reverse clip on Cuda Maxx (drill & tap)

[Mr.BadExample]

I want to reverse the clip on my Cuda Maxx so I can use the handle like an Emerson wave. This would require drilling & tapping the titanium handle at the other end. I was looking at kitknives.com and they have a drill & tap set for putting torx screws in to install a clip on one of their knives. Has anyone drilled & tapped titanium to add a clip before? Is this even feasible using hand tools?
Or should I look for a customizer who'd take on the minor project?

 

[AlphalphaPB]

I have the drill and tap kit for one of their kit knives. Maybe I'm overlooking some simple method here, but I don't think there's any way to hand drill a hole precise enough to tap. To drill through hardened SS, I had to get a drill press from Harbor Freight because my Dremel drill press is a flimsy, shaky POS. I've heard titanium is a tough metal to drill through.

 

[Steven Roos]

I have wanted to do the same, but I think a drill press and some pretty impressive dits would be needed.

 

[Mr.BadExample]

Yeah, I thought it was too good to be true.

 

[Kennieyk]

I think if you had a press it coould be drilled and tapped . May take you a while . I seen smooth striped out steeal be tapped and the treads turned out fine . I would think you would be using a much smaller hole . Should not be that hard . Might wanna test on it somehow first .Or post in the knife makers sections.

 

[toolmaker]

Titanium is a bit tricky to tap, especially the smaller holes. You must have a fixture to hold the handle with, vise prefereably.

not knowing which alloy Ti you have, most are actually relatively soft. this is not a good thing, since the chips tend to Grab the tap and break off the tap and or strip the threads as well.
whatever thread you are going to tap, make the hole at least 10% bigger than what the chart says. Ti will expand because its so soft and grab your tap. You must only tap about 1/2-3/4 turn and back out the chips if you are doing this by hand. You also need tapping fluid. If you have a machine shop nearby they will give you a bit. You only need a tiny amount but it is required.
If you are doing this in a drill press type machine, then after dilling the hole keep part in place. Remove the drill and use the drill press to line up your tap. this is very important as well. Some tap handles have a indentation at the top. this is to line up the tap to keep things in line.
good luck.