Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

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scottp55
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Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

Some may remember the smallest of these three pieces of Birdseye that I did as a test cut in this thread.
viewtopic.php?t=33936
2.8.20 Harley blanks.jpg
A couple good 1930-1940 "Harley" stories in that thread from my Gramp :)

Mom had picked the middle sized one for her cut(shown on the right in this pic).
2.15.20 5.375 and 8.25 INCH FINISHING PIECES.jpg
I mentioned in that year+ old thread that the piece had a split in it I was going to do a Zank style inlay.
BUT crack just gradually kept getting worse and another developed and didn't think Zank was enough,
and Mom didn't like Any of the possible regular Deep Inlay Toolpaths I previewed her.
(here are just a couple prelims of the last ones I tried and sent her)
LAST CHANCE INLAYS FOR MID SIZE HARLEY.jpg
Finally last week I had her come over and watched as she handled the biggest 12.5" piece.
Last year it was too heavy for her to pick up, but hand surgery worked in November,
and she could handle it( but I saw a slight twinge while she flipped it and turned it).
So cut it to 10.5" to lighten it and fit a cropped model.
And last Thursday sanded/shaped/and brought all sides up to finish like the top and bottom
I did last year so she could see grain and finish better on all 3.
6.17.21 MOM'S OLD PIECE RIGHT NEW ON LEFT.jpg
And because of an inclusion I decided to be the Base, easy to make the font side choice.

So Friday was the dedication side she finally approved...continued....
Attachments
6.17.21 mOM'S NEW PIECE INCLUSION.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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scottp55
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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

So Friday I started the Font side that I'd broken into 4 toolpaths.
That piece already had like 5-6 coats of finish on it,
so I cut with my favorite font bit(Onsrud 30degree engraving with .005" flat) with a Linwax wet cut.
Like most of my font cuts, I cut SLOW and twice. Used the "slurry"
as kind of a wet sanding on that piece and on a few other blanks I had nearby for that reason.
6.18.21 SECOND PASS TOP FONTS.jpg
Then cut the "Tree of Life"...and it was one of my days I had to quit about Noon.
So Tree was as far as I got that day.

Saturday, did the bottom two fonts.
Z-Zeroed as normal for the "description" side, and then cheat Z-Zero up .01" to make it more delicate.
The Nudged my Z-Zero up another .01" for my signature, and felt my way down until I liked it.
6.19.21 AM FINISHING LAST 2 FONTS.jpg
6.19.21 BOTTOM FONTS FINISHED.jpg
And so, the back was finished:)
6.19.21 BACK IS FINISHED 2.jpg
6.19.21 BACK IS FINISHED.jpg
Then flipped it for the "Rough" Finish toolpath using a 3"long .25" shank 1.5mm TBN...........cont.
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

One of the reasons I did the small test piece my Uncle got, was the Finish toolpath times
were Crazy long(even for that medium piece) and I experimented with my machine's defaults for 3D.
They were even crazier for this bigger 10." tall piece;
3D TOOLPATH TIMES 3D.jpg
Managed to use Brady Watson's "Standard 3D Tweak" and cut 20% off my cut times.
(His more aggressive tweaks were a bit much to my ear and the cuts)
I wanted to dial in my new Spetool 1.5mm TBN on Maple.
I'd only used it to hog out wood at 14% stepover on "Shaman"...and this was a 6% stepover.
I was surprised I had to drop 2K, down to 16,000 to keep the bit cool at (IPS) 2,2,6% on a .2" cut.
Only cut 1" at those settings, and then dropped Z-Zero down another .2" (now a .4" cut).
Dry as cut, just brushed off with soft shoeshine "Star" brush;
6.19.21 1MM TBN BRUSHED OFF.jpg
And brushed off and a medium coat linwax, heat gunned in until all excess brushed off.
6.20.21 1MM TBN BRUSHED OILED.jpg
Fairly decent cut.

That Inclusion started at .65" on the endgrain, and by the piece I cut off...
it looked like it went deeper as it went in, but I only exaggerated model height from .52" to .6"
Because of that inclusion.
Then swapped to a brand new(to me) Spetool 1.0mm TBN Finish toolpath and cheated down .1995"
to SUPPOSEDLY leave only a .05" depth for the .25mm TBN to cut.
I cut this with only 5% stepover as there are so many almost vertical surfaces.
The .25mm has a steeper side angle and can't get in there to clean up any cusps.

The cut looked quite nice! :)
BUT I decided to do the full surface with the .25mm TBN toolpath rather than chance
having to sand out any witness mark like on the fairly loose Boundary cut shown above.
It was only a couple of hours extra, and COULD take me that long sanding witness marks out.

Ignore that extra attachment on the bottom, it's just a copy from above I can't get rid of :(

THE I WENT CRAZY at 6pm that night! .....cont.
Attachments
6.19.21 .4 PASS OF .6 MODEL 1.5MMTBN.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

At 6PM I decided I would set an alarm for MIDNIGHT and start the almost 18 hour .25mm TBN cut,
and I could be finished at about 5pm, That would give me time to cleanup from the cut and inspect it.
I KNEW I'd be brain dead at midnight, so at 6pm I threw the .25mmTBN in, Z-Zeroed
and adjusted it for a .005" cut, and left everything running so at midnight
ALL I would have to do is run a spindle warmup, and press "Start Cut".....Right??? :)
I even set a half cup with 2 tsp instant coffee on spoilboard to JOLT my eyelids up :)
(6 hours of sleep wasn't too bad....BUT wound up and only got 3.5 hrs :( )

