Zonker cutter and cutting

[Fatman]

Finally got all the stuff to put a Zonker cutter together today. Made it to better protect my fingers than the one on YouTube

Panels from a Mink Fur Coat my daughter brought me

Straight and Cross-Cuts and gallon bags full

and plenty left to cut more.

 

[Bucko]

Holy moly! That's a lot of fur! How's the mink compared to rabbit? They look really nice.

 

[Kdog]

Good Job, my skin and Razor blades are not compatible. Even with your modification, looks scary to me.

 

[GrampsJigs]

Kudos to you for having the ingenuity to come up with something to do the job. Looks like you have enough strips there for a number of seasons for tying purposes.

 

[hookup]

Nice job FM - just be careful

 

[davidriley]

Neat. :icon14:

David

 

[Fatman]

Don't worry I will definately be careful!!! I just didn't trust myself with the one like the guy made on youtube!!

Bucko - The mink works reallly well and kind of flows like the rabbit. I also like it as a wrapped collar and blended in with rabbit, craft fur or wool. This is one done with sable the same way

 

[Airstreamfield]

Looks great. I made one as well and knicked myself a few times...you don't even notice till you start seeing that red liquid stuff on your hands. I haven't quite dialed it in yet though, if you put too much pressure on it you can end up cutting through the hair which leaves you with some ugly strips....I just try to kind of score it but I couldn't really find all that compatible parts so my razors aren't exactly perfectly in line with each other either...I had a hard time just finding razor blades with holes in them.

 

[Fatman]

The best looking cutter I've ever seen but I don't have a wood shop to make is this one from "Feather Brain: Developing, Testing, and Improving Saltwater Fly Patterns, By Drew Chicone. No actual directions but a good pic of it.
https://books.google.com/books?id=C...3Azb#v=onepage&q=zonker strip cutters&f=false

 

[Kdog]

Fatman, I ran across that post a while back and have plans to make a similar version sometime this winter, When I do, I'll do a step by step series in case anyone wants to make their own.

 

[Fatman]

I really like the angle on the front of it as you wouldn't be biting in to the hide to far. My wife is talking to the kids in the woodshop class at school to see if they can make me a few. Even line cuts so the screw fits through all of them is going to be key in making it.

 

[duffy]

Those look similar to asian/korean vegetable cutters. My brother bought me one that has 6 blades about 1/8 - 3/16 apart in a plastic handle and they are really sharp. Will cut through plastic cutting boards if your not careful. I think he said they were only 3 or 5 bucks at the asian food store.

 

[goodtimesfishing]

Good call duffy! I have been going to make a zonker cutter, but I think I will save some time and money! Surprised how cheap they are!
I Googled- asian/korean vegetable cutters and am impressed with what comes up!

 

[goodtimesfishing]

Ordered 2 of them (wife wants one too) from amazon. I got the ones that are $3.10 no tax no shipping ($3.10 to your door!) but saw one after I ordered that looked the same for only $1.99!

I will try it out and let you guys know how it works when I get it.

 

[duffy]

Will be interesting to see how they work. I don't have any hide to try them on sooo your the tester. Tell your wife to get a small brush for cleaning as it can be a pita without cutting yourself. When cutting celery it's almost easier to plant the knife in the stalk holding it against the board and pull the stalk through the knife. I do think that the rotary blades would cut the hide nicer, just have to figure out a depth gauge so as not to cut the hair. Only problem is that I'd probably overbuild it. You know, ball bearings, stainless handle, guide/width control, gps ect ect.

 

[Fatman]

Have to check that out!!

 

[AllenOK]

I'll have to try and find the zonker cutter I built a few years ago and take a pic of it.

 

[goodtimesfishing]

Well got the veggie cutter and the blades are a bit close together. This could work great for micro jigs, as the zonker is about half as wide. I plan on messing around with it a bit to see if I like it but will have to separate the blades a bit more to get the right size strips.

 

[duffy]

Goodtimes,
I have two different ones. One has heavy blades that are right at 3/16 apart and the other lighter one is spaced at a tight 1/8". I think a guy could take a needle nose and break off every other one to get the width you want. I had thought about taking one apart but I think they are melted together. Just a thought.

 

[goodtimesfishing]

Yep melted together. The one I got is the 1/8 inch but the blades will bend pretty easily...easier then removing blades I think. My plan was to use a couple washers or coins or something like that to "reset" the gaps of the blades, by closing in a vise with spacers between blades.

Duffy, the one with bigger blades that are set at 3/16, do the blades seem sharper then the other one?? My concern is how long it will cut good before blades are too dull to cut good.