Mortised tang help

flava

flava

Joined
Mar 3, 2000
Messages
2,785
Hi guys,

I am making a small fixed blade and it will have a mortised tang. I choose this construction because the handle will be way wider than the stock. The blade is finished and ... I'm not sure how to do the slots in the wooden slabs. How are they done normally? I would guess a mill. All I have is: files, hand drill, Dremel. Should I try to carve them out with the Dremel, or is there a simpler way? Keeping them flat with the Dremel won't be easy, that's sure. Any sugestions would help. Thanks!
 
make sure your handle slab interiors are FLAT.
make sure that the front of the slabs are shaped to the guard and at the correct angle for the right set or drop to the handle/tang/gaurd relationship, make sure that the slabs lay on the guard FLAT.
trace the tang on one of the slabs exactly where you want it.
make an tracing cut, as deep as you can push.
you can then use a wood chisel, and use lots of patience trial and error. Dont take out too much at once. Go slow.
Only take out 1/2 depth of tang.
Lay the completed slab on the other with some sort of marking dye or anything that will leave an impression of where the original mortise is. Repeat on slab 2.


its MUCH easier with a mill, but can be done by hand. I believe Mike Williams, MS, still does them by hand. He would be better to give advice than me. I use a mill attachment on my Maximat Lathe.
 
If so, here's what I did.
I bought the Dremel router table for my Dremel. It's proven to be a good investment at about $32.00.
I use a slotting bit(can't remember the correct name for it right now) to route out half the thickness of the tang on each slab. It's a bit tricky at first but after a little practice I'm now able to zip out a rabbet tang for a knife pretty quick and easy.
I don't know if this would be cost effective for you if this is only a one shot deal, but hey, it's another possible option.;)

All the best,
Mike U.
 
The mortise, rabbit is an open mortace, must fit snug only around where the blade shows. A little sloppy back from that will give the epoxy a little extra room. I saw that in a vedio, Wayne Goddard maybe?

Learning, Lynn
 
The dremel worked fine for me. I bought the router attatchment didn't cost to much. I then traced around the tang and proceeded to router it out. Holding the router in your hand is a chancey deal at best as it wants to get away so practice once or twice on some oak .
Take Care
TJ Smith
 
Thank you all for the advice! I will try the wood chisel first, and if I'm to clumsy with it I'll buy the router attachement for the Dremel.
 
I would of tried to reply earlier but I was
enjoying the cool Michigan weather over the weekend. I used a hand chisel for years. Flat your scale,scribe a line around the tang. Use a very sharp pointed utility blade to cut down thruthe scribed line even deeper. I use a 1/4 inch chisel that has a slightly steeper than normal edge on it. The morticed portion does not have to be real flat or smooth. If you are using some type of wood that chisels poorly try this. Use a drill press to drill a bunch of small,say 1/8 or smaller. Drill them all to the same depth. Use your chisel to start at the guard end and connect the dots so to speak. Let the chisel ride on the bottom of all the holes. Saves you a lot of time if you're one of these guys who don't have a mill. mike
 
Thanks for the advice Mike! Now I wonder if the wood that I use chisels weel or not ... it is olive tree wood. Looks tough and dense. Have you tried this type of wood?
 
Ahh! I have a few pieces of that laying around. A very intersting looking wood. Can you post a pic of your project when completed? I'd love to see how this looks as a knife handle.
 
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