# Wanna turn a Celtic knot?



## TimR (Sep 19, 2017)

Some of you will remember the Celtic knot peppermill I made for Kevin during our swap a few years ago. 


 
It was the first time I'd tried it, and I decided to do another but different shape. When done, it will be posted in the Turned Projects forum. This is some tips for making a clean pattern without mismatch of grain...hopefully.
The basics steps are
1. Miter or Bevel cut (I prefer my compound saw for a bevel cut) at an angle to fit the span of your knot.


 


2. Glue in a contrasting piece of wood just a little smaller than the kerf. Gotta account for glue, ya know.




3. Clamp and walk away. Note that I have the larger piece secured down firm, and clamping in the smaller piece makes it slide down tight against the bevel, with no fighting/sliding of the joint.
I had this jig from some project, just need to be square.



4. Trim away excess
5. Repeat on other 3 sides sequentially. I'm not sure it really needs to be sequential, random would probably work, but that's just me.



The real key is making sure the insert wood is just a touch under the kerf size. I used a test board while sanding down the insert wood.


 

 



Hope that demystified the process if you've wanted to try.

Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 1 | Way Cool 2 | Informative 3


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## TimR (Sep 19, 2017)

Here's a little example of how a piece of sandpaper added in can create a slight but noticeable offset where a previous insert wood is cut.
Without paper, looks good with grain match and insert match across cut.



With paper...a little off.



Getting ready for final cut



Final glue up.

Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 4 | Way Cool 4 | Informative 2


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## woodman6415 (Sep 19, 2017)

Very descriptive... and right on point ... thanks

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Tony (Sep 19, 2017)

Tim, I'm sure it's just me, but I'm not understanding. Do you put an insert on every side? Can you post a pic of the blank glued up before you turn it? Tony


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## Tony (Sep 19, 2017)

Never mind, I've been looking at this for a long time and never refreshed....


Sorry!

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## ripjack13 (Sep 19, 2017)

That is great. I gotta try this now....

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## TimR (Sep 19, 2017)

Tony said:


> Never mind, I've been looking at this for a long time and never refreshed....
> 
> 
> Sorry!


No problem. Yea, this requires all four sides to be cut and an insert glued in.

Reactions: Like 2


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## ripjack13 (Sep 19, 2017)

Well...not now. But I have try it soon....

Great stuff. Thank you!

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Schroedc (Sep 19, 2017)

Nice and clear! I've also done then with the table saw. Use my sled with a stop block at the bottom of the blank, tilt the blade to 45 degrees, and then set the blade to not cut all the way through (I'll leave a 16th or so so I can flex it open to get glue in there). Makes it a bit easier to make sure the grains line up perfectly.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## TimR (Sep 20, 2017)

Tony said:


> Tim, I'm sure it's just me, but I'm not understanding. Do you put an insert on every side? Can you post a pic of the blank glued up before you turn it? Tony


Here's the piece ready to turn...

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 6


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## TimR (Sep 21, 2017)

Ok, last pic to post in this thread till it's finished. Got this piece on the lathe tonight and stopped here. Had an issue using beading tool...not something I'll use again on ash. I did expect possible catches, and so experimented on area not at final size yet...so alls good. Time to sharpen detail gouge for the beads, not feeling comfortable to use skew right now for small beads.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 4 | Creative 1


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## ripjack13 (Nov 20, 2017)

Is it done yet?


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## TimR (Nov 20, 2017)

ripjack13 said:


> Is it done yet?


Yep, final piece in this thread


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## ripjack13 (Nov 20, 2017)

Thanks...


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