While I am busy leading spring break camp at Franklin Park Conservatory (a few spots still available for next week, by the way), I am filling the blog with guest posts and reposts. Happy reading! This guide comes from my Uncle Mike, teacher, jeweler, handyman, and all around good guy. He writes a blog about his classroom activities and Mike Tayse Jewelry with more tutorials like the one below. I love the post he wrote about making a pendant with my little girl Lil.

Mike's teaching job in Cleveland may evaporate next year. If you have any leads on an elementary school position for a master's degree educated, certified teacher in the Dayton/Cincinnati/Columbus area, please contact one of us.

Making a Titanium Paint Scraper

This project was done around Christmas time in 2010. In my family we draw names to do a random gift exchange and have to give/make gifts that are generally handmade and preferably use less than $10.00 worth of materials. In the jewelry class I teach I've done a bit of simple knife making and this falls under that realm. There is really no particular reason to make a titanium paint scraper other than the fact that the person I drew that year was Alex, who is an engineer, and I figured he would appreciate, no demand, a tool that utilized aero- space materials. Since Alex makes beer, I figured I'd also cut out a profile on the side of the scraper into the shape of a bottle opener- a handy addition to any tool. In addition to the titanium blade I used/cut apart a largish walnut branch from my yard for the handle on Alex's scraper. You can see from the pictures I really made two scrapers The other one I used a piece of scrap Corian, a counter top material. I rarely make just one thing at a time, let face it, the tools are out, might as well make at least two.

___________________________________

This is a picture of the walnut log, recently pried out of the snow, with my friendly neighborhood rechargeable Milwaukee Sawzall, perched on top.

A close up of myself cutting apart the walnut branch into a couple of usable slabs destined to make a handle or two. I really should have cut this in the summer and let the slab dry-age, plus it would have been easier than doing the deed in the snow.

A picture of the tool, material, and finished slab.

This is a picture of a sheet of 14 gauge titanium partially cut on my small band saw. It's a portable band saw with a homemade plywood base screwed together to make it a stationary band saw.

Continue to Mike Tayse Jewelry to read about how to finish and assemble the scraper.