KnotHead Report post Posted October 12, 2011 Last weekend I spent some time with my buddy in his shop. Well he had this grinder and I had some stainless steel rod that I had pulled from a few old printers that were beyond repair. I made this one with a grinder, a file and a dremel to do the finishing smooth out and polishing. The handle end is naked right now. But will get some knot work done on it later this week. Below are a couple of photos of the tools I made. This is what I started out with. On the right you will see the stock rod from an old printer and on the left you will see the rough out of tool number 2 which is on the right hand side in the above photo. That one will get a wooden handle on it. While they may not be turned and done on a CNC machine, I think that they turned out quite well for eye balling the whole thing. I will be making me a few more tools like these for my shop. I had fun making these. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aggiebraider Report post Posted October 12, 2011 Dang it brian you beat me to it. I've been talking to some friends about doing the same thing. I think I'm going to use key stock amr put some twists in then to dress them up. I also found a guy along deer sheds so I got a few to make handles with. Nice job on these! Cw Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks CW. I forgot to mention that both are duck bill tips making it much easier to get under the lace. Both are for micro braiding which is what I needed for the really small stuff that I use. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ecapone Report post Posted October 24, 2011 Nice tools Brian. They sure look good. Enrique Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted October 24, 2011 Thanks Enrique. B.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcsaddles Report post Posted October 24, 2011 Very nice, Brian. Is the stainless pretty hard? Did it eat up the grinding wheel pretty fast? I have a few pieces of stainless that I should do that with. I do have a few fids made of stainless 3/16 key stock that have a twist in them. I'm waiting to see the finished product also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted October 24, 2011 Hi Joe. That stainless steel is from an old broke down printer I had laying around here at work. The steel was very good on the grinding wheel. I know that the steel is hard enough to handle the medium duty fid work. I don't have a way to harden steel yet. But the finish is coming later today as I finish dressing the knot work on the handle. ehehehe... I don't like a naked tool that much. LOL... B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted October 24, 2011 Almost all done with both of them. Got the one on the right done. Not the prettiest thing. But it will serve its purpose well. The one of the left is for doing regular size lace projects. Like stuff I do in 1/8th inch and up. The one on the right is for working with micro lace. It has a much thinner tip profile and smaller tip than the one on the left. The one on the left is going to get some micro-fid work done on that blank space you see at the top end of the wood handle. Micro-Fid B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted November 16, 2011 Here's an update on one of the tools I made. I am now doing some fid work on the handle. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted November 17, 2011 What a great use of something that would normally be discarded... we waste so much, including people... I've made myself a fid from a very small screw driver. It already had the handle, so I just ground it down and polished it to my satisfaction. Most of the time I am working very very small so I prefer a fid much smaller than most people would want. I am happy to see someone else doing very fine work! It just warms the heart! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted November 17, 2011 Thank you for the kind comment. I've been working with micro stuff for a little while now and find it to be very relaxing to do. I like doing that type of braiding because it simply fascinates me and I enjoy seeing what comes out and what will eventually happen to the product after showing it. LOL... B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted November 17, 2011 Thank you for the kind comment. I've been working with micro stuff for a little while now and find it to be very relaxing to do. I like doing that type of braiding because it simply fascinates me and I enjoy seeing what comes out and what will eventually happen to the product after showing it. LOL... B... Also... don't you find is to satisfying to see the inevitability of the math coming out before your very eyes? There is something that just soothes the soul to see that... especially (for me) if it is very tiny.... Nice work! I like the shape of your tools too. They look very useful to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted November 17, 2011 Yes. Especially when I am a hobby math geek. Thank you for the kind comments also. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
