Glueing Flared tubes and tube wall sizing

Outdoor Gear Dad

Outdoor Gear Dad

Joined
Jun 1, 2019
Messages
211
I have to flare some 5/16 tubes on a knife. This will be in place of pins. What wall thickness should I be shooting for? I saw a .020 recommendation but that was for 1/4 tubing.

Also, what's the best way to glue up the knife and flare tubes? Was thinking of waxing up some dummy pins just to hold everything in place until the epoxy sets then hammer out the pins so I can flare tubes in there.

Any recommendations would be great.
 
Outdoor Gear Dad said:
Was thinking of waxing up some dummy pins just to hold everything in place until the epoxy sets then hammer out the pins so I can flare tubes in there.
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That sounds like a good idea. A very good question, I'll watch and see what the experts say.
 
pre flare 1 side of each tube. match the countersink you choose to use.
use temp pins to size/shape very close to finish size.
when you are 100% sure you are ready to glue it on put it in place (Handle) slip tube through ,cut off excess, break sharp corner with countersink
and put a screw head in each side, tighten in good vise.. the screw heads will flare it for you..
use the thinnest tube you can get..
 
Pinoy Knife said:
pre flare 1 side of each tube. match the countersink you choose to use.
use temp pins to size/shape very close to finish size.
when you are 100% sure you are ready to glue it on put it in place (Handle) slip tube through ,cut off excess, break sharp corner with countersink
and put a screw head in each side, tighten in good vise.. the screw heads will flare it for you..
use the thinnest tube you can get..
Click to expand...
How do you keep it from falling apart when shaping if you just have dummy pins in?
 
use solid pins when shaping.. then push them out before you countersink and install the flared tubes..
the big trick here is to pre flare 1 side of the tube.. check the length ,and cut the other side so you can flare it into place..
the best flaring tool is screw heads, weather you cut them off and press them together with a bench vise, or you weld them onto a clamp or a pair of vise grips .
 
Pinoy Knife said:
use solid pins when shaping.. then push them out before you countersink and install the flared tubes..
the big trick here is to pre flare 1 side of the tube.. check the length ,and cut the other side so you can flare it into place..
the best flaring tool is screw heads, weather you cut them off and press them together with a bench vise, or you weld them onto a clamp or a pair of vise grips .
Click to expand...
I have flaring dies…would those work just as good?
 
Pinoy Knife said:
use solid pins when shaping.. then push them out before you countersink and install the flared tubes..
the big trick here is to pre flare 1 side of the tube.. check the length ,and cut the other side so you can flare it into place..
the best flaring tool is screw heads, weather you cut them off and press them together with a bench vise, or you weld them onto a clamp or a pair of vise grips .
Click to expand...
Also I guess I’m having a hard time understanding how to keep the handle attached to the knife while shaking if I am just using pins and no epoxy….would the handles be coming or slipping off the tang?
 
Outdoor Gear Dad said:
Also I guess I’m having a hard time understanding how to keep the handle attached to the knife while shaking if I am just using pins and no epoxy….would the handles be coming or slipping off the tang?
Click to expand...
Try using wooden dowel pins get some that you have to tap in pretty tight and if they loosen up on you you can soak them in water and they'll tighten up pretty good they don't seem to rattle around as much as a metal pin plus they sand and shape just fine then when you're done you can countersink for your flare
 
look this is not really that hard to do .. you use temp pins to do everything you want to do to the handle. but you don't glue it on until you want to use the flared tubes instead of the pins.
you must countersink the holes in the handle to give the tube somewhere below the surface to go. (How are you gonna clean up the front of the handle) if you glue it on ??
i have no idea what flaring tools you have (Probably for Kydex Rivets) if you think you can use them try on scrap or risk having to re do it all..
im just trying to help you out with honest advise .. if you decide not to try it ok .. the countersink you use sets the angle to flare ,use that angle screw head
every time i see this question asked the response is the same ,try this/try that.. but no one ever says to use screw heads that simply work very well..
if you are trying too thick of tube it wont work, if you are trying to over flare it it will break/tear.. you have to try it to see how much you can flare it before it tears
you have to try to see how much extra tube to leave after pre flaring the 1 side.. these are the details you have to work out .. i don't know what material you are trying to flare
brass/stainless /copper/titanium all behave differently..
 
I would do as you planned. Put in temporary pins, remove them, and then install the flared rivets.
.020" walls will be fine.

Tip -
A really easy way to do this is to use wooden dowels as the temporary pins. Cut 1" (or whatever size you need) pieces of wooden dowel the size of your tubing. Chamfer the ends a bit on the grinder to remove any burr. Soak them in melted paraffin (candle) wax for a while and let cool on a sheet of aluminum foil. You can drive these out easily after the epoxy sets. Make a bunch at one time and store them in a plastic bag for future projects.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I would do as you planned. Put in temporary pins, remove them, and then install the flared rivets.
.020" walls will be fine.

Tip -
A really easy way to do this is to use wooden dowels as the temporary pins. Cut 1" (or whatever size you need) pieces of wooden dowel the size of your tubing. Chamfer the ends a bit on the grinder to remove any burr. Soak them in melted paraffin (candle) wax for a while and let cool on a sheet of aluminum foil. You can drive these out easily after the epoxy sets. Make a bunch at one time and store them in a plastic bag for future projects.
Click to expand...
Thanks Stacy. I am having a hard time finding .020 wall in 5/16. I believe maker material is .035

mans usaknifemaker has .014

I have a bunch of the .035 on hand. You think that would work?
 
Timber dowel works for me as well, drill out easily after glue has set. A quick way to reduce the wall thickness of your tube is to use your drill press if you don’t have a lathe. Simply cut a section of tube a little longer than you need. Chuck the tube up in your drill press jaws. Secure the appropriate sized drill sticking up vertically in your drill vice. Turn on you drill and bring the tube down onto the brill bit. This will self centre the drill and result in an even wall thickness. Anneal your tube before flaring and don’t go overboard. Hope this helps.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I would do as you planned. Put in temporary pins, remove them, and then install the flared rivets.
.020" walls will be fine.

Tip -
A really easy way to do this is to use wooden dowels as the temporary pins. Cut 1" (or whatever size you need) pieces of wooden dowel the size of your tubing. Chamfer the ends a bit on the grinder to remove any burr. Soak them in melted paraffin (candle) wax for a while and let cool on a sheet of aluminum foil. You can drive these out easily after the epoxy sets. Make a bunch at one time and store them in a plastic bag for future projects.
Click to expand...
You guys overestimate epoxy ......... :eek:use longer temporary pins and don't worry . Let epoxy to cure and with little help of hammer pins will go out like there is no glue !!
 
Natlek said:
You guys overestimate epoxy ......... :eek:use longer temporary pins and don't worry . Let epoxy to cure and with little help of hammer pins will go out like there is no glue !!
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Yeah but sometimes we're dealing with fragile materials where something bad could happen on the pins exit, especially if there's a burr on the pin from grinding (or hammering)...
 
eric brinkerhoff said:
Yeah but sometimes we're dealing with fragile materials where something bad could happen on the pins exit, especially if there's a burr on the pin from grinding (or hammering)...
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Eric, he will not use epoxy on pins or he will fill holes in scale with epoxy so there will be very little contact epoxy/pin .......they will come out with pliers if needed .
 
Often a flared tube is of larger diameter than you normal pin stock. You may not want to use up your large pin stock on sacrificial pins?
 
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