how to finish a SS guard and how much before soldering it on?

H

HSC ///

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I'm about to try a 416 SS guard, I've done brass before
will silver solder it with Stay Clean and Stay brite (bottle says the flux is ok for stainless)

I just ran a 220 grit over the surface and it looks ok,
How much do I need to finish the guard before I solder it on?
what are the finishing steps after solder for stainless?

I did a search and didn't find anything

thanks

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HSC /// said:
Yes I had planned to. But I think the gap is about a few thousands :-). Thank u


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That's not too much. Just peen the top and sand back down, peen the top and sand back down and so on until the gap is tight. I've seen some folks that use the solder to fill the gap and to me it looks bad. You could just get the gap tight and pin it unless you just want to solder
 
OK but how much of the guard do I need to finish before I solder? And how are ss guards generally finished?


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looks good to me. maybe up near the spine it may be a pinch wide. i find that is the hardest part to get filled correctly with solder. it helps to finish it as much as possible before soldering, its easier to work on when its not attached to the blade, and there will be less chance of scuffing the handle material when shaping it. i dont think there is a standard way to finish them. mirror/sandblasted/pulled grit finish all look good.
 
Pin your guard/bolsters and peen the guard to squeeze the blade first. Your guard should be sanded well but not buffed too much. If you fit it well there is almost no need for solder. If the blade is stainless steel I fit the guard tight and do not solder at all. Larry
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HSC /// said:
OK but how much of the guard do I need to finish before I solder? And how are ss guards generally finished?


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Finish the top all the way if you're leaving it satin and all but buffing if you're going to polish it.
 
.003"is the best gap for solder and brazing for strength and capillary action for good flow !!
I don't like shiney things so 600 grit is fine for me. BTW, those long bolsters are great for a little engraving .
 
Not sure if this is what Matt is refering to by the "top", but bare minimum finish the face of the
guard. This way if you don't solder you don't have to buff at the joint where the blade meets the guard.
If you do solder and have to clean it up the higher grits will be easier to clean up.
Ken.
 
Why not pin it using pins made of guard material? if you do it right, the pins vanish. I use JB Weld to seal my guards, but I am making hidden tang knives.
 
Maybe Too late.... The core is about 64 RC. I'll see if a carbide drill might get through.


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