With knobs on!

[mailee]

Here are a couple of pictures of how far on I am with the canteen.

I have now fitted the knobs and handles and all that remains now is to flock the inside and fit the stays for the lid.
I have added SWMBO to this one for scale.

See it isn't really full size. Mind you the wife isn't really that big either ;D

[jfc]

Shes lovely ...... oops i mean thats nice ;D

[engineerone]

gawd how many knives and forks do you have ;D

both items look very good

paul

[dom]

Nice job Mailee, I would use a better stay than that screwdriver though.

[colincott]

Hi Mailee

Once again very nice

There is one small thing I would like to ask

I noticed your handles are long ( which they have to be, side ones )but you will have a lot of weight in it when it is full and was wondering if you have tried to lift with some weight in it.
As when it is full there might be a small chance of the handle splitting but if you drill some dowels from the inside to the front ( not through )that should stop any chance of that happening.

If you have tested it, then please ignore the babble.

By the way, I am looking forward to seeing it finish

Regards Colin

[promhandicam]

very nice mailee - I just hope that the screwdriver didn't slip otherwise your good lady wife will be in A&E at the moment.

Steve

[Lord Nibbo]

I didn't realize how big it was until now It looks great though.

[mailee]

Well I have spent most of the day flocking the drawers on the cutlery canteen. I have come to a stop as I ran out of the flock. :cry:
Here is the box I made up to apply the flock:

I followed the instructions and put plenty on which seems to have done the trick:

First drawer finished and it is looking the part:

I then turned my attention to the top tray and gave this the same treatment:

I managed to finish three drawers and the top tray before I ran out of the flock:

Next up was to draw and rout the logo which will sit in the lid. I coated this with some of the adhesive that was left to seal the surface for the application of the flock:

I have ordered some more of the flock and adhesive so must now wait until it arrives to continue. Mind you it states that the flock must be allowed to cure for one week before use so no hurry.

[jfc]

So what do you make of the flock ? Any problems you can see ? Will it last after use ? Looks the nuts !

[mailee]

Well Jason, I am very impressed with it thanks. It was pretty easy to apply and went much further than I expected, mind you I have run out and had to order some more. Not sure as to how it will last but seems to have covered well. It recommends leaving it for a week to fully cure before use so we will see after that. It was certainly much easier than my original intention of using felt, that would have been a nightmare! It certainly gives the canteen the luxury look now it is on. ;D

[promhandicam]

that look flocking good mailee!

Steve

[mailee]

Well today i got a call from Turners Retreat informing me they were out of stock of my order! It was the flock I had been waiting for to finish the canteen!!! After a short discussion with them they told me that it was the adhesive they were out of in that colour but they had enough of the fibre thank goodness! It would have taken them about three weeks to get some more too!! I am trying to finish it for the end of the month as the wedding is early April. Anyway it shold be with me Saturday morning all being well. In the meantime I have finished everything else and done a few trial fits of the cutlery to make sure everything fits well and it is not too heavy fully loaded. I will let the photos speak for themselves:



You will notice the lid is waiting for the flock as is the bottom drawer. fingers crossed for Saturday.

[colincott]

Mailee

Its looking better and better

[wrongnail]

That is the mother of cutlery canteens.
A really nice job.




Our craft seems to be in good hands...

John

[evergreen]

Mailee

Do you apply the flock by just sprinkling it on? Or do you press it down with a roller in the big areas? Looks damn good, I must say. Very useful for covering up any, er, "minor irregularities", I guess?

Regards.

[mailee]

Hi Evergreen. No the flock is applied with a pump very similar to the cardboard tube pumps that are used to inflate baloons. It is two tight fitting cardboard tubes with a pepperpot type of head with larger holes. Once the adhesive is brushed on the flock is 'pumped' on with this device very liberally and the fibres that don't adhere to the adhesive is shaken off to be used again. HTH.

[Roger]

That's looking great Mailee - glad the Flock worked out for you ;D I've used it in restoration before and seen some quite large Cutlery Drawers finished with it; with no adverse effects after several months of normal use.

The trouble with the system is getting hold of it! Everything has to be surface shipped (as you've found with Turners Retreat) due to some DoT regulation; even ordering within the States!

[mailee]

Ah! thanks for that Roger. I did wonder if it was shipped from the states when he said it would take three weeks to be delivered? I wonder what the problem is with it as the adhesive just seems to be like oil paint to me? and I can't see anything in the flock fibre that would constitute any regulations shipping it? Unless it was a bag of 'Charlie' coloured green! Mind you it still hasn't arrived this morning so it looks like I will have to wait until Tuesday now before it is delivered then it needs a week to cure before it can be put into service. Going to be a tight deadline I think.

[engineerone]

mailee have you checked out what sort of glue it is??

reason i ask is that when you put old fashioned gold leaf
on things, for instance stone engravings, you first paint the
stone with "size" or glue, then when it is nearly dry, you put on the leaf, and then fettle it down.

i wonder whether you could test the flock on something like
evo stick or similar and see how effectively it sticks.

paul

[Roger]

It's just the adhesive Mailee; the Flock's alright to ship by air. Who knows what the States side DoT come up with these days

I've thought about the glue before Paul in order to use an alternative - but it seems very particular to that Company's formula. Apart from which every tin of it is colour matched to the particular Flock colour.

Apparently you'd have to use Aniline colours to colour a glue even if you could find the right formula - another monopoly at the moment I'm afraid

[mailee]

I see Roger. I did wonder about trying some Humbrol enamel I have lying around to see if it would work with that. I have to admit I was surprised when I opened the tin as I was expecting something pungent like Evo stick, it reminded me of Oil based paint though. No harm in trying it on some spare I suppose. I won't try anything with the adhesive I have left as it looks like tha stuff is gold dust and I don't want to risk wasting it until after the canteen is finished. My experiment with some of the fibres though.

[Roger]

Be interesting to find out - I remember in the past when making model Aircraft, that Humbrol varnish could be used as an adhesive for Silver foil, along the same lines as size with Gold leaf in gilding as Paul mentioned.

Who knows - you may just find something that works, although the longevity may be up for grabs

[mailee]

Oh my goodness Roger, Model aircraft! I too used to build them many years ago. Now that brought back memories for me. was it Radio Controlled craft? I used to fly mainly Scale models but did have fun with some aerobatic craft that I built. I don't know if you have heard of Roger Pegg who was one of the world champions at aerobatics but it was he who taught me to fly them as his Dad was my next door neighbour. ;D Another of our 'clan' used to design sclae plans and sell them to the states to supplement his hobby. Those were the good old days. ;D

[Roger]

They sure were I tried my hand at Radio, but was only good at crashing them all the time - so went back to scale. Still do one or two now - just to keep my hand in and spend some relaxing time . . . .

[engineerone]

actually roger my dad used to use light gloss humbrol often, something like a beige colour since it would not show too much if the gilding fell off

mailee what does the glue say on it, we might be able to cheat and figure something out over here.

paul