Gluing up first hidden tang

[jtwodogs]

Well have been out of any kind of work for the last few months, even missed by beloved deer season due to back problems.
But today I glued up my first hidden tang. While I expected this knife to be a "Learner" knife, I have come to the realization that I do not like hidden tangs. Hahaha.
So I was going to ask the question to you seasoned professionals do you remember the first time you glued up your first hidden tang, and were you as nervous as I perceived I was? lol

 

[Ilovetoolsteel]

I just test fit everything until it all fits tight.

 

[zhyla]

I'm a noob at this but I glued up my 3rd hidden tang last night. I don't sweat it at all.

 

[John Katt]

I remember having as much epoxy on me as I had in the knife ;0)

 

[zhyla]

Below is a pic of a fixture I made to help with the clamping. It's essentially a bench dog with a slot in it that the blade can pass thru.

 

[Hengelo_77]

I enjoy hidden tangs more then full tangs

 

[Justin Presson]

I'm about to try my first hidden tang. It does seem a bit daunting but so did my first full tang.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Here is my precisely engineered, highly specialized, severely customized, versatile hidden tang handle assembly compression apparatus. You can use P.E.H.S.S.C.V.H.T.A.C.A. or as I simply call it... "Da'Clamp".

 

[CWendling]

I like that clamp Rick....you just sawed a groove in the top jaw?

 

[Rick Marchand]

Well, that kinda cheapens it's fabulousness... but yeah, a couple of swipes at the band saw... done.:thumbup:

 

[Justin Presson]

Lol..Rick nice clamp. I was to lazy to even type out the abreviation. Does the butt of the knife want to slip b out on you at all or is it still square at that point of glue up?

 

[Rick Marchand]

I've only ever had it slip out once on an oddly shaped handle but a piece of two sided tape fixed the problem. I suppose you could fasten just about any applicably contoured receiver on the lower pad. Everything needs to dry fit prior to assembly. This is not the sort of clamp you would use for heavy press-fit.

 

[Augus7us]

I use threaded rod, nuts and two 2x4s to make a clamp. I've tried to type out how this works and for as simple a design as this is, articulating it in writing is not so simple... Not perfect but it works fairly well and was probably under 10$ to make if you have a piece of 2x4 laying around.

 

[Fletch Helical]

Here's the fancy clamp I used on my first one. It's called a bag of rubber bands from Staples lol. Oddly enough there were a lot more I didn't use, and yes there is a knife somewhere in there.