Ok to cut off the tang to match my bit length?

[scotchleaf]

For a small 3.5 inch hidden tang scandi blade, will a 2.5 inch tang be OK? The blank came with a 4.2 inch tang.

 

[John Katt]

You can order a 6 inch bit from enco and have it in a couple of days

 

[DEllis]

The more tang the better. You should be fine with the tang at 2.5" for a small blade, but longer would be better.
Darcy

 

[scotchleaf]

Thanks. Ended up going to home depot and getting a 5/32 bit which is 6" long. Question is whether a 3.26 mm thick tang will be too lose, after the epoxy, in a 3.96mm wide hole.

 

[John Katt]

use JB weld that stuff is like steel after it sets up, you will likely split the wood before you loosen up the JB ;0)

just make sure not to wiggle the blade for 48 hrs, give it plenty of time to fully cure

 

[DEllis]

could add some hardwood shims to each side of the tang to take up the slack.
Darcy

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Just use good epoxy and the hole size doesn't matter at all. I use T-88 structural epoxy for a lot of assembly, and it is stronger than the wood. While a grossly sloppy hole isn't a good idea, there is no need for the hole to be an exact fit. You actually want some room for the epoxy to make a bedding. I would consider about 25% oversize in thickness a good fit.