Tapered tang jig?

A jig would be more trouble than it's worth if you ask me. By the time you lay one out, build it and get it set right, you could have ground a couple tangs and gotten comfortable with the process.

Do your drilling first, and then just scribe your centerline and get to grinding, same as you would for any other full flat bevel. To allow a little margin for error, leave the tang a bit over-size so oopses around the edge can be ground away, and leave the end square so it's easier to watch your scribe-lines and keep the thickness even from spine to bottom. I hold 'em against the platen with a welder's magnet.

I don't know why tapered tangs seem so mysterious. :confused: Once you do a couple it will seem no different than flat-grinding a blade, just "sideways" ;)
 
A well made jig will enable you to grind with greater precision and to closer tolerances than any freehand operation. For a tapered tang jig, determine what angle you want to grind and fabricate a piece of (preferably) steel that presents the tang to your platen or disk sander at that angle. Yes, its that simple. Nothing mysterious about it.
 
You could make one similar to what BMK showed in the scandi thread, that looks pretty solid and fool-proof. However, a fixed jig might throw you off if you make different length handles, use different stock thicknesses, etc. But an adjustable one like Fred's Bubble Jig would work on most anything flat, bevels or tangs. I'd like to try that myself but I'm too darn cheap :D

Whatever works, man!
 
james terrio said:
You could make one similar to what BMK showed in the scandi thread, that looks pretty solid and fool-proof. However, a fixed jig might throw you off if you make different length handles, use different stock thicknesses, etc. But an adjustable one like Fred's Bubble Jig would work on most anything flat, bevels or tangs. I'd like to try that myself but I'm too darn cheap :D

Whatever works, man!
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Thats cool. Simple, but looks effective, easy, and quick. I got a simple 90 degree angle steel I got from Home Depot for flat grinds.

I hold the blade on with 1" c-clamps, set the table to the right degrees, and I'm good to go. It works great.
 
The way I was shown to taper tangs was to cut a grove on each side of the handle in the center of the handle with a say a 2" or so wheel on your grinder; make a handle where you have a hole where a 1/8" brass rod will pass through end to end and can be locked in place The rod is used to hold the tang up to the belt through one of the handle bolt holes that were already drilled or even one or two extras drilled down the center of the handle and your other hand holds the blade point to help steady your grinding. Frank
 
LRB said:
Well, maybe you shouldn't.
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+1
to answer Freds ? , because you become dependent . Please do not miss understand me here , I have no problems with jigs but I do have a problem with dependency . Learn both ways .
 
"Depending" on a jig made of steel with no moving parts and a zero failure rate and depending on a grinder with lots of moving parts, a motor and a power supply are two very different degrees of "dependency". Most of us use grinders and therefore, most of us are, to some degree, "dependent". "Depending" on a hand to match the precision of a jig is (IMO) misguided.

ONeill said:
+1
to answer Freds ? , because you become dependent . Please do not miss understand me here , I have no problems with jigs but I do have a problem with dependency . Learn both ways .
Click to expand...
 
ONeill said:
+1
to answer Freds ? , because you become dependent . Please do not miss understand me here , I have no problems with jigs but I do have a problem with dependency . Learn both ways .
Click to expand...

Well, there is another reason. Actually two. I was born without the muscles on each side of my left hand. Yea, sounds weird. And I have a slight tremor in my left hand, which makes it difficult to hold anything steady. Especially if I try to hold it tight.

Neither is really a handicap to me. Its only a real problem having a thumb wrestle, or grinding a blade. I improvise, adapt, overcome.:thumbup:
