Here is how it works...
Thursday, July 25. 2013
Central line gadget in clonk or knife making
Details are the essence of a project and they make the biggest impression. When I am making a fishing clonk, I pay special attention to symmetry and straight lines. These are not essential to its function, but it is always a pleasure to look at a beautiful and pefect clonk. Until recently I estimated visually whether the knife is straight, whether there is no twisting between the knife and the handle, and I managed to do that relatively well. However, an idea thrown out by a friend a few months ago interested me enough to try it out. It turned out to be quite successful, so I decided to share with you the following gadget.
Here is how it works...
Here is how it works...
This is the initial blank for the clonk: one beautiful branch of the white Bulgarian Boxwood.
With the help of a caliper, I mark the middle points of the handle and knife on the clonk’s front and back sides.
Then I fix the clonk firmly at the handle and at the pad using woodworking clamps. The wooden pieces, which I insert on either ends, are for controlling the idle thread of the feet.
Then adjust the clonk’s height via the four bolts in the feet, so that the pen points exactly at the already marked four centre points. This, of course, is not always possible to achieve, but if there is any misalignment, make it so that it occurs in the handle, where there is more material for removal and adjustment at the later stages.
When everything is aligned, I tap lightly on every foot to verify it lays firmly on the table. It might be necessary to do additional adjustment of the bolts and check again all centre points. After that, the clonk is firmly fixed to the table.
Draw the middle line on the front and back of the clonk while pushing the wood-piece with the pen firmly to the table. You can observe how close the lines meet, despite the unsophisticated contraption. I am at that point absolutely certain that the two lines lie in the same plane and this plane separates the clonk into two symmetrical halves.
On this photograph, you can see that the centre line does not pass through the middle of the blank, something which would not be detectable without using this gadget.
Here are some blanks with drawn central line, ready for work, and two already started fishing clonks.
And this is the final result - Boxwood fishing clonk
In conclusion, I would like to say that this gadget allows faster and more precise achievement of straight lines and symmetry in a clonk and I strongly suggest it to everyone.
The same gadget I find very usefull and precise variant for determining the central line of knife handle.
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