Now it SHOULD have cut .005" evenly across! WRONG! :(
HUMID the day before, and sides only had 1 coat linwax that hadn't dried all the way.
It was cutting on both edges, and Not cutting in the middle!
SO spent 40 minutes dropping Z-Zero down in .005" increments until finally the middle was barely cutting,
and the edges were cutting .025" deep(below my heat driven coating penetration:( ).
Finally started the cut at 1am. And here is a 3am pic(which of course they all came out lousy).
6.21.21 3.28AM .25MM TBN FINISH CUT 12 PERCENT AT 2 HRS.jpg
I didn't take any pics that night as it was 9:30pm by the time I cleaned it all up.
2 hours longer than my estimate, need to change multiplier to 1.8 for that tiny TBN...
19 HOURS 28 minutes..Ouch.
Inspected carefully later the next morning,
and decided the NOT to cut finest details with the engraving bit!
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLEY ON MACHINE 1.jpg
And off the machine;
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLEY OFF MACHINE 1.jpg
Just a Little larger than my normal projects :)
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLEY SIZE COMPARISON.jpg
Now I remember why I like Tinys!

A couple of closeup pics coming up quick.....
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

Closeup pics.
And now all it needs is 4-5 coats more, and she'll finally get it before her 90'th birthday! :) :)
I"m going back to small branches for a While!! :D
Attachments
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLE PUMP CLOSE.jpg
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLEY OFF MACHINE 2 TOP CLOSE.jpg
6.22.21 MOM'S HARLEY OFF MACHINE 3 BOTTOM  CLOSE.jpg
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by jfederer »

Scott, I always enjoy your detailed and humorous project stories! You patience and dedication is an inspiration. Thanks for bringing this one full circle. As always, I learned something, or at least had it reinforced. In this case: wood moves, sometimes almost fast enough to see it happening.
Joe Federer

www.fabrikisto.com incl. Tailmaker software
www.federer.ca

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scotttarnor »

Thank You for sharing Scott, That is awesome work ! I wish I had your patients and skills.
Cant wait to the see the branches !
Scott T

@scottscnc

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by TomWS »

Great work and story Scott!
jfederer wrote:
Fri Jun 25, 2021 1:25 pm
In this case: wood moves, sometimes almost fast enough to see it happening.
Especially if you're a bowl turner!

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by Holzarbeiter »

The stories behind your projects are done as well as the projects themselves! just excellent work. You inspire me to try some of the "tiny carving"
Joe

I have a chip on my shoulder....several more in my hair and lots more all over my shop floor.

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by SteveNelson46 »

Nice work Scott. Always a pleasure to see your finished projects and stories.
Steve

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by sharkcutup »

AWESOME!!!

Always a pleasure to follow your progressive projects!

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by highpockets »

Beautiful Craftsmanship Scott, Mom will love it.
Thanks for sharing....
John
Maker of Chips

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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by BillK »

Scott,

Great job, looks like the exact right size piece for that carving model. I’ve also been running my 1.5mm at 16,000 rpm and find it doing a better job and lasting longer. Its hard to handle the humidity swings in the summer during a day. But you did a great save on this! She’ll love it.
BillK
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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by mtylerfl »

Outstanding! Beautiful detail and finish, Scott!
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Re: Mom's "Harley Saga" Ends (Finally!)

Post by scottp55 »

Thank you All so much for all the kind comments!! :)
(I even sent Mom the link, as she enjoys the comments on Her projects in the past:)

Yep, at 12:30am that final morning, I was kind of shocked to find just the edges cutting!
(I was rastering across the grain from the top down)
Then as I dropped Z-Zero down .005" at a time,was puzzled for a bit about how evenly the edges
cut inwards as I went down. At .025"downwards nudging began to worry about hitting the inclusion!
(I'd only made the model .6" tall because the inclusion visible started at .65")

I'd REALLY have liked to get the word "Premium" on the pump face, and crisp the letters on top up;
6.21.21 PUMP PREVIEW .25MM TBN.jpg
6.21.21 PUMP PREVIEW ONSRUD 30 ENGRAVING .005.jpg
But the next day I calipered the "Premium" at .035" font height and decided I better take it Off the machine before I ruined it trying to get all 3 axis Zeroed on the moving wood!
I don't think I'd attempt a font that height in a bare piece of Dense wood! :)

I remember that particular 10/4 (2.5") plank!
When I was stony broke, I gave Bill a call to see if he wanted to cherry pick my 1,000bf of Birdseye
in the garage rafters at a good price.
https://www.hustonandcompany.com/
His helper dragged down anything 8/4 and up with 8+ inch width minimum.
When he took 400bf away....ONE board he rejected and got left in a corner was this 8" wide one!
When I finally went to move/cut it, I saw it was twisted and cupped WICKED!
I clamped one end on my Delta table, and at the end of it's 8',
one edge was 3" off the table, and the other edge was 5 INCHES :)
Needless to say, It got cut into smaller sections and surfaced.
Got 3 6 inch pieces flat at 2", and then 15" and shorter pieces went from this 1.87" to 1.5".
That darn piece had a lot of force built in!

Funny....I sent her the 2 off the machine pics...and she sent them to her sister and others.
AND they got talking about her 90th BDay in October, and she mentioned she'd like
something "Special" for people at the party. And my Lovely Aunt said;
"Why don't you ask Scott to make up 100 Small ones of that?" :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Sanded sharp edges and the very few fuzzies yesterday and gave it another heated coat.
Now maybe only 2 coats of oil/rosen/thinner to build up a gloss...
and a coat of beeswax so the 600G back and sides aren't too slippery, and it gets dropped!

May be a bit before I get to branches again Scott.
And was surprised Bill that going from 1mmTBN to 1.5mmTBN made such a difference in bit temp!

Thanks again for the comments!! :)
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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