Attaching Wood Scales

P

platbuck

Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
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anyone know the best/most prefered adhesive for attaching wood scales to an SAK?

also, please include any special notes regarding procedure etc. for wood handles.
 
I've used Devcon 5 minute high strength epoxy to attach scales to knives. You can really load it on as it is fairly easy to wipe/scrape any excess off.;)
 
Probably the same idea...the only reason I used Devcon is because a knife making supplier carried it, so I figured it must be ok.;)
 
I've used Gorilla glue to reattach celidor scales on Vics and Wengers without any problems. And just last night i used it to attach some wooden scales to a Vic Spartan.Also i used it to attach the grips (also attached with rivets) on a few fixed blade knives. Three of the fixed blades were large bowies used for chopping. A year later and after some heavy use and their handles are still rock solid.
:)
 
I have questions for those of you that have made your own wood scales. Did you makes slots for the tweezers and toothpick? If yes, how? Also how did you drill the clearance holes for the brass rivets? I'm concerned about drilling the hole in the correct location.

I just bought a set of bloodwood scales and a drill bit with a stop collar from Rotokid's shop so I should be starting on this project soon.
 
Nope i didn't make slots for the tweezers/toothpick. This particular vic spartans original scales had no cutouts for them, so i didn't bother putting cutouts in the new oak panels. I'm sure you could though, but it would be a high precision job to make it so the tweezers/toothpick stay in firmly.

Regarding placing the holes for the rivets. Bear in mind i cut the scales myself from some scrap wood and purposely left them a little oversized. I "eyeballed it" and first off only marked a slight dimple for the first rivet then checked that it matched then adjusted where necessary,rivet by rivet. then after i was sure they were placed correctly i deepened the holes to the proper depth. As i said previously my panels were oversized and after i had matched the holes to the rivets i marked the panels to fit and trimmed the excess. Actually i mostly used my stockman knife and an awl to dimple the holes. Later used my dremel with a drill bit to deepen them. I took my time and was pretty casual about it all as i was just doing this for fun.
However if i had purchased the panels and they were dimensionally matched to the frame size i would have been VERY careful and finicky, using a good ruler to place where the holes should be and then testing it before drilling fully.
There are some incredible craftsmen doing SAK mods, i am just a beginner myself, you should check the folks here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=794
and here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=789
and at SOSAK (secret order of the swiss army knife at knifeforums) for the real SAK modding experts.
:)
 
my plan for the holes is to trace out a template and then place holes in the template. once the template matches the knife perdfectly, i will trace the holes onto the wood.
 
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