Newbie Handle pin Tip

etp777

etp777

Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Messages
2,259
Ok, this is another one of those thigns that came ot me pretty quickly while working, and may not actually work in real life(haven't tried it yet), but I haven't seen it mentioned in any of the information I read, so I figured I should share.

If you don't have perfect size pins, or have any other situation that causes your pins not to be quite as snug as you want it to, try this. Drill your holes 1/64" smalle rthan the actual pin. THen, before putting pins in, put them in the freezer overnight. This should, at least with brass pins(according to my theory and confirmation I got from aviation machinist/welder who spends his life working with various metals at various temperatures), allow them to shrink enough to fit in the smaller pin holes. Then, as the pins warm up, they should be perfectly snug in the tang/handle. Just an idea I thought I'd share.
 
You don't want them too snug. You need room for the epoxy, plus too tight a pin can very easily cause wood scales to split.:( :eek:
 
Ok, how about somebody answering a stupid handle pin question? Excuse my ignorance, but why dont the pin holes line up properly when attaching slabs to a tapered tang?
 
Danbo, I have never had a problem with that.
The way I do it is, attatch the scale blank to the tang with 4-5 drops of superglue, around the perimeter of the tang. Next, I lay the scale blank on a flat surface, with the tang up, on the drill press table, I just drill straight down through the predrilled tang holes. I make no provisions for the taper etc.
After drilling, I scribe the tang outline on the scale, then smack the scale sharply against the edge of the benchtop, which will knock it off the tang. There will be minimal cleanup of the tang and scale. Repeat on the other side.
It's what works for me anyway.
 
Drilling before you taper the tang is one way around the problem. But, like Mike, it is rarely a problem for me either way.

John
 
Let me clarify; I always drill the tang BEFORE tapering. And the handle scales I an referring to, would be flat on both sides.
 
I won't rain on your parade. Sometimes I do find a need to have very strong pins without peening or glue. (Not often but sometimes). That is a good trick. I have used that method to attach guards fairly often and it works quite well. I heat the guard and freeze the tang.
 
Question
Does anyone stack both scales together clamp both under the tang
and drill both at the same time?I drill mine this way I was curious if anyone else does it like this.
 
Peter, I can understand it for certain applications, especially guards. It could pose a cracking problem with many woods though.
 
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