just SOME of the things that are on the benches.

I realize that there seems to have been a distinct lack of airguns on this Airgun site. This has partly been due to health issues. I do what I'm able to do, to make a full day. If I can't hang over a lathe or a mill all day, I might gripe about it, but I move on to something that I CAN do ... To fill the day. It's also been partly because I've been full up in Drs. Appts. Go to eye Dr. He dialates a my pupils. I'm snow blind. So we end up doing errands instead of sitting home being unable to work for hours.

Neck has been just killing me. After that MRI torture the other day, I needed a stiff drink. But, I don't drink so .... I wasn't up for detailed math. Ya'll might not realize ..... (Southern talk) .... Might not think about this. Might say to yourself .... "Well why doesn't he just go ahead and do THIS or THAT. Do you realize that doing this work is doing MATH ALL DAY LONG? Every operation. It's not just turning cranks. It's endless math. Fo it wrong - don't blame the machine for ruining two day's work.

So; here you'll see some knife blades Differentially hardened. Tempering yet to come. You wil see where the scale which forms shows where the hardness changes. This is controlled totally by hand/eye coordination.

You'll see my magic pencil and marker at work. You will see some of the earliest drawings of the model 97 button lock Barnes Folder

You'll see my second black cat. Smaller shop cat - li'l Sid. He adopted me as did Sid up at the house. Sis has Amber eyes and li'l Sid has deep green eyes. Speaking of eyes. Consider what you've seen me do with my hands and eyes. The hands are controlled - totally, by the nerve bundles which exit the spine thru the neck bones. This whole mess about 2000 began with bad neck pain, endless ache, and my hands going numb. My right eye is now much weaker than my left, and has spots in it. I'm told there is s cataract forming. If you could do the things you have seen me do here .... how sick would you be worrying about what might be in your future? Yeah - me too. But, I can't afford to sit and worry. I need a very long day each day to sell stuff to pay the darned insurance bill. So; hang with me. This stuff grinds you down. But I'm not being ground down on the couch. It's in the shop.

Thanks for reading. Please enjoy the pics. I'll try to answer questions.

Best
Gary.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2016 06:45PM by barnespneumatic.

I'm seeing a LOT of Sharpie use in metal working lately. Seems it is "Quick Dykem" now also

Oh, nice knife.

Lon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2016 07:14PM by Bigbore.

Gary
The mind is willing but the body says different. It's one of those things I never feel my age in my mind but nowadays my body does the talking .

Looks like a good plan to extend the good years you have left standing on the shop floor . Listen to your body and adapt !

Hey I never thought of using the bed of my lathe for heat treating ! Looks like a maxwell moment . Hand torch and a can of oil . Get a good wiff of that smoke . Who says you need a fancy shop !hehe its ALL in the hand eye coordination and knowing when melt down occurs.

Thanks
Kurt

Hi Kurt,

Oh ..., no ..., I wasn't heat treating. Was making a cuppa decaf and set the Dollie on fire!

Actually - you got me. I was hardening a tool I made. Did you notice the darned smoke avoids the over hood hood as much as possible. I have to "aim my coffee can" a bit better Maybe a red dot holiday scope ....

A few minutes and it cleans up the air, but getting a nice Genie in a Bottle smoke trail into the fan seems nearly impossible.

Took a break to answer you and Lon ... and post a few more pics.

I have the front bolster line engraved. There's a pic of the major lines. Then, I've drawn on the rear bolster design - free hand, in pencil

Now to ink in, and then line cut the back.

Oh .... And then there's the OTHER SIDE of the knife!!! Ha. Ya think I need to do that too???

As I look at your pics I can actually feel your neck pain having to look thru the magnifying tools you use . All the intricacies to make not only a knife but a good LOOKING knife.
You can use compression braces for a lot of painfull things but somehow the neck doesn't fall into that category.

You were talking about math earlier too and besides all the decimals we use at work we do a lot of geometry too . Circles , arc lengths , quadrants just to name a few . Then all you angles, pitches , rise ,runs , deg, min, and seconds . There's alot involved in making a single set of stair stringers with pipe handrail . Not to many people I interview have those skills and its good to find a guy who does good in those areas .
True enough though like you said even simple math can exhaust you .

Thanks
Kurt

Hey Gary and Kurt,
I never thought about the math. I would stink as a machinest then! I got into my chosen field because it DIDN'T involve any math or science! Thanks for sharing the work Gary, and NGU (Never Give Up!).
Later,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Yes. Just a couple of the things that are easy to miss. Doing math (and geometry as Kurt mentioned ) all day long, and keeping all of the machinery maintained and fixed when broken.

Soooo many things to do before you get to the things that are considered as your "work".



Another pic taken during the process.

Gary

Gary,

Looks like it's shaping up to be another masterpiece.

Karl

Thks Karl



I'm carving all the clutter away!



Gary

Gary
I believe that MD 97 looks bigger than others . Is that a tactical version in aluminum?

Thanks
Kurt

Same as Julio's last one in size Kurt.

Camera angle, top flare, and the belly curve might make it look more solid. I think it will play well when completed.

Thanks,

Gary

Julio - your Stag 97 knife shipped. . Thanks Again.

Hey Gary, I think you may be on to something.

Yeah, sure, the knives and airguns are nice and all, but what I REALLY want is a spray can of that special "smoke repellent" spray like you used on your exhaust fan. I just spent the last three days at the local Boy Scout camp and I could have really used some of the stuff; no matter which side of the camp fire I sit on, the smoke is drawn to me like a magnet. I figure a few spritzes of Garys Special Patented Smoke Repellent Spray would do the trick, no more campfire smoke in my eyes even when conducting difficult technical tasks such as burning marshmallows for smores and poking half-burned candy bar wrappers with a stick.

The stuff ought to practically fly off the shelves if you can get it into a can.