees in South Africa he mention that these trees were from South East Australia and Tasmania.

When I lived in Sabie Mpumalanga I used to go and help a tree surgeon....as he called himself. I offered my muscle and for payment I got some wood for free. We used to take the tree down, then with an Alaskan Mill cut some slabs.
Attachment 4757

This thing is magic for cutting your own lumber.

...I want one!

Well I was a bit distracted the last few weeks. My work is interfering with my hobby :D

But on my travels I found this old man in Komatipoort making tables from local HARDWOODS....just like I prefer a table....Big and Strong and Beautifull..
Attachment 5170

Each piece is engraved and the reference number added..
Attachment 5171

Some of the 'THINGS' I made recently...a key rack...just needs brass hooks
Attachment 5172

Last weekend (Friday and Saturday) I eventually got a booking on the Knife Making Course. This was excellent and worth every penny. In these two day's you get to make your own knife...really learned a lot from Gawie and Thinus Herbst...father and son team in Pretoria...look at their site http://www.herbst.co.za/
Attachment 5169

And then my son came home with ANOTHER 1980 Suzuki GS 1000 G shaft drive motorbike...This one in VERY good overall condition....Just for the record that bike passed the Roadworthy inspection this afternoon with flying colours.
Attachment 5173

Don't your inspectors require two wheels? On the other hand, I guess they aren't afraid you'll crash if you can't ride it. :D

It look like you have start out with the folder knife course. A lot more difficult (I think) than the fixed blade. Pity I am so far away from Joburg. :( Love to do it myself.

Yes Johan, I figured that I had some HOMEBREW experience on fixed blades. By doing the folder course, I learned to do hollow grind, and the mirror finishing and etching. Waarde vir geld vir die suinige Kaaskop.:) Value for money.

Just for the record....our Rand to the Dollar improved al little.....I then looked at the Vectric site again and saw the Upgrade from my Cut2D to V-Carve Pro V5 is now in reach. This weekend I will do some TEXTURES and NESTING and Cutting an making a noise and watch old BBB do its thing with this new software.
Tip to others...buy the entry program Cut2D...when you UPGRADE with Vectric to something more professional,you don't feel the damage to your pocket as much....;)

This is where Vectric got the idea to include textures in their product. But I still need to convince them to give a method of disturbing geometric patterns to look more "hand-made" (my May 04, 2006 - 2:33 pm post over there)

Again Gerald had a great idea and we can all benefit from his work....I am sure that the DISTURBING will sometime be available.

This weekend it's me and the textures...can't wait Come on Friday !!!!