Carbon Fiber handle prototype

[tballard]

I've been making picks for a while, and usually I do metal handles, but wanted to try something new. This is my first attempt at a pick with solid carbon fiber handle. The process has been pretty easy so far. I still need to polish the pick itself, is the handle needs to be clear-coated. (Which will make a HUGE difference in the appearance I think)

Anyway, here's a free simple phone-cam pics I snapped while working today:

Router Jig, preparing to route a 1/2" x 4" blank of 1.7 mm carbon fiber sheet. (The jig took as long to make as the pick)


1/4" groove routed, 3/64" deep.


Another shot of the groove. You'd be amazed how hard it is to take pictures of carbon fiber.


Roughed out pick and handles, ready for lay-up. The half-moon shapes are to help the epoxy surround the pick, and hopefully help prevent delamination. (And it was a nice excuse to use the new Oregon chainsaw files I picked up, which the dealer just gave me for free when I told him what I was using them for! Score!)


Pick epoxied, shaped, and roughly polished. It's amazingly hard to take picture of this stuff. My three year old describe it best as "sparkly" (Oh, and I used a real camera for this too...)


I still need to polish the pick itself. (Right now it's around 600 grit, I like to go to 2000) I also want to clear-coat and sand the handle. I'm a little nervous about this step, since I haven't done it before, and don't think I'm going to spend the money for proper airbrush-applied top coat.

The stiffness and lightness of the handle give the pick really nice feedback, and I'm hoping that this is the first in a line. I'll post more as I get more done.

[Rift]

that's really slick looking I really like the shape you chose. Its like a race car lock pick. What kind of livery are you gonna put on it? =)

Is the feedback noticeably different from a standard all metal handle?

Clear coats can indeed be annoying but so is spraying most things. Id definitely recommend an airbrush and if you can a spray booth. I did this to a computer case of mine and its quiet a bit of work if you want it to look completely even and slick in the end. But hey your putting carbon fiber on your picks you might as well top it off no? If done right they can look even more amazing, with a proper clear coat that carbon fiber will really shine.

Rift

[ToolyMcgee]

Whoa, I knew when you were talking about using the geometry of a steak knife grind you were making the good picks, but man... that's really sharp. Fantastic work.

[raimundo]

very nice, are you making sets? Excellent work, with power tools and jigs, the thing can be somewhat automated.

[Schuyler]

Already told you in IRC, but it's a brilliant looking pick. The handle shape, in particular, is fantastic.

[tballard]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

Is the feedback noticeably different from a standard all metal handle?

Honestly, not a ton so far. It's certainly lighter than I'm used to, and extremely rigid once it hits the handle, but it's also larger than I usually make, and requires a slightly different hand position than I am used to, so it's hard to make an unbiased decision. I'm hoping to get together with some of the other local guys in the scene and see what they think.

very nice, are you making sets? Excellent work, with power tools and jigs, the thing can be somewhat automated.

Thank you. I'm not sure about "sets" just yet. I did the blanks for another 5 handles today, so I'll be making more.

It's funny that you mention the power tools and jigs, because I've been doing less and less work with them as I get more experienced, and I often think of your bogota instructions when I am working. A good file is just as fast, and produces better results than anything (except maybe the milling machine I perpetually lust after) when working on such a small scale. Those half-circles in the pick body? 15 strokes of a chainsaw file each. I used to be a huge power tool fan, but I couldn't make a cut like that with a rotary tool as fast, and it would have required caution for thermal reasons. You've really forced me to open my eyes to potential of hand tools Rai, and I thank you for that. (Seriously, I just got back from a trip with a layover in Minneapolis, and if I had had a longer layover, I would have hunted you done and bought you at least a beer or two!)

