first try at a bali

nivejuncky

nivejuncky

Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
264
This is my first bali. Looking for constructive criticism. The good the bad and any tips/tricks in construcion. Your experience in making balis.

Here's the specs.
blade is 3/16"x3"x1" selectively hardened 1095
handles are 3/16"x1/2"x4-1/4" hardened 0-1
overall length of 7-1/4"
weighs between 9-10 oz.

It's a tank. Learned a lot making this one during the 3 week process it took to construct. It was a blast to make and actually flips pretty well.

DSC00510.jpg

Cnv0013.jpg

Cnv0012.jpg


Thanks for looking

Don
 
Excellent job Don,im impressed!

I do have some suggestion's for you:

first off i would drill your pivot holes in the blade a bit closer together,that way you have to file tang cup's into the handles.this will reduce wear on your tang pin's giving them rounded cup's to hit instead of flat steel!

Did you use bushing's?? if not you'll notice when the handles are squeezed to tight they will pinch the blade.bushings will prevent this,and (imo) can make all the difference in the world.however they're not totally neccisary.

other then that,from what i can see you done good :)

keep up the good work!!
 
Yes I did use bushings coutesy of knifekits.com. Also put in a set of phosphor bronze washers. Thanks for the advice on the pivot pins bb. I'm also thanking about buying a mini mill when I can save up the money. I think that would increase the overall precision of the construction and allow me to do inlays.
 
Yes a mini mill sure would be handy!you can also use thinner steel and do overlay's.i used .65 and .75 304SS on these little guy's.




You can pick up a sheet of thin stainless pretty cheap.
 
Very cool balibalistic. How does the 300 series steel hold up to the punishment? Do you have any tips on pressing the tang pins in?

Thanks

nivejuncky
 
Holds up just fine!!

these were originally typhoon blades,so the pins were already pressed in.but i have replaced some and done some.just drill undersize and press fit with press/vice.a good tip Les George passed on to me,drill a hole slightly larger then your tang pins into two pieces of micarta,one under and one above to act as a guild ,that way you can press it in perfectly straight and centered.
 
Thanks for the tips. Anyone know how to get the holes to drill where I lay them out. Sometimes I'll drill a hole dead center on the intersection of two scribe lines but buy the time I've drilled the hole all the way through the metal it will be off buy as much as a 32nd.

Here's a pic of a prototype I've been working on. Still perfecting the layout geometry but it is still kinda neat.

Cnv0016.jpg
 
The pipe will work, but I'd reccomend against that. Buying phosphor bronze washers (try knifekits) should provide consistency (I personally couldn't cut the pipe's thinkness consistently enough), performance, and wear protection.
 
But if I understad right, you need washers between the blade and the handle, but also something between the handle and pin. (around the pin)Or can you also get phosfor-bronce for that as well?
 
You can get PB bushings and washers!the difference between a bali that flip's ok,and a bali that flips great is about.005,you only want the bushing to sit a tiny bit from each side of the blade.that way you have minimal play and prevent pinching.
 
Knifekits.com sells the whole pivot pin assembly. Pivot pins, bushings, and screws. You do have to buy the washers sepparately. Look under specialty screws on their site.
 
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