Nets coming along

[niveker 0]

Really nice, Bryon.  Not sure I would be able to take it to the river.  Too nice, me thinks.  

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Thanks for all the kind words guys! I am enjoying what I'm doing now.

[mikechell 0]

Bryon, I didn't see this referenced before, so I'm asking.

Are you boiling, steaming or dry bending the strips?

[Bryon Anderson 0]

11 hours ago, mikechell said:

Bryon, I didn't see this referenced before, so I'm asking.

Are you boiling, steaming or dry bending the strips?

Mike, I am soaking the strips in near-boiling water for about 15 minutes before bending them. I place the strips inside a piece of 1 1/4" PVC with a cap on one end. I heat water to boiling and pour it into the pipe with the strips and cap the other end. 

I had built a steaming box before, but I found that one or more strips would crack even after steaming them for up to 30 minutes. The soaking method has worked every time so far.

[mikechell 0]

I've been reading up on it.  Soaking in boiling water is the best way to soften the wood, just takes longer to dry out.  Do you heat them after or just let them air dry?

Sorry to be so full of questions, but I'm planning ahead for my shop.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

No worries, I don't mind questions at all! After I soak the strips, I immediately clamp them around the bending form in the order they will go on when it's time for glue-up. I just use a handful of clamps at this point, just enough to make the strips conform to the shape of the form. I leave them like that for 24 hours. The next day (usually) I do my glue-up.

This is the glue I've settled on https://www.dap.com/products-projects/product-categories/adhesives/glues-epoxies/plastic-resin-glue/

[mikechell 0]

Excellent!  Thank you for the info.  As my shop gets done, and I start actually doing work, I might be asking more.

[Bill_729 0]

"First class" work;  nice craftsmanship the whole way.

(I didn't even know you could bend plywood)

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Thanks Bill! I'm not bending plywood though, just hardwoods. The forms that I bend the hardwoods around sre cut out of plywood.

[Bill_729 0]

On 9/6/2020 at 8:37 PM, mikechell said:

Excellent!  Thank you for the info.  As my shop gets done, and I start actually doing work, I might be asking more.

If you look up the way "old time banjo" rims were made by hand, you'll encounter some wood bending techniques (but Bryon basically told you the story).

 

4 hours ago, Bryon Anderson said:

Thanks Bill! I'm not bending plywood though, just hardwoods. The forms that I bend the hardwoods around are cut out of plywood.

Sorry, the colors reminded me of "Baltic Birch".  I love the mayfly on the net!   I am aspiring to do more woodworking.

Bill

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Yes -- the hardwood is cut into strips approximately 3/32" thick which are laminated together, bent around a form, and glued to a handle inset. I guess it does look like plywood in profile; I had never thought about that before. 🙂

[Bill_729 0]

Byron, Just for the sake of "sharing", here is the only thing I have to show you now.  It's for "honing" a filet knife, or others. It features a "custom fit" for my hand.  Your project is at least 10 times as complicated, but I hope it at least shows my willingness to give it the "ole college try".  I used "wipe on poly" for the finish.  I tried to get the best finish I could only because I had never used "wipe on poly" before and I was curious as to what sort of finish I could obtain, for future reference.  Thanks again for sharing your net project.  It's inspiring!  Good luck to Mikechell and I in someday reaching the level of craftsmanship with wood that you already have (he's probably "far ahead" of me, I don't know)! 

Bill (Bill_729)

 

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Very nice piece Bill! I can tell what kind of wood it is from the picture, but it looks to have a nice color and some interesting figure in it. Your poly finish looks very nice as well. 🙂

[Bill_729 0]

7 hours ago, Bryon Anderson said:

Very nice piece Bill! I can tell what kind of wood it is from the picture, but it looks to have a nice color and some interesting figure in it. Your poly finish looks very nice as well. 🙂

Thank you. I used a 1-by-6 that I bought on sale at Menards, which was labeled "Maple". I had a question about "hard maple versus soft maple" and I just looked it up and learned that "soft maple is a term used to describe several species, mainly to differentiate it from hard maple" (I didn't know that).  Based on the $6  I paid for the board, now I know even more about it. I think the figure in the wood here is a good fit for the handle (it was kind of you to mention it), and to be honest was a complete surprise.  My recollection is that I made sure that the "business surface" was flat (the board was Not uniformly flat :)  ), and didn't really think beyond that. I won't go into the details of what I learned from the project, but it was the first time I used a "decent rasp", and it made pretty-quick work of it. On the humorous side, I found it amusing that I wasn't exactly sure when to "stop rasping".  I reached a "I better count my blessings" stage, and didn't go much beyond  that.  Then while using sandpaper for the next 45 minutes, I found the grain you referred to. Probably very few people put this much work into a strop, but it was a good learning project for me. Maybe the best lesson is that I should "get out there" and do another project (I have some drawings)!

Cheers, Bill

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Well I'm starting to get some interest in the nets I've been making these last few months...this one I just boxed up for its new owner a few minutes ago. Michigan Walnut and Cherry with some nice woodburning art by my friend Tom Reverman of 5thSeasonmi.com. I'll be launching my own website in November, where I hope to sell fly boxes, fly tying tool caddies, tying benches and portable tying boxes in addition to the nets. Should keep me diverted over the long winter! 🙂