Bushing or no bushing in slipjoint

[javand]

Is it safe to assume you are reaming the liners and handle material with the same reamer as the blade pivot?

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to help me.

Yes. Reaming may not be necessary, but you want this to be the same size as the pivot pin going through the bushing, not to the OD of the bushing (which is the actual "pivot", in bushing construction).

 

[jeness]

If 5 thou slop is too much, than what would be a good number? I thought the usual tolerances for other folders apply to slipjoints also. If a bit of slop is desirable, than one can ream to size before HT, than use a barrel lap after HT to clean things up and make the hole a bit bigger than the pin stock.

 

[Ken H>]

With a bushing, you want the bushing to fit inside the tang hole, tight enough to stay in on it's own, with just enough clearance to rotate. Any more than this, and you risk there being some bounce/wobble in any position you can feel as looseness when you go to rotate the blade to the next position, it'll "rock" in the position a little, if it's bad enough, you'll have side-to-side blade wobble in the open position.

Sound advice above - I'm thinking along the lines of half a thou to a thou max will give the fit to allow bushing to just "hold" inside tang hole and still rotate. Javan, Don (anyone else) - does that sound right?

 

[javand]

Sound advice above - I'm thinking along the lines of half a thou to a thou max will give the fit to allow bushing to just "hold" inside tang hole and still rotate. Javan, Don (anyone else) - does that sound right?

As jeness said above, personally I ream to size (0.1875), and then barrel lap to a bare slip fit. If you have to fight to get it in, it's wrong, but I don't want it to fall out on it's own either.