Gap between tang and scales

D

David McCallum

Joined
Oct 23, 2020
Messages
5
I am quite new to this and have run into an issue that I hope is fixable. After taking great care to keep my scales flat and putting liners on, I drilled the holes and attached handle to be sure everything fit. As you see in the picture, the top flares out a bit from the tang. Even clamping it doesn’t help. Question...do I try to sand it down or go ahead and glue it then touch up the gap later? Thanks!
 
I can't see the picture.

Do you have a known straight reference to check flatness against? I'd check both the tang and the scales, the problem could be with either.
 
Great point, thanks! The tang is actually tapered slightly...it looks like I need to shorten the handle at top. I got a bit carried away with the trim...
Thanks and Happy New Year!
 
Some tips:

Hand sand the scales to final flatness.
After gluing up liners to the scales sand then flat again.
When hand sanding flat surfaces, use a figue-8 motion. Back and forth will not make a flat surface. One end or both will rise up. It is almost impossible to get dead flat scales on a grinder unless you have speed control and a hardened flat platen.
Use epoxy that is dyed to match the wood or liner also helps hide minute gaps.
Don't over-clamp. All yo want is gentle clamping, never tightened down hard.

Use Corby bolts!!!
 
If you're flattening the tang on a belt grinder be aware that the belt bunches up a little at the top of the item being ground. If you place your blade tip down this means the butt of the tang will be a little thinner. This is why disk sanders are preferred for flattening.
 
before you apply the liners to the scales, can you hold the scales together and judge how flat they are by how much light you can see between them? also lay your tang on something flat (both sides) and look for light coming between the surfaces. this will help figure out which of your pieces is not flat, or has the majority of the error.
 
Something else to watch out for. My scales will sometimes bow when the liners are epoxied on. I don't know if its the heat from the epoxy or slight shrinkage when cureing. Make sure to check after epoxying the scales to the liners.
 
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