David Walser
12-15-2008, 11:46 AM
In a prior post, I showed off a pen I made using one of Kallenshaan Woods laser cut blanks. (Here's a link to the prior post: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99075 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99075).) I'd intended to comment on the quality of the blank and the process of assembling one, but I was interrupted. Rather than go back and edit that post, here are my thoughts regarding Kallenshaan's blanks:
High quality: The first thing you notice when you open the plastic tube containing the blank's parts is the smell of burned wood. Which makes sense because each part is cut to size and shape with a laser. In addition to the smell, the laser cutting was evidenced by the slight charring of the edges of the small fish in my kit. The second thing you notice is the high quality of the kit and all its parts. Each piece fits precisely where it's supposed to go. Each part shows an amazing amount of detail. The blank, which is pre-drilled, fits tightly around its brass tube (which you supply). Everything is so precise, you'd think Kallenshaan was working with metal, not wood.
Assembly is a snap: Each Kallenshaan blank style has its own directions for assembly. My blank, the "School of Fish" style, was very easy to assemble.
You start by inserting and centering a long the length of the blank a roughed up brass tube into the body of the blank which is a tube made out of black wood with fish shapes cut out of it. (No glue is used at this point.) It is advisable to plug the ends of the brass tube to avoid getting glue inside the tube. I used slices of potato for this purpose.
Next, you press the cut out fish made out of white wood into the body of the blank. Use care to avoid damaging the fish. Each will fit with a reassuring snap as it goes into place. The white fish are curved to have the same contour as the body of the blank on the inside and outside.
Once all the fish are in place, glue the blank by liberally applying thin CA glue to the joints around the edges of the fish. Capillary action will draw the thin CA glue under the fish and the body of the blank, gluing it securely to the tube. You only get one chance to glue the blank and all its parts, so don't skimp on the glue. I did my gluing by placing the blank down on some wax paper (this holds the fish on the underside of the blank into place) and drizzled glue over each fish as I slowly rotated the blank. This resulted in the blank being soaked thoroughly in CA glue. After about 30 seconds of gluing, I spritzed the blank with accelerator and set it aside to cure.
The blank body is about 1/2" longer than the brass tube from the Sierra kit it goes with. My pen mill quickly trimmed the excess. The CA glue "stabilized" the wood blank, so there was no tear out or chipping.
Turning is easy. Once glued up and trimmed, the blank does not have a lot of excess wood and is already round. (You don't have enough wood for turning beads or other details, which may be the only downside to the blank.) I started and finished with my skew. It only took a couple of passes and I was down to the bushings and ready to sand.
Finishing is easy. The CA glue seals the wood and leaves a clean finish off the skew. I choose not to go for a high-gloss finish, so I sanded through 400 grit and finished up with some 0000 steel wool. If I had it to do over again, I would have used a CA finish and gone for high gloss. The Sierra kit I used has a black titanium finish to it's metal parts that is very shinny. A high gloss finish to the blank would have matched the kit better.
High quality: The first thing you notice when you open the plastic tube containing the blank's parts is the smell of burned wood. Which makes sense because each part is cut to size and shape with a laser. In addition to the smell, the laser cutting was evidenced by the slight charring of the edges of the small fish in my kit. The second thing you notice is the high quality of the kit and all its parts. Each piece fits precisely where it's supposed to go. Each part shows an amazing amount of detail. The blank, which is pre-drilled, fits tightly around its brass tube (which you supply). Everything is so precise, you'd think Kallenshaan was working with metal, not wood.
Assembly is a snap: Each Kallenshaan blank style has its own directions for assembly. My blank, the "School of Fish" style, was very easy to assemble.
You start by inserting and centering a long the length of the blank a roughed up brass tube into the body of the blank which is a tube made out of black wood with fish shapes cut out of it. (No glue is used at this point.) It is advisable to plug the ends of the brass tube to avoid getting glue inside the tube. I used slices of potato for this purpose.
Next, you press the cut out fish made out of white wood into the body of the blank. Use care to avoid damaging the fish. Each will fit with a reassuring snap as it goes into place. The white fish are curved to have the same contour as the body of the blank on the inside and outside.
Once all the fish are in place, glue the blank by liberally applying thin CA glue to the joints around the edges of the fish. Capillary action will draw the thin CA glue under the fish and the body of the blank, gluing it securely to the tube. You only get one chance to glue the blank and all its parts, so don't skimp on the glue. I did my gluing by placing the blank down on some wax paper (this holds the fish on the underside of the blank into place) and drizzled glue over each fish as I slowly rotated the blank. This resulted in the blank being soaked thoroughly in CA glue. After about 30 seconds of gluing, I spritzed the blank with accelerator and set it aside to cure.
The blank body is about 1/2" longer than the brass tube from the Sierra kit it goes with. My pen mill quickly trimmed the excess. The CA glue "stabilized" the wood blank, so there was no tear out or chipping.
Turning is easy. Once glued up and trimmed, the blank does not have a lot of excess wood and is already round. (You don't have enough wood for turning beads or other details, which may be the only downside to the blank.) I started and finished with my skew. It only took a couple of passes and I was down to the bushings and ready to sand.
Finishing is easy. The CA glue seals the wood and leaves a clean finish off the skew. I choose not to go for a high-gloss finish, so I sanded through 400 grit and finished up with some 0000 steel wool. If I had it to do over again, I would have used a CA finish and gone for high gloss. The Sierra kit I used has a black titanium finish to it's metal parts that is very shinny. A high gloss finish to the blank would have matched the kit better.