Hidden Tang/Antler Assembly Question

[shamu]

I needed a reason to test out my new subscription (figured it was time to officially support BF).

While my knives are at HT I want to work on my handles a bit. For the knife in the photo below, I plan on using 2-part 30minute epoxy. I'll rough up the surfaces, clean them w/alcohol and clamp. My questions are:

1. Do you think this will be enough to hold the brass guard in place?

2. Any ideas on how to clamp something like this?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8pIcetwN7ILQ2JjV1ZkbUdyRGs/view?usp=sharing

 

[martinwoods_uk]

I haven't done a hidden tang yet but I tend to shortly so have been thinking about the same issue. I was thinking of sticking a wine Cork on the point of my blade and using a ratchet strap of some sort over the cork and the end of my handle to provide the squeeze. I think some kind of strap based clamp would cope best with the uneven or bent shape of an antler handle.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[velferd]

20161210_185501 by velferd, on Flickr

 

[shamu]

That's awesome velferd...thanks.

 

[Hengelo_77]

I made this tool to do that. You can use the four screws to make sure the guard is straight
Slow cure epoxy gives a stronger bond

 

[shamu]

good idea, thx hengelo

 

[kuraki]

I cut a slot in a clamp to do what velferd is doing.

I don't trust epoxy alone to secure a guard, I fit them to a press fit on the tang, then when the handle is pinned and epoxied into place, the guard is secured by the shoulder of the tang in one direction, the pinned handle in the other, and the press fit in addition.

Also if you are going to glue up that liner/spacer material (looks like G10?) I would undercut it on the faces so when you clamp it up you don't A)squeeze all your glue out or B) leave a glue line showing. Drilling holes through them would work too.

 

[shamu]

thanks kuraki, i actually have 2 shoulders from the blade that will be securing that guard. i don't quite understand what you mean about "...undercut it on the faces..."

 

[kuraki]

When I get back to my computer I'll draw a picture.

 

[kuraki]

Anywhere you're going to stack you can cut the faces of the material like this (the blue surface of the red spacer) to give your epoxy a place to reside if you clamp the stack together tightly. It also relieves the faces. You just need to be careful about watching your final outside shape and not making this dish too big so you don't grind into it from the outside and expose it.

Another option, drill holes through them and fill with epoxy, or, a lot of guys will pin them all together this way to the guard and handle material.

The goal being creating a space for your adhesive to exist while still getting all the layers clamped up without a visible glue line.

 

[shamu]

I'm tracking now, thanks for the visual kuraki