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Monday 8 June 2009

A sartorial, pictorial tutorial...

...Cut to the chase...with sharp tools!

Recently I was having way too much fun so Scarecrow gave me all the shears and pruning stuff to sharpen. biggrin

Here is a quick pictorial tutorial on how to do it.

Whadjaneed
Some files including a round one if sharpening anything with a curve
Wire brush for cleaning the tools and the files
A clean area to work in
Glasses so you can see what the angle is on the blade you are sharpening!
Safety googles - had to say that for legal reasons - remember when common sense was the most common of all the senses, then along came lawyers! rolleyes




Usually I would start by thoroughly cleaning the tool first and then sharpen the tool.

For the sake of being easy to see the edge of the tool in the photos, I have left the cleaning until afterwards.

You will notice that each tool has a blade with a bevel on it. eek

When sharpening we will maintain said bevel and use short strokes moving the file away from the body.

It will only take a few such strokes to add a sharp edge.


This technique can also by used on other implements such as scissors and knives, honing the edges on a stone as needed.






A round file is used on the curvey edge of the shears.

Remember, you only need to use a few strokes, maybe 4 or 5 strokes.

Finish by giving the tools a good cleaning.





The finished tools can also have a light spray of silicone to provide them with some protection from rust.


All finished so I can now get back to having fun rolleyes

Enjoy your sharp tools

Doc
wink

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Get stuffed...

...Teddy Bear Stuffers

Was with friends at a craft group recently and I noted that they were making stuffed teddy bears and seemed to be having trouble stuffing the stuff (?wadding) into the body/limbs. eek

It seemed to be easier if they used a pencil.

I saw this and said to myself "Self, you should make these people some teddy bear stuffing tools" rolleyes

Using dowel shaped to a simple unsharp point (?) sand smooth and the rest is history.
eek

Wadjaneed
Dowel for handles
Dowel for pointy bits as long as needed
Saw
Drill
Glue

Click on the piccy to get a
bigger piccy and see how easy they are to make


Some small stuffers had a handle on whilst the long ones did not. Did not seem to need it.


Happy stuffing.


Doc
wink