Prepared for Ken Jeberg By Ken Jeberg Trades Technology Teacher Education How to build a Excalibur letter opener Our objective Is to assess the skill level of the students with a simple project and work our way up from there ID: 465400
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Slide1
Making a Excalibur letter opener
Prepared for
Ken Jeberg
By
Ken Jeberg
Trades Technology Teacher EducationSlide2
How to build a Excalibur letter openerSlide3
Our objective
Is to assess the skill level of the students with a simple project and work our way up from there.
Also this gives them opportunity to learn on some basic hand
and power tools, before you get into the next projectsThere is much safety learned here also Slide4
Material list
Need a piece of 3/16” steel rod
¼” shelf pin
Bullet shell or whatever you have on hand that is dimensionally suitablePolymer clayBuffing compound : 400 grit, 800 grit, 2000 gritSlide5
Tools for project
Vice grips
15 pound persuader
Full tank propane burnerRuler20 oz. hammerBlack marker Wood c-clampStationary vice
Portable drill
Fine model file
Buffing wheelSlide6
Procedures for making the Excalibur letter opener
First you heat up the metal rod on the propane torch until the metal is glowing red
Slide7
Then you pound the metal until you get the metal to reach its required dimensions
As you hammer you want to hammer the metal out at
least 10 centimetersSlide8
As you hammer you need to check the blade against the edge of the ruler to make sure your sword stays strait.
You want the thickness approx. 1.5 mm
Width 1.2 cm
Make sure you hit the rod squarely and not off to the center
o
r the rod will hook to the right or left
.Slide9
Now we shape
the blade
Mark 3.5 centimeters in the bottom part of the sword :
This is going to be the smooth part of the letter opener, so when you open a letter you don’t cut your fingers Slide10
Shaping the blade
Make sure your piece is securely fastened before you begin the sanding
Before you start sanding your rough edge you can scribe in a line 3 mm in all around your sword where you want your sharp edge. This allows you to have a reference part so you don’t make to big of an edgeSlide11
Now you clamp down on your piece as shown in this picture :
All you need is a fine hobby file, any bigger would take to much
material off, and you would damage your projectSlide12
Use your
dremmal
along the edge where your blade is being ground in, again make sure your project is secure.
When using your
dremmal
do light passes the full length of the blade
The grinding disc is preferred for the handle piece.
Again do light passes so you don’t take to much material
at once, that way you can make a nice rounded profile
Use a regular buffing wheel, with some buffing compound
and
you
can really make a nice smooth shiny bladeSlide13
Form the guard
Heat a shelf pin until it glows cherry red
Pound the material on your sledge hammer head until
You achieve this shape in this pictureSlide14
You can see here what you want the form guard to look like, so it is just a matter of putting this piece in a vice and clamping it down securely and filing it to its
a
ppropriate shape
The above piece you can see has a hole drilled to size
So you can slip the guard up the handle :
You want the holes so the piece is pressed fitted on slightly
Then you use regular acid flux solder to bond the pieces togetherSlide15
Cut the pommel
You can use really what you have on hand, but this picture
They are using a shell casing
There is no way set in stone to cut this off, they are using a
drill
and a
hack
saw
to spin this end off for this project
Once you have your piece cut you drill a tight hole in the one end
And press it on as in like as in the picture.
When you have this piece in place you solder it on with acid flux solderSlide16
Solder, polish and clay
Make sure your joints have been soldered strong, remember
your
joints are
the pommel and guard
Then you start the polishing process:
Use a regular polishing wheel, starting with a
400
grit polishing compound and finishing with
a
2000
grit compound
You can polish until you get your desired finish, there is no time frame really with polishing.
The next phase is to shape some dark clay on the handle like in
The picture provided
Also some blue clay in the pommel so it is flush to the outer edges of the
circle
Then you bake this project in the oven at about 400 degrees C for about 25
min, take your sword out and you are done
Slide17
Go open a letter