Bear "Fun", "Jungle" Tools, Ideas and Special / Member Projects

I just reread this thread from the start and am wiping drool off my chin. I'm certain of 2 things. Bear, you make some of the finest knives I have ever seen and you make it look so dang easy. Second, Hanzo, you got some great food posts here and other places on the forum! Yep, wiping drool caused by both of ya! LOL

Thanks for the beautiful photos.

Kajun

 

@Bear as always you do some fantastic work.

Love the re-purposed stool. I'm just starting to do some welding, I'm using an old "Powr-Kraft" table saw as my welding bench. It's small but for what I'm doing it works just fine.

On the blocks for the fire starters, is there enough material left to have a small hole bored and tapped so you can store some tinder?

 

Not directed at me, I know, but if you are wanting a "kit" of sorts, an end bore could store tinder, or even the bow string.

 

yup, on both accounts. Not really wanting anything, just had a thought when I saw the blocks (and I have a bunch of bearings laying around from various projects, the wife calls me a pack rat, I call it being thrifty )

 

Thanks for "interesting" comments Monkeys... from drills, to under the hood welders to flame throwers !?!... now that's what I call the full range of possibilities...

@kckndrgn yup there's enough room to drill the block... and like @ghrit said... placement of the bearing is up to you... also nothing says you need to use the same size bearing... a smaller or thinner one will work and give you more room... and also a bigger block...

My suggestion if you really wanted multi purpose... is to make the bearing block out of fatwood and drill a hole for extras... how that for multi purpose ?!? lot's of possibilities... hmmm I may just need to make one of those

Winding down the run on these... have 6 ready made and 2 kits... that's probably it for these... plus 2 or 3 specials in the works...

Then on to the next project...

Have a great week everyone!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

That's why I thought fatwood for a ferro rod handle makes good sense too.

 

Aloha Monkeys,

Finished up the last of these brown Micarta bearing blocks I'll be making... other projects to get on to..

For these remaining 4 finished blocks and the 2 kit blocks, in case anyone is interested... I'll be adding 10 feet of the camo tyvek at no extra charge.... Camo pattern on one side ... pure white on the other... very hard to find....

2 finished and 2 kit blocks gone - 2 finished blocks and Koa block available

$20 + $6 shipping USPS Priority, insured with tracking for a finished brown micarta w/ camo tyvek to the USA

$10 + $6 shipping USPS Priority, insured with tracking for a "do it yourself" brown micarta block with the bearing fitted and GFlex epoxied w/ camo tyvek to the USA

Price includes ONE bearing block and ONE 10 foot length of camo tyvek ... shipped USPS Priority Mail, insured with tracking to the USA...

Hope that's a good value deal for some folks ...

Also here's a special one, for folks that like natural materials, made from my stash of exhibition grade non stabilized curly Koa with a USA bearing...

$40 plus $6 shipping USPS, priority mail with insurance and tracking to the USA...

Also includes the 10 feet of the camo tyvek

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look,

Have a great Tuesday all!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Lovely! You do nice work

 

@Bear always does top work!

 

Good Morning Monkeys,

Thanks for the kind words @Hanzo and @Ganado

Sorry everyone... miscalculation on the curly Koa bearing block... yikes too high

It's $30 plus $6 shipping not $40 plus shipping as stated above.... fat fingers

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Aloha Monkeys,

A member shared their results with their block with me... so thought I would post it here for them... great pics and they were happy....

Eastern White Cedar drill and hearth....

1 finished micarta left....

Have a great day Monkeys!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bully

 

Aloha Monkeys,

I had a very courteous request for information about how I glue the bearings to the block without having the bearing get fouled up and stuck with the epoxy or other glue.

It’s the Bushcraft part of this forum so of course I’ll share my “Secrets”, definitely want other members who want craft their own... to be successful without disappointment.

So here you go buddy.... hope this helps you and others that might be interested....

Preparation as always is everything…

1. Make sure you have bored your hole to the correct size and then bore another so the that the inner ring can spin freely without bottoming out on the bottom of the hole.

I use a forstner bit for both and I like Famag bits the best

2. Score or Divot the outside bearing surface so that the epoxy or glue has somewhere to hold

I use my Dremel and a diamond cut off blade for this.

