4.5mm hole, 4mm pin.

[TNutter]

Hey guys, looking for some assistance on a **** up ive made on my first knife handle.
so i clamped the scales to the knife and drilled the rear hole through the knife and scales then put a pin through that hole while i drilled the front hole,
i must have been off axis when drilling the front hole tho, as when it came to glue up with the rear pin in, the front scale holes wouldnt line up with the knife hole,( i used a hand drill) so i had to improviose on the spot (covered in epoxy lol) and stick a 4mm pin through instead of the 4.5mm that i had drilled for, as a result i now have a slight gap around the front pin.
i can think of two solutions and was wondering what your thoughts were on them or if they would even work.
1 i could fill the gap with sawdust and ca glue it, or
2 peen the brass pin enough so it fills the gap?.....this is the prefered method but im not sure if it will work???

does any one have any experience with this kind of **** up, or do you have any other solutions.

bear in mind this is my first knife and you do learn from your mistakes lol

thanks in advance

Thomas Nutter.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

File the pin off about 1/8" proud of the scale and peen it to fill the gap. Switch sides often as you flare out bothe sides.

 

[Cushing H.]

What Stacy said.

To avoid this in the future, glue one scale at a time. Have your holes in the handle, then glue on one scale with no holes in the scale. Use the holes in the handle as a guide to drill holes through the scale. Then attach the second scale, flip the thing over, and use the holes in the first scale as a guide to drill through the second scale.

If you want to get the fronts of the scales well aligned and finished, do the above, but with a temporary glue-up (I use blue painters tape on the tang and the scale, and put a drop or two of CA adhesive on the tape before pushing the tang and scale together. After drilling, remove the scales from the tang, and use dry fit pins to align the scales to each other as you shape and finish the fronts of the scales.

It is also a good idea to use a slightly oversized drill. For a 4mm pin, use something like a 4.1 or 4.2 mm drill. Things never line up exactly, and pins are never *exactly* 4mm … the slightly larger holes give some “slop” so you can get the pins through…

 

[Taz]

I stack the handle scales, clamp the blade on top and use the holes in the blade as a template. The blue tape on the scale for the superglue is a good idea!

 

[Natlek]

i had to improviose on the spot (covered in epoxy lol) and stick a 4mm pin through instead of the 4.5mm that i had drilled for, as a result i now have a slight gap around the front pin.
i can think of two solutions and was wondering what your thoughts were on them or if they would even work.
1 i could fill the gap with sawdust and ca glue it, or
2 peen the brass pin enough so it fills the gap?.....this is the prefered method but im not sure if it will work???

does any one have any experience with this kind of **** up, or do you have any other solutions.

bear in mind this is my first knife and you do learn from your mistakes lol

thanks in advance

Thomas Nutter.

What is scale material you use ? I peen all pins , I use 3 mm. pins most time . After I peen them and grind flush with scale they are 4 mm . Walnut can handle that expansion of pin , Micarta and G 10 also ... I don t know about hard woods , but if holes are not close to edge of scale probably it would work .It is only half a millimeter, just go slowly with hammer
PS . When I think about it , you could have bent that 4.5mm pin a little with pliers .........

 

[JDegraw]

Peening sounds like the best option..I used a hand drill for my first few knives too..I picked up a drill press for $100 on Amazon and it changed my life. I would suggest investing in one bro...definitely worth it

 

[eric brinkerhoff]

Next time you get in a situation like that try sharpening your pin to a long thin taper if the holes aren't too badly offset, and if you have a long enough pin... That way the thin side can go through and help draw the pin into place it might take quite a bit of tapping...

 

[Natlek]

Next time you get in a situation like that try sharpening your pin to a long thin taper if the holes aren't too badly offset, and if you have a long enough pin... That way the thin side can go through and help draw the pin into place it might take quite a bit of tapping...

I’m just using that trick on this knife on picture . The handle is not glued, it is only temporarily mounted, tapered part of pin is from other side .........Between the wood and that metal part is a piece of leather. In the absence of other material I often use leather ..........when I m almost done with sanding handle after all is glued ,little CA glue on that piece of leather and it will get black and hard as steel .It look nice /to me of course/ as black ring between shiny steel and wood.
I adjust all parts when assembled so hole for pint to be slightly offset , about 0.20 -0.30mm .....and i make long taper on pin I intend to use ......Epoxy on all parts and insert pin with little help of hammer ....Pin act as vise/press on wood and will compress that piece of leather .........Perfect fit and nice black ring .

 

[eric brinkerhoff]

I use the same exact technique as You, Natlek except I soak my thin leather washer in epoxy !