Turned Handle Bread Knife ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ by Joseph M
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WTD 02 pgs 78-83 4/7/04 5:32 PM Page 78 Turned Handle Bread Knife ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ by Joseph M. Herrmann For many years, I have been making a simple, flat bread STOCK PREPARATION knife that I sell at craft fairs and on the Internet. They are One piece of walnut 9/16” x 1-9/16” x 19” and 2 pieces of functional, easy to make, and, better yet, they sell well. If curly maple 9/16” x 1-9/16” x 5-1/2” are required for this you are interested in how they are made, a reprint of the project. Run all three stock pieces through the planer at the complete article from Creative Woodworks & Crafts can be same time to ensure that they are the same thickness. found on my website at www.timbertreasures.com. The two pieces of tiger maple will be glued on so they My first love in woodworking, however, is the lathe and flank the walnut, which makes up the main body of the I wanted to design a knife that would incorporate turning knife. It is important that these two flanking pieces be in a with the bread knife that I already make. A knife with a sim- single plane where their tops intersect the body of the knife. ple turned handle is what I finally decided upon. If they’re not, one side of the knife handle will stick out far- The knife can be made from any cabinet grade hard- ther than the other side. Draw a reference line 5-1/2” away wood. I chose tiger maple for the handle and walnut for the from the end of the stock (see Fig. 1). When gluing, line up blade section for the knife featured here. Maple turns the flanking pieces with this line. extremely well and tearout, a problem often encountered I used a white-colored pencil that I bought at an art when using a highly-figured wood such as tiger or birdseye supply store to mark the walnut. As you can see, it shows maple for cabinet work, is virtually eliminated. Besides, the up much better than an ordinary graphite pencil on the tiger maple really catches the eye and could help to justify dark wood. the higher price demanded by this knife! 78 ● Woodturning Design Summer 2004 WTD 02 pgs 78-83 4/8/04 7:56 AM Page 79 SUPPLIES I marked a reference 1 line 5-1/2” away from Wood: walnut – one piece 9/16” x 1-9/16” x 19” for main the end of the wood so knife body; maple – two pieces 9/16” x 1-9/16” x I could line up the top 5-1/2” for flanking pieces for handle; 3/4” x 10” end of the handle.This scrap wood (optional) Tools: lathe, planer, clamps, jointer, awl, 3/8”-dia. spur prevents one side of center, mill file, large roughing gouge, parting tool, the handle from calipers, small spindle gouge, electric drill with being longer sanding discs, bandsaw, spindle sander, small laminate than the other. trimmer, 3/16” roundover bit, sharp chisel One 3/8” x 10-1/2” metal blade* Two 3/8” x No. 4 pan head sheet metal screws Glue is applied to all No. 1 Phillips-head screwdriver 2 surfaces that touch. Three-step buffing system (Beall’s**) Note how I stayed just Titebond II wood glue or glue of choice slightly away from the Beeswax Linseed oil mixture reference line. I didn’t Deft lacquer-based finish want too much glue to Assorted abrasive paper and stearated silicon carbide squeeze out from the abrasive paper** end of the handle. It’s Spline from plastic term paper cover (optional) hard to remove! White-colored pencil Double-stick tape *Available from Timber Treasures, 160 West Cedar Street, Any squeezed out 3 Jefferson, Ohio 44047-1331; phone: 440-576-7697; glue between the website: www.timbertreasures.com; Order: $4.75 ea. junction of the includes screws and shipping. maple and walnut **Available from Packard Woodworks; phone: 800-683-8876; must be removed website: www.packardwoodworks.com; with a damp cloth. or from Craft Supplies USA; phone: 800-551-8876; Adjustable hand website: www.woodturnerscatalog.com. screws are a good choice for clamps. GLUE-UP Apply a coat of Titebond II wood glue to both sides of the 4 Find the center of main body and to just one side of each of the flanking the middle block pieces. I like to use Titebond II because it is stickier and doesn’t seem to slide around as much when clamped. Align on the handle side the top ends of the flanking pieces with the reference line and carefully drawn earlier (see Fig. 2). centerpunch it Adjustable hand screws work best to clamp the assem- with a sharp awl. bly together. They apply sufficient pressure across the joint Do the same to the and, by using them in multiples, uniform pressure can be other end as well. applied along the entire length of the joint as well. The glue is going to squeeze out along the joints. This is good because it shows that adequate glue was used and equal clamping pressure was applied (see Fig. 3). Just be sure to wipe off any glue that might have seeped out along 5 the top of the handle adjacent to the end grain. If you don’t A small spur wipe the glue off with a damp cloth now, it will stain the center holds the wood and be much more difficult to remove than you might stock securely and think. Rub the joint until all the excess glue appears to be won’t interfere gone...and then rub some more just to be sure! with the turning Allow the glue to cure for 24 hours, remove the clamps, process. and scrape off any dried glue along the edges. Remove about 1/32” from both edges of the stock on the jointer just to clean up the edge. Woodturning Design Summer 2004 ● 79 WTD 02 pgs 78-83 4/7/04 5:37 PM Page 80 6 PREPARING THE STOCK FOR TURNING Form the transition The handle end of the knife must be squared up to provide between the blade a flat surface for the spur center. Cut off the end of the and the handle. glued blank so the handle is approximately 6-1/4” long. A half-bead and The center of the turning must be positioned along the a chamfer work axis of the long piece of stock in order for the handle of the knife to be symmetrical. Therefore, locating the center point great to join these is crucial. With a straight edge and a sharp pencil, connect two elements. the corners of the walnut; ignore the flanking pieces entire- ly. Carefully centerpunch the intersection with a sharp awl, being sure to hit the exact center (see Fig. 4)! Mount the assembly between the centers of the lathe I like to grind my 7 using a small 3/8”-diameter spur center in the headstock end of the lathe (see Fig. 5). The standard spur center that gouges to a sharp comes with most lathes is too large and will interfere with point. It allows me the turning toward the end of the process. Use a revolving to get into tight cup center in the tailstock end of the lathe. corners without Always remove any nicks and scratches from the tool encountering any of rest with a mill file and abrasive paper before starting any the problems turning. The goal is to create smooth, flowing lines. You associated with can’t do this if your chisels are bouncing around as they the skew. ride over the hills and valleys created by the nicks and scratches in the tool rest. TURNING 8 I used a large roughing gouge to turn the built-up handle portion to a smooth cylinder approximately 1-1/4” in diame- ter. Use care, however, not to remove any stock on what will Form the later support the blade of the knife. small bead Measure over 5/16” to the left of the joint of the handle. on the end of Make a 1” diameter groove with a parting tool and outside the handle. calipers to the left of that line. The front portion of the handle is now approximately 1” in diameter at its widest point, while the flat portion of the knife is still 1-1/2” wide. Obviously some transition shape must be turned to join these two different dimen- sions into a cohesive form. A half-bead on the blade side and a chamfer on the handle side will solve this problem Be careful when 9 and can be easily turned with a small spindle gouge (see removing the Fig. 6). completed handle Interrupted turning can be difficult if the speed of the lathe is not high enough to produce a “ghost” image of the from the lathe so blade. 2000 RPM appears to be an optimal speed to turn you don’t snap off this area. the almost severed I grind my gouge almost to a sharp point as shown in end attached to the Fig. 7. Ground this way, I find that it will do the work of a ball. skew and allow me to get in tight at the base of the chamfer and half-bead much easier. And, I don’t have any of the problems normally associated with the skew. Measure over 1-3/8” to the left of the handle joint and 10 make a 3/4”-diameter groove with a parting tool.