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Post by stevengraham on Dec 16, 2023 16:50:47 GMT
I bought a cheap Tsuka for Rusty for me to practice installing. I got to the bamboo menuki peg, discovered the hole in the tang was slanted but the bamboo peg went in nice and tight. As I smiled on how tight everything was fitting it never occured to me on how to trim the menuki...LOL...any advice
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Post by mrstabby on Dec 16, 2023 17:26:02 GMT
You mean mekugi pin? (menuki is a sort of decorative object embeded in the tsuka)
To shorten the bamboo pin you use a very fine saw. There are special japanese saws, where the teeth are made in such a way, they can cut the pin flush with the wood of the tsuka but won't scratch the wood. Not every saw can do this. You could also cut it with a knife, either score the surface of the pin a bit higher than you need, break it and then sand it to length, or keep going around the bamboo with the knife until you are through. You'll still need to do a bit of sanding. Normally you'd use a japanese saw.
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Post by stevengraham on Dec 16, 2023 17:45:33 GMT
thx for the info. I used a knife and was careful. Soon I will start researching the part to rebuild the Tsuka and handle to historical correctness, pre ww2 or just before. I may get a Japanese saw for that.
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Post by larason2 on Dec 16, 2023 17:54:59 GMT
Even the Japanese sand the ends of mekugi. They also use sandpaper when they are preparing the mune for burnishing. You can carve the ends of a mekugi, but it is very finicky work, even with a very fine chisel. I don't have any Japanese saws yet, but I have read they are very useful for a wide number of projects.
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Post by eastman on Dec 16, 2023 18:44:44 GMT
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Post by mrstabby on Dec 16, 2023 18:51:07 GMT
Like most (all?) Japanese saws... Yeah, I'd say all good ones, but you can get one that scratches too if you buy cheap. The teeth aren't in line properly on most of the amazon low enders.
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Post by eastman on Dec 16, 2023 18:55:48 GMT
The Veritas saws are Japanese blades assembled in Canada. They are good quality tools.
There are many types of Japanese saws. All of the ones I am familiar with cut on the pull stroke, but I'm sure there are many types I have never seen before, so they might have one that cuts on the push.
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Post by crazyjons on Dec 17, 2023 15:49:02 GMT
I would dress and sand the mekugi PIN prior to inserting it, like round off both ends and cut it to length and then use another pin or a punch or a chopstick or something to hammer it in.
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steveboy
Member
Measure twice, cut once.
Posts: 369
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Post by steveboy on Dec 17, 2023 18:03:40 GMT
This is why god made Dremels.
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