Carbon fiber is murder on steel tooling though. I did some experiments working the CF with files, and it works VERY fast, but even b4stard cut files load in a few strokes, and dull very quickly. (sorry for the l33t sp34k, but the filter eats it otherwise)

I built the grooving jig because I couldn't think of any other way to make a precise groove, and I didn't want to use the router inverted in a router table, since I figured it would be dead in minutes from ingesting dust. (CF dust is electrically conductive and VERY fine, so it will kill anything motorized if given a chance.) Sadly, I will have fully depreciated the 1/4" bit in another 5 or 6 sets. I also was building a jig to cut the sheet into 1/2" wide stripes using a mounted rotary tool and cut-off wheels, but decided to sacrifice a blade in my miter saw instead.

I did the pick itself first with hand tools, and then epoxied it into the handle. The rough shaping was done on a $30 1x30 stationary belt sander with a 120 grit belt. (Yay Harbor Freight!) The belts are good for maybe 3 sets before being worn out, but are cheap. The final shaping was done with hand sanding and blocks, and went amazingly quickly.

As I've mentioned, the dust is truly horrific, and I wore eye protection and a half-mask respirator the whole time. In the future, I'm going to wear rubber gloves as well, since my hands are still a slightly "dirty" color today, no matter what I wash them with.

I got some automotive clear-coat in a rattle can today, and did two coats of it. Unfortunately, I think I misted a little bit too thick on the second coat, so I'll need to sand before going further and posting pictures. (But it is looking really, really nice if I do say so myself)

[raimundo]

since your already dealling with the noise of the router, a vacuum hose wouldn't be too much noise, this could keep that dust away from the router for a while longer,

Have you seen the micarta handles on toolys later picks, (tooly mcgees picks page 7 or

I think he was able to buff them to that finish and I don't think he covered it with laquer. he says he uses canvas micarta for the look rather than linen micarta.

[tballard]

since your already dealling with the noise of the router, a vacuum hose wouldn't be too much noise, this could keep that dust away from the router for a while longer,

Yeah, I started off doing that, but I'm shaving so little volume off the pick that I'm not overly concerned, especially since the router already has a natural down-draft which pushes the dust out the open spaces of the jig. The vacuum hose made sliding my cheap-ass router rather difficult, and I started to worry about safety.

Have you seen the micarta handles on toolys later picks, (tooly mcgees picks page 7 or

I think he was able to buff them to that finish and I don't think he covered it with laquer. he says he uses canvas micarta for the look rather than linen micarta.

Oh man.... I had seen those, but totally forgotten about them somehow! Amazing work! I've considered micarta, but the the price and other unknown about working it put me off. (Plus I wanted to do something novel.)

I sanded down the lacquer last night, and resprayed it, and it looks stunning, except for the nice drip I managed to get in the last coat. Grrr.... I expected the lacquer process to be a pain, and it is certainly living up to expectations. The results seem worth it though. (And if I keep doing this, I think Rift's suggestion of a real airbrush is going to be required)

[raimundo]

filling up the file

files in some kinds of soft material like aluminum and lead etc will quickly fill up with the soft material and make the file ineffective. for these kinds of material, you will probably need a file card to clean the file, not the usual tooth brush which will adequately dust steel filings out of a sharp file, (dull files with the teeth hooked down from a hot backstroke type of filing will hold the material better if they can scrape any down into the cuts)

A recommended method of using a file on this type of material is to stroke the file on a piece of chalk, causeing the loose chalk to fill the depths of the cuts with material that will not stick hard, and any aluminum that goes into the cut is not in direct contact with the steel of the file, but is separated by some loose material,

You need to stroke the chalk almost as often as you stroke the metal to make this work.

[dmux]

oh man, i really like those, i am a huge fan of the carbon fiber. very nice craftmanship

[tballard]

I finished the clearcoat last week, but never got around to posting pictures. Taking pictures of shiny patterned stuff sux.

[Squelchtone]

Please put me in for a set of these. 1 with hook, 1 with bogota triple rake. I'd like to get my set before your list of orders gets too long.

Thanks man, great work!
Squelchtone

[Schuyler]

Stunning.

[LocksmithArmy]

my word... that is beautiful

[mhweaver]

My god, it's full of stars!