Celtic Knots

[jttheclockman]

The celtic knot was brought up in one of my previous threads where I was showing an acrylic and aluminum pen. So I thought I would show another wood pen blank and to see if others have done their celtic knots like this before and I would love to see them. The woods used to make these 2 pens are yellowheart and redheart, holly and some black veneer. The yellow one was on a Sierra vista kit and the red one was on a standard sierra kit. I did not have 2 of either or, ( go figure).

Thanks for looking and as always any comments or questions are always welcomed.

 

[Jim]

Two great looking pens, those knots look superb .. Thanks for sharing John ...

 

[Grump]

We are fortunate to have you showing these pens of yours.
I believe I have seen them all before but it is always good to see fine craftsmanship demonstrated in such forms.
Nice pictures thanks for showing them.

 

[bellringer]

How do you do it

 

[paulm]

Truly professional. Lovely pens

 

[fionaspens]

Oh Wow!! What beautiful workmanship - thankyou for letting us see these.

I don't think I'll ever be able to make a pen to this standard. Could you perhaps explain to someone like me (who has just started experimenting with Celtic Knots) how you get the different coloured wood in the middle knot space ie the red wiithin the yellow? I know it's a lot to ask but have you ever considered writing a tutorial on the technical stages involved in making these? You may have already done this and it's just that I haven't seen it.

Thanks again Fiona

 

[ilya]

Absolutely great!

 

[Doug]

Wonderful pens John, thanks for posting

 

[turnaround360]

How do you do it

Alex split the size of the knot in three and put the contrasting colour in the middle .

 

[turnaround360]

John great job I think you should call it harlequin it looks spot on.

 

[turnaround360]

Alex split the size of the knot in three and put the contrasting colour in the middle .

ignore that last comment sorry what am l like lol il keep thinking
.

 

[turnaround360]

No i think thats right .

 

[stevenw1963]

John,

Those are exceptionally well made pens, prefer the red one but that's just my colour preference.

 

[bluntchisel]

Immaculate as always - brilliant work, John!!!

Bob.

 

[Terry]

John you have taken Celtic Knots toanother level. Thanks for showing!!!!

 

[fionaspens]

Alex split the size of the knot in three and put the contrasting colour in the middle .

Could you give a little more detail please. Normally when I make a knot I cut a section out of a blank at 45 degrees and fill it with a prepared wafer/inlay of wood the same thickness. I think your saying to achieve the black/light black wood knot here - that the wafer is prepared of the three contrasting woods (? perhaps glued together first) and then glued into the prepared blank. The process is then repeated turning the blank as per normal for a knot. Yes - I can see that working now. Now to get my head round the next bit - Could Alex or youself explain the magic formula for getting the different coloured wood within the knot space . Many thanks. Fiona

 

[turnaround360]

No i mean the main colour if the knot is 30mm then cut the blank where the center would be and glue in a 10 mm bit of another wood thats how i think its done i may be wrong.

 

[turnaround360]

Make a tri colour and sandwich it in the blank 3 equal sized bits.

 

[turnaround360]

My descriptions are crap sorry.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello again. These knots are very easy to make if you know the process of making a celtic knot. Do not overthink it.

The main rule when making a celtic knot is to match the inlay material to the size of the kerf of the blade. That is utmost important. Also you need to keep the blank in perfect alignment when gluing it back. Some people get around this by not cutting all the way through and just fill in the kerf with whatever material you choose. In this case my choice was as mentioned a sandwich of black veneer, holly and black veneer. Together they equaled the size of the kerf my blade cuts which is 3/16". I cut these on my tablesaw using the jig shown for my acrylic feather segmented pens.

Now Fiona wants to know how to get the colored pieces in. I wish I could tell you it is some mystical happening and some serious segmenting but I would be lying. It could not be simplier. I will show you a photo and you should be able to figure it out right away. There will be a quiz on this later Good luck. Now I do not want to cause any bodily harm to anyone so do not go kicking yourself or hitting your head after you find out the answer and and say why did I not think of that???