Help: attaching bolsters

Phil705

Phil705

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
360
Bloody curses!

I am struggling to pin on bolsters. I scanned the tutorials, and found nothing specific. Here is what I have been doing:

Drill pin holes in tang prior to HT
Grind bolsters to approximate size. Finish where bolster meets blade
Epoxy one bolster in place. Let cure.
Drill pin hole from tang side down through bolster
Epoxy other side bolster in place, let cure
Drill down from first bolster thru tang and thru latest bolster
Attempt to insert pin, peen, and final grind/buff

My frustrations:

This takes a long time
The pin holes rarely line up exactly despite best efforts, and I end up ramming the pin through and perhaps dislodging the bolster.

There must be a better way. Any suggestions appreciated or please point me to a tutorial.

ps I've been using brass welding rod as pins.


Phil 795 aka Phil Millam
Winthrop WA (42 inches of snow on the ground.)
 
how do you cut the pin to length

for the longest time i would cut pin stock with a set of snips and always had a problem getting through the hole, found that the snips would "VERY" slightly bulge the end of the pin, I've started oversizing the pin length, and tapering the ends, also it doesn't hurt to rough up the surface of the pin.

second, i don't personally epoxy the bolster in place, just peened pins,

1:drill tang pre HT like you have been
2:hot glue one bolster to tang in position, Drill
3:hot glue other bolster to tang, Drill
pop both bolsters off and use temp pins or bolts to clean up face before assembly

now, i use 1/8" pins, get a long 1/8" bolt w/ matching nut, (im assuming you us at least two pins) use the bolt in one pin hole to align everything and hold it tight while you peen the other pin hole,

take the bolt out and peen the second pin

voila
 
The way that I do it is as follows, which is similar to what you're doing.

  1. Predrill tang prior to heat treat.
  2. Clean up tang after heat treat. Flatness of the tang is vital!!!
  3. I then attach a file guide on the knife so that I can line both sides of the bolsters up perfectly.
  4. Rough up the tang and bolster mating surfaces with 40 grit sandpaper to allow better grip of the epoxy. Notice that I rough up the tang after attaching the file guide. This keeps me from having the sandpaper hit the ricasso in front of the bolster area. The file guide protects the ricasso area from sandpaper scratches.
  5. I then use a good epoxy to attach the first bolster, letting it cure completely.
  6. I use the tang as a hole guide to drill the first bolster.
  7. I then epoxy on the second bolster, letting it cure completely.
  8. I then drill back through the first bolster and tang, to drill the second bolster.
  9. I cut the appropriate pins to length with snips and then clean up the oversized end caused by the snips on a belt sander, rounding them nicely. I suspect this is why you're having trouble.
  10. I then test the pin fit into the holes carefully, not forcing them in. If they just barely slip in and would go through with slight force, then I lather them in epoxy and push them through. The epoxy will act as a lubricant while wet, and the pins go in easier than when dry fitted.
  11. If the pins seem to tight, I carefully hand sand them just a little and try to dry fit them again.
  12. I continue this until the fit is just the way I want it. You'll learn the dry fit feel with practice.
  13. I want the feel to be just tight enough that with epoxy on, I only need to very lightly tap them through with a very, small hammer.
  14. After the pin epoxy cures completely I cut the pins down close the bolster if need and then finish grind flush with the bolster surface.
  15. I don't peen. I've found that peening isn't really necessary.
  16. I then use the ends of the bolsters as my guide for my handle scales. I don't peen handle scales either. I've ruined some nice scales by peening to much and cracking them when the pin expanded to much.
 
You could also drill both the bolsters, then tack pin them together (pin together, maybe use some super glue to hold). Put the final finish on the front of them, separate, pein onto the tang then finish sand them on the tang. That's how I used to do it when I did stock removal and used bolsters.

Like the others said, tapering the pins after cutting them helps a lot. I also used to slightly counterbore the holes in the bolsters so the pins would fill them out and provide a good mechanical bond after peining.
 
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