Need help drilling scales.

B

bgmills

Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
72
How do you guys drill scales that are not flat on both sides, say like stag or something with an uneven surface? This is pertaining to a blade that has pin holes already in it. For that matter, how would you drill the scales and blade for pin holes so that they align properly with scales that don't have 2 flat sides? I hope I'm making myself clear. Thank you for your time.

Bill
 
Bill,
Use a hot glue gun to glue the stag slab to a scrap wood slab, you can even shim it to make the flats paralell. after your holes are drilled, you can easily pull them apart.
Thanks,
Del
 
I took a piece of 2X 4 about 4"s long and used a 1-1/4" wood bit to drill a hole through it lenght wise.Then cut it in half to make a cradle.I can lay the curved side of the stag in the cradle and drill throught the handle.
Stan
 
The side that goes to the tang should be flat anyway. Fit it to the tang, clamp it or use CA glue. Put 1" thick block of wood on the drill press table and clamp the blade to it scale down. The tang will be parallel to your drill press table and the scale should hang on the side of the wooden block. Put something under the scale so the blade would not bend and drill the holes from the tang side. I put some painters tape on the outside of the scales so they would not chip when drill bit comes though (not sure you need it for stag but I do it for wood). S.R. Johnson in his DVD shows how to do it. He uses some fancy vise instead of wooden block but the idea is the same.

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Sergiy
 
I drill uneven scales every day. If you have or can scrounge..buy..whatever and pc of aluminum channel....say....2x4" by 6" long or so. Most any size works. Drill a 3/8" hole thru the face of the channel. With the feet of the channel down, clamp the scale flat side to the bottom of the channel and place the scale such that the area you want to drill is in your 3/8" hole. Drill away slow enough with a sharp bit so that you do not allow the scale to come away from channel. Works great.
 
You guys sure make things hard!
I glue one scale in place, and drill holes through the tang holes with a flex shaft or even hand drill, holding the knife with my hand.
Then I position and glue the other scale on, and drill back through the existing scale holes into the new scale.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
You guys sure make things hard!
I glue one scale in place, and drill holes through the tang holes with a flex shaft or even hand drill, holding the knife with my hand.
Then I position and glue the other scale on, and drill back through the existing scale holes into the new scale.
Click to expand...

thats the way I do it and it works great. cuts time down considerably and way more accurate than my older method of just clamping both pieces to the tang and drilling.
 
John L said:
I drill uneven scales every day. If you have or can scrounge..buy..whatever and pc of aluminum channel....say....2x4" by 6" long or so. Most any size works. Drill a 3/8" hole thru the face of the channel. With the feet of the channel down, clamp the scale flat side to the bottom of the channel and place the scale such that the area you want to drill is in your 3/8" hole. Drill away slow enough with a sharp bit so that you do not allow the scale to come away from channel. Works great.
Click to expand...

I do it very similar but I use a small steel channel that I have trued up on my surface grinder and I clamp both ends of the scale.
 
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