3. Clean your block material and bearing of any debris or oils to ensure a good bond.

I just blow or brush out the block and then use acetone with Qtips to clean both.

Also when doing the bearing… don’t get too much acetone on the Qtip… you don’t want it seeping in the bearing mucking up the lubrication. a little is fine

4. You want to use the epoxy or whatever you decide to use sparingly… a little is good enough… I like Gflex epoxy for all my field tools….

Be careful not to get epoxy anywhere you don’t want it… I use nitrile gloves and constantly check if there is any on the gloves or bearing…

Keep some acetone and Qtips handy just in case….

I use a bamboo teriyaki stick that I cut at an angle to spread the glue on the insides of the hole in the bearing block and NOT on the bottom.

I also spread a thin layer of the epoxy on the outside of bearing where it will meet the block… making sure that all those divots are filled with just a “skin” of epoxy on the smooth parts

5. Position it and slowly push it down…. you’ll have a tiny bit on top… but not a lot…

6. Take your same angled teriyaki stick and run it carefully around to fill in the edges where the bearing meets the block...

7. Take DRY Qtips and wipe the excess off… with a slow spin away from the bearing.. you’ll use a bunch of Qtips here

Spin the Qtip so you are wiping off the excess with a clean part of the Qtip… or you’ll just smear it when you get the part of the Qtipthat has epoxy on it.

8. Take your Qtip… dip it in the acetone… again.. don’t drench it… and wipe the rest of the epoxy off the edges… slowly spinning it away from the bearing….

9. Let it dry overnight with the bearing facing up.

10. VOILA!…. you are done…

I know it sound like a lot of steps… but really this only takes a couple mins….

I don’t recommend using 5 min epoxy… get the longer setting epoxy so you have plenty of working time and cleaning it is easier… also IMHO… the longer epoxy is stronger…

Hope this helps anyone who has had problems with stuck bearings after the epoxy sets….or anyone with some bearings and block material lying around…

Great fun and terrific results…

If I forgot anything or anyone has any questions… let me know… happy to help …

Have a great Thursday!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Aloha Monkeys,

Not your typical "Bear" project...

Not a "Bushcraft" project in the traditional sense ... yet...

Vanilla (only orchid that grows on a vine) in bloom... usually May/June... finally got it to bloom... been trying for years...
Have to hand pollinate... Flower has both Male pollen and female parts you have to get together

Flowers only bloom for a day... in the morning... hand pollinate by about 10-11am...

6 months later... hopefully if I am successful ... will have vanilla beans to process... Yum!

Will keep y'all posted...

Something a little different to add

Take Care and God Bless,

Craig

 

Hand pollenate?

Not only is @Bear a master smith and craftsman, he is a plant master... Oh, I can't do it. [emoji13]

Did not know vanilla is an orchid. .

 

I think we need to call him master or plant whisperer or something

 

We already do.....
The Iron Monkey | Survival Forums

 

LOL... Thanks for all the "kind" comments... @ghrit @Hanzo @Ganado @kellory

Yeah... ya gotta be flexible and versatile... that good old toolbox has to have that heavy hand sledge you can swing... as well as a tiny toothpick to delicately hand pollinate...

By the way guys and gals... just posted this in case anyone is interested...
Good Cause - M1A Mags and one .45 - Best Offer | Survival Forums

Have a great Friday and Weekend all!

Don't forget to pause to remember those who sacrificed so we all could be here....

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Aloha Monkeys...

Something very different for me....

Here is a one of kind pair of my forged 6al-4v titanium chopsticks...

I only do the hammered forged finished... (after all... I am a Monkey with a hammer )

Here is the "simple elegance" version of which this is the first and there is only one... for those that like simplicity and maybe a gift ...

These started out round stock... forged square... and if you do a search of my threads you can find the process... you will also find that the forging hardens the titanium to the point where I won't drill these after forging....

The chopsticks are finished to 400 grit... tips tapered... ends squared and rounded so they won't roll away or off the table... also so that if you want to have them engraved... there are flats for the engraver to clamp them down...

Obviously they have other uses as well

By the way... want a chance at owning it... go here

@Hanzo will have a chance to see these in person if I see him...

Good Cause - Titanium Chopsticks - Hand Forged Ground Polished | Survival Forums

Thanks for stopping by to check out my hobby doings

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear