Centering Birdseye Pivot

[Sean Yaw]

I have a question about how to install a birdseye pivot on a slipjoint: How do you center the washer with respect to the handle, not the pivot hole. I know how to line up the mill with the pivot hole, then mill out the washer recess. This will result in a birdseye pivot with the pivot hole in the center. However, if the pivot and washer are the same material, you can center the washer with respect to the handle, not the pivot hole, and the whole pivot assembly will look centered on the knife. How is this done so that the milled pocket is in the same spot on both sides of the knife? Any tips/tricks more reliable than eyeballing it?

 

[AVigil]

From your pivot hole draw a line vertical from top to bottom. From the horizontal draw a line at the mid point. Now you have the center of the liner and can mill the pocket

 

[Sean Yaw]

From your pivot hole draw a line vertical from top to bottom. From the horizontal draw a line at the mid point. Now you have the center of the liner and can mill the pocket

Sorry, I'm very thick skulled (teachers' words, not mine). So you draw a vertical line through the pivot hole, vertical with respect to the edge of the liners or some other feature I guess? Then the horizontal line is drawn at the midpoint of what? The liners? I don't see how that directly yields where to mill the pocket in the pivot region.

 

[AVigil]

 

[Pinoy Knife]

try a piloted counterbore..it uses the same size hole as the pivot.
the outside diameter would need to be the same as the washer..
since there are a huge variety of possible sizes i make most of mine..

 

[Sean Yaw]

try a piloted counterbore..it uses the same size hole as the pivot.
the outside diameter would need to be the same as the washer..
since there are a huge variety of possible sizes i make most of mine..

That is what I use when I center the washer over the pivot hole. The question I had is how to center it elsewhere (and get it consistent on each side!).

 

[AVigil]

That is what I use when I center the washer over the pivot hole. The question I had is how to center it elsewhere (and get it consistent on each side!).

So did that pict help you with your dilemma?

 

[Sean Yaw]

So did that pict help you with your dilemma?

Yes, it did. Thank you, Adam. I didn't want to clutter your notifications with pointless replies.

 

[Pinoy Knife]

That is what I use when I center the washer over the pivot hole. The question I had is how to center it elsewhere (and get it consistent on each side!).

got it i thought you wanted it centered !! you want the washer to be centered and the pivot "Skewed" lower than the washer..

 

[Signalprick]

If you have a rotary table that you use for reliefs and use a mill with DRO it makes it all very simple.

 

[REK Knives]

I'm not understanding what you are wanting to do but my curiosity is peaked now it's also probably because I don't make traditional... so you want the internal counterbore to be a different location than the actual pivot? I'm not familiar with what a birds eye pivot is, maybe someone can enlighten me!

 

[Hubert S.]

I'm not understanding what you are wanting to do but my curiosity is peaked now it's also probably because I don't make traditional... so you want the internal counterbore to be a different location than the actual pivot? I'm not familiar with what a birds eye pivot is, maybe someone can enlighten me!

He wants to offset the washer from the pivot hole so that the washer looks centered on the scales. The pivot pin disappears once it's been peened and sanded, so it just looks like a solid washer centered vertically. The picture below shows what it looks like before the pivot pin is installed.

 

[REK Knives]

He wants to offset the washer from the pivot hole so that the washer looks centered on the scales. The pivot pin disappears once it's been peened and sanded, so it just looks like a solid washer centered vertically. The picture below shows what it looks like before the pivot pin is installed.

Ahhh makes sense now! But the silver disc is not a through hole?

 

[Signalprick]

Ahhh makes sense now! But the silver disc is not a through hole?

The disk or rosette is an inlaid piece of round stock. Usually either 300 or 400 series stainless or brass. I like to keep them around .088 - .098 thick. I was just delivered a damn near lifetime supply of 416 stock in 5/16" and 1/4". Lol

 

[Sean Yaw]

If you have a rotary table that you use for reliefs and use a mill with DRO it makes it all very simple.

This is the sort of “trick” I was envisioning that I cannot suss out myself. Can you explain?

 

[Signalprick]

If your rotary table set-up has a pin hole where you locate your liner to cut your reliefs then you already have a simple way of finding the pivot hole and perfectly adjusting your new "center" with the dro.