My way of slotting a guard without a mill,

N

NickBoyle

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Oct 9, 2015
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So in just about every thread I've read about slotting guards the OP usually tells you to relief the back of the guard so you only have to file about 20thou or so instead of the entire thickness of the guard. Nick Wheeler shows this in his epic thread. Well that's a great idea if you have a mill. I tried endmills in the drill and all that shit you aren't suppose to do and it never turned out how I needed it too. So I came up with this idea. I may not be the first to do this but thought I'd share. First I lay out the guard and drill a series of hole, get the Dremel and connect the dots. Once it's opened up I file the hole square like normal. The guard doesn't even go 1/4 of the way up the tang. Then I put it in my vice and make sure that it's as even across the top of the vise as possible.




Then I chuck up a tapered burr bit into my Dremel, and put on the "router" attachment. Then I put it into the slot and adjust how deep I wanna cut.



Once everything is tight (make sure your bit is tight or the damn thing will make a hell of a mess) I set it in onto the vise and inside the guard and start cutting. I cut against the rotation of the bit. Seems easier to control.



Then just keep going around until you have the backside relieved to where you want it. Then you only have to finish filing that small portion of metal and not the entire guard thickness. I've done this on my last two guards and the fit is 100 times better than I could get before. If you have any questions or ideas I'd love to hear them. I've learned a lot from this site and thought I should add a little something.
 
I have at least three of the folded leather soft jaws next to my vice at home too. :D
 
Man, that's good thinking brother---I have been dealing with that issue and had been thinking about how I would learn to operate a mill if I got one. I HAVE a Dremel and this sounds like a great approach.

Thanks for the post man--Good stuff!
 
I tried a bunch of different burr bits and so far the smooth cut tapered bits work best. You want your slot tapered anyway for a press fit. This just helps with filing the taper.
 
I drill with a undersized bit from the top. Usually 3 or 4 holes. Flip and drill with a oversized drill. Connect as usual, ect I'm thinking about getting a mill😜 Might have to try the tapered dremel thing.
 
That's sorta what I do. I drill 3-4 holes and connect the holes together. I tried to drill oversized holes from the back but I couldn't get it where I only had to file the 20thou or so. I'd love to get a mill eventually but until then I'll be sticking with the Dremel!
 
Great tip Nick. I might try that.

I don't have a mill yet either so this is the way I do it. I drill a hole at either end of the slot then connect the dots with a jeweler's saw. I have tried drilling a series of holes but I'm a dufus and usually get one or two out of line. So I get better control with just two holes and cutting the rest of the way by hand. On the back side I have done the larger drill thing and that works well for the most part. But here is the improvement I have found that works for me. If you use a regular drill bit and you drill next to or overlapping another hole, the bit will want to walk into the adjacent hole, or you bend the bit and possibly break it. But, if you use a Uni-Bit (step bit) it is much more stout and will not bend. It will not walk into the adjacent hole. It will drill where you put it. So you can overlap holes a bit. And since they are tapered (I use one of the wider bits) you can hog out a pretty wide channel at the point of entry while not extending too far into the hole. That coupled with a depth stop and you're golden. There will still be a little clean up of the remaining webbing but it's not bad with a file. It would be even quicker with a Dremel.
 
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