Wood Cross Hatching?

[Dispatch]

I hope this is the proper place for this thread. I've been considering cross hatching a mahogany flag pole. I'm looking for a place that does this service. Is there anyone here that can suggest a company or even someone here that does this? Any information is greatly appreciated. :hmm:

 

[omarick1948]

Give it a piece of yourself and do it yourself! Will mean more to you and you'll have a campfire story to tell!

Rick

 

[Dispatch]

I did contemplate doing that exact thing but I'm afraid I would screw it up. I see the handles of some of those beautiful smoking pipe Tomahawks and I'm envious on how fantastic they look. I would love for my flag pole to look as they do. Your right, nothing feels better than a job well done, which you've done yourself. This though I think should be left to the professionals. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you have a flexible ruler( steel or plastic) to help you mark the lines around the curves, you then also have the means to clamp a "guide"( the rulers) to the shaft to guide your cuts with a very sharp knife. ( Exacto knife works well, but you also need to learn how to put a razor edge on any blade.) Don't try to make the cuts to DEPTH with one stroke. Do it in many strokes each cutting a bit more wood. It the patience in doing this kind of work that produces the fine end results you have pictured. Most people simply are not patient enough to do this. After cutting the surface wood, to prevent splintering, you can use a Veiner wood chisel to deepen the grooves, if that is what you desire. Leave the guide in place, and don't move beyond the guide. Take short strokes, and cuts. You avoid mistakes doing it this way.

One way or another- whether its your mistake, a slip, or just a bad spot in the wood, you are going to produce a spot that splinters. It happens to the best of carvers. It how you handled that mishap that makes the difference between a beginning and the " pro". If it happens on your project, post pictures of the mishap here, and our other experts can give you the best approach to how to fix it. :thumbsup:

 

[Dispatch]

Its the inlays that scare me. Where would I get the fine lined metals to do that? I found german sterling silver rings that I could install but the French flower designs are the hardest part. The pole is 7' solid Mahogany. My other question, would this process be appropriate for a field flag pole? I so love the look of this process. Thanks for the feedback. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Many of the suppliers sell inlays. Try Crazy Crow. Even Tandy leather offers a lot of options.

You can also search the internet for suppliers of jewelry products, like wire, for inlays. The NMLRA offers courses in May, each year, at a college in Kentucky, where you can learn how to do wire inlaying. And there are books on the subject, altho I can't think off-hand of one to recommend. Use your inter-library service at the local library to get these books, and read them, before you buy any of them. Many hobby stores now sell plate metals- brass, "silver" ( usually german silver, but real siver is also available if you can afford it.), and steel are there. Check Brownell's catalog, too. Wire, and rods are also sold. I bought a piece of brazing rod at a local machine shop, to use to put pins in my ramrod ferrules, and to hold antler handles on knives I made. I still have a piece of it in my range box. Its small enough in diameter to use to drift out small pins, but soft enough to not mar the pins or other surfaces If I slip.

Good luck. :thumbsup: