How many use a rise and fall indicator

N

Nsewell

Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Messages
86
I have completed 52 fixed blade knives so far and I want to try some slip joint folders. I purchased "slipjoints my way" by Don Robinson and ready to start with the pattern in the book. I want to build a rise and fall indicator but I wonder how many makers use one or do it a different way? Does it simplify this for a beginner or make it more complicated?
 
I am also interested to know peoples opinions on this. Fyi usa knifemaker has a pretty nice looking indicator for about $150. I think if I get one ill go that route.
 
I use one on every knife, but all it does is get me close< I do final tuning in the knife. You can make a simple rise and fall with a 1x2 board and a couple of pins, Just drill the board using your handle pattern, put pins in them. When you get your blade and spring cut out put it on the pins in the open position and scribe you a line with a pencil across the top of the spring and set the other two positions to the line.
 
I am also working on my first slipjoints. I made one using a scrap piece of butcherblock about 1x3. I am very happy with how it works
 
I've been using one I built on every knife for the last 8+ years or so.
Like Stan said it will get you close, with final adjustments in the knife.
If you are going to make a few slipjoints you can live without one, any
more and you need one.
Ken.
 
I use one to get close as well. I made mine using scrap micarta, but really you could use just about anything as long as your dial indicator and pins are rigid and repeatable.
 
Made slip joints for 25 years and never used one, working on two right now...
Been thinking about it though.
 
It's a good tool to start with, but personally, I rarely use mine, only if I'm doing something very "freestyle" where I'm doing a new design by eye.

Otherwise, personally, it's pretty easy to just eyeball.

Keep in mind, that your spring, if you don't have a rear spring hole drilled in your liner already, can function exactly the same, and honestly more accurately (it just doesn't give you a "number" representation), since you're indexed off your front spring pin anyway. Use a pencil to mark on the liner where the spring is at at one position, using your thumb to put upward pressure on the spring (with the pivot temp pin and temp front spring pin in), move to another position, and mark the spring position again with a pencil, pull everything off the liner, and look where you're at.

Get it close, then you need to set pre-load, and drill your rear spring pin, and do the final adjustment with all 3 pins.


Either way, you're still grinding that "however many thou" off by feel. If you're a very data driven person, it may be more productive to have a number to represent how far you gotta go, but, for me, setting up with the rise-fall-jig is just extra time and tedium. You still have to dial the last bit in by hand, and if you don't adjust the jig properly to exactly fit your liner, not just your pin holes in the tang/spring, it'll be wrong when you go to the actual knife assembly, versus the jig.

Once you add preload and tension, it changes everything, and you can't accurately simulate that with the jig. Even if you could, it'd be more time consuming for no gain, than just doing with the knife.

I think it probably all depends on your methods, but for me, it adds more time, instead of saving time.
 
I have built just shy of 2500 slipjoints and have never used one. Nothing wrong with or without it. Just depends on what works for you. Rick Menefee uses a rise and fall jig that has preload. Everything is a guess without preload.
 
Thanks for all the replies! Y'all are a very helpfully group. I 've got the blade and spring cut out and hopefully will get the liners cut out tomorrow.
 
John L said:
I have built just shy of 2500 slipjoints and have never used one. Nothing wrong with or without it. Just depends on what works for you. Rick Menefee uses a rise and fall jig that has preload. Everything is a guess without preload.
Click to expand...
You are da man, John! :D
 
I tried using one, spent a whole day making that jig, i used it 4 times and every knife came out bad, so i went to the old pencil line method. Only thing i will tell you certainity is you better drill the holes in the liners before fitting the tang to the spring. I drill both liners at the same time, never have an issue with assembly now. I use javand's order of doing things, it works well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top