Bringing new life to an old TL-29 using simple hand tools

Cory Hess said:
So I'm guessing that I'm looking for 10 gauge? Evan did say that it would come a bit big and I'd have to sand it down a little. At this point I'm guessing that I have to get the 10 gauge brass nails and cut the heads off and sand them down a touch. Then I can use a similar sized steel nail for the pivot pin so that it'll blend with the bolster. Please let me know if I'm way off base here.
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Looks like 13 gauge to me..... "United States Standard" column, but I could be wrong. I'd take calipers in the shop with me, but I'm like that. ;)
 
I'm in. I worked on my first slip joint ever yesterday. Well it was more of a fix than a mod. It was pretty intimidating, but it turned out a success. It had severe blade play in all blades especially the clip, and I managed to just about eliminate it all. I'm glad I took the plunge and didn't just return it. There was definitely a sense of pride when I was done.

Sorry for the bad pic. There was bad lighting, and I used my phone.
 
Evan,
Thanks for the great 'how to' thread!
As it happens I have picked up an old TL-29 and a Imperial Scout in a 'antiques' store with hope of restoring them.
Now I just need to get some brass rods, peen hammer and decide which kitchen knife is going to go...

A question, if I wanted to make the 29 a shadow 29, is there any tubing or anything to prop/support the pivot? The TL-29 I have had a clip on scales and bolsters...
 
Hey everyone, I'm going to select a winner tomorrow around this time, so let's get any last entries in!
 
I would like to throw my name in the hat, but most importantly I wanted to thank you for such a great thread and educational tutorial.

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Congratulations to meako!!!! Random.org selected post #99!

meako said:
ya hit it with the hammer:p
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LOL :D:thumbup::thumbup:

Send me your address and I'll ship it out to you tomorrow or Monday!!

Keep the suggestions for future tutorials comin'!!

Thanks for reading, everyone!!
 
Congrats Meako! You done good!

Thanks Evan for the great tutorial! You done really good!!! :)
 
Congratulations Meako, great thread Evan and a generous giveaway :thumbup:
 
OOOOH yeah.
Thanks So much.
I'm gunna take this one as a very special birthday present on behalf of all my brothers and sisters at BF Trad.
Got the big 5-0 comin up very very soon.
Thank you Evan
and thank you all for putting up with me for so long:
ps that was possibly the best tutorial ever.
 
OOOOH yeah.
Thanks So much.
I'm gunna take this one as a very special birthday present on behalf of all my brothers and sisters at BF Trad.
Got the big 5-0 comin up very very soon.All welcome.
Thank you Evan
and thank you all for putting up with me for so long:
ps that was possibly the best tutorial ever.
 
I've been remiss in thanking Evan for his generosity. I got a package a couple of weeks ago that included several pins to get me started on modding. It also included a slackener and an Imperial barlow for me to mangle.

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Last night I was able to finish up my first real mod using the pins and slackener from Evan. I had started with a yellow bone Rough Rider trapper. I've had this trapper since this summer and it's been my victim in other experiments, including my attempts at jigging bone and reprofiling the spey into a wharncliffe. I decided it was time to rip the whole thing apart and make it a slimline trapper.

I started with this:

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I finished with this:

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It's obviously nowhere near what Glenn and Evan produce, but I was pretty happy that it went back together and is again a functioning knife. I mangled the liners pretty bad getting the knife apart and getting the back bolsters off, so there are gaps all along the spine. Also, I'm going to need some practice peening to get the pins to end up nice and round without gaps around them. When I first got the knife back together there was some side to side play. I attempted to fix that by hammering on the pivot pin some more. It did fix the play, but now the blade is pretty lazy when closing. Opening feels good, but closing not so much. The spring is sunk at the pivot both when closed and opened, though the spine of the blade flushes up to the spring pretty good. I don't know how I managed to make it sunk. Maybe the pivot pin is a bit smaller than the original which allows the spring to sink down a little?

Overall, it was a very fun project and I'm very grateful to Evan both for posting this WIP and his generosity with his package to me. I am very much looking forward to ruining that barlow in a similar fashion.
 
That looks pretty good, Cory! You have more guts than I do to give such a project a try, and you obviously have WAY more mechanical ability than I do. You have the right to be happy about how your first mod turned out :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing your story of Evan's generosity and your modding adventure. Very cool!

- GT
 
Nicely done Cory! I have been wanting to try my hand at modding as well. I believe you have given me the inspiration to give it a go. I have an old china made barlow to try and disassemble. And a chunk of cherry that is probably more precious then the knife to use as handle material. Luckily I have half a trunk of it to use. :)
 
Thank you both for your dishonesty. It is appreciated. :p I was just stoked that it went back together and functions. I will try my hand again, when I get some more time. I already have some ideas for that barlow.
 
I was also inspired by this thread. I attempted to put my project back together today. Unfortunately mine didnt go as well. I am pretty sure I know where I went wrong for the next one though. When I drilled the holes for the pins they weren't as straight as they should have been so nothing lined up good. It looks ok from the side but the backspring isnt very flush at all and the blade is far from centered. I might take it apart and start over, or just keep it as a token and reminder and grab another one
 
Looks good from what I can see, Kleingra. I'd say if you got the knife back together and it functions on your first time you did OK. That's the bar I set for myself. I'm just about ready to start my next attempt, where I'll be a little more demanding on myself.
 
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