Tang broaching...?

Brock Cutlery

Brock Cutlery

Joined
Jan 10, 2015
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1,673
Anyone doing anything like this for tangs?
Seems like if you don't have a mill this might work out some kind of broach contraption for wood or steel. ?

 
Maybe I missed something. I've seen the hand broaches, but a press type broach seems like it could add a great deal of precision.
Perhaps a drill press quill would add the precise vertical up and down action?
 
I just thought of this but how about a table top mortising machine? A couple hundred bucks or so for a good one. If it will do mortises down to 1/8” it should work.
 
That looks like a keyway broach and I think you would have to have a through tang for it to have a chance to work. Even then I think the way they are designed it still wouldn't work. They have kits out there but they are a couple hundred, might be able to find it cheaper and try.

-Clint
 
A hand broach for cutting a tang slot is what you want. They cut on the pull, not the ush. You need to extricate the swarf withthe stroke. If it cut on the down stroke, ithe only way it would work was if was a through tang.

While you can make a great set of brooches from various thicknesses of 1095 or O-1, a carefully ground down bi-metal sawsall/reciprocating saw blade works quite well. Make a nice wooden handle for it and slot away.
 
If you mean broaching the handle material, like Augus7us said, it has to go through the material. Most of us use tapered tangs, and pushing the broach on a tapered line while not impossible is probably more set up than one is willing to do when the hand "pull broach" is really pretty fast after a bit of practice.

I used to dread this part of hidden tangs when I tried to drill drill drill interconnect and now I'd rather make a hidden tang than deal with finishing the tang and dissimilar scale materials like you do on full tangs. Antler especially. I drill one center hole and pull broach out the top and bottom for the tang, and it takes me usually 5-15 minutes depending on the material to have my tang slot cut.
 
Matt R said:
I just thought of this but how about a table top mortising machine? A couple hundred bucks or so for a good one. If it will do mortises down to 1/8” it should work.
Click to expand...

When I was hating doing this I tried to find one and couldn't find any commonly available mortising tools small enough.
 
kuraki said:
When I was hating doing this I tried to find one and couldn't find any commonly available mortising tools small enough.
Click to expand...

It seems like 1/4” bits are as small as I can find. Guess there just isn’t a faster way aside from a mill.
 
I think some of you guys are way over thinking and over complicating and over spending this.

Grind down a sawzall blade for a couple bucks and get after it.

Broaching a hidden tang literally takes 10 minutes......if I stop in the middle for a sandwich and a cup of coffee. :D

And it can be done VERY neatly and accurately. I've been using the same broach since I started making knives and those that have visited my shop know my broached handle slots are accurate and tidy.
 
shamu said:
@j.doyle can you show what you mean by grinding down a sawzall blade?
Click to expand...

I believe what John is referring to is grinding all the teeth off the blade except the last 3 or 4 at the tip of the blade. Most guys that do this I've seen usually tape/solder/weld two or three blades ground this way together. I did this one and didn't care for it myself.

That said we are making knives here so making a broach is dead simple if you have the tools to make a knife. As mentioned above there are many threads about broaches including one I started just asking for photos some time back. Find some photos, visualize what it is doing so you can get your angle right and grind one out.

-Clint
 
shamu said:
@j.doyle can you show what you mean by grinding down a sawzall blade?
Click to expand...

if I had to do the sawzall again I would just do two blades instead of the three I have,
in fact I might grind it down thinner
they are just epoxied together and I ground the profile.
this works fantastic.

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the one on the left I made and is the best, from W1 key stock, the middle I also made, the one one the right is useless as its too wide.
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I’ve made a broach out of a screwdriver and a jigsaw blade. The only issue I have is on micarta blocks and other really hard woods. It’s not really an issue. My biggest problem is getting it drilled. Not sure if I’m using the wrong bits or what but I hate drilling. Anybody what to share what bits they’re using?
 
Matt R said:
I’ve made a broach out of a screwdriver and a jigsaw blade. The only issue I have is on micarta blocks and other really hard woods. It’s not really an issue. My biggest problem is getting it drilled. Not sure if I’m using the wrong bits or what but I hate drilling. Anybody what to share what bits they’re using?
Click to expand...
what size hole and how deep?
drilling a tang hole is actually challenging in the sense that the depth is many times the diameter. a 1/4" hole 3.5" deep is 14X the diameter

the challenge is to clear the chips from the hole, you have to dump the chips out of the hole constantly.
also the flutes tend to get clogged with packed wood and you have to relieve the flutes of the loaded chips.

I haven't found various drill bits to really make a difference in wood...but have you tried a brad-point drill bit for wood?
also I wonder if this will clear chips better - http://www.rockler.com/fisch-hss-pen-making-drill-bits-millimeters
this is more designed for a lathe which is generally horizontal
 
Matt R said:
I’ve made a broach out of a screwdriver and a jigsaw blade. The only issue I have is on micarta blocks and other really hard woods. It’s not really an issue. My biggest problem is getting it drilled. Not sure if I’m using the wrong bits or what but I hate drilling. Anybody what to share what bits they’re using?
Click to expand...
I have this one for this purpose ............

 
Anyone make a good broach? Nick wheeler swears by his john perry ones but not sure if hes still making them
 
Grinding down a Sawzall blade and attaching a handle was an awesome tip.
I've been having a hard time with this and this topic was very timely for me.
Almost every tool in my shop has been made from something else. Chalk up another.
 
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