Scissor Blade Saga: Progress

I’m into the most time-consuming part of the build so far, so these next few will just be pictures and a few details.

The blade and handle have been removed from the boards! After cutting out the pieces on the handle, I decided that only one of each part would be necessary. As a result, the material needed and subsequent price were reduced to 14" and $1.66 respectively. Due to this, the price for the materials should be adjusted to between $3.63 and $5.93.

This next part should come with a warning: When using power tools, make absolutely sure that everything is done safely. Keep all electrical cords away from the blades. When cutting, make sure the wood is firmly secured to the work table with clamps. Be sure to wear eye, ear, and mouth protection to prevent sawdust and chips from preventing you from working. And don’t use any tool you either haven’t used in years or have never used without supervision or someone nearby.

When I was in theatre in high school, before we could use any bladed power tools, the technical director drummed in us the fear of these tools. Not the phobia of power tools, but rather the fear of what can happen if you’re not safe with them. That’s one lesson I’ve thankfully never forgotten.

For everything except the straight part of the blade, I used a jigsaw. Some jigsaws, like mine, can’t keep the sawblade perfectly vertical. If this is true of your jigsaw (bandsaws don’t have this issue, but can pop off the gears if you twist too quickly), make sure you compensate for that by having the blade bend away from your line. The excess can be trimmed with either a plane or a drill press with a sanding drum attachment. Sorry about the orientation of the last image.

The straight part of the blade, aka the dull edge, was cut closely with a tablesaw. Most of the excess was then trimmed down with the plane before finally bringing it to the line with the sanding drum.

The next steps will be securing the handle to the blade and trimming everything down to the right size. I may post a video showing how to make an ergonomic handle with a sanding drum. After that, it will finally be time to prime and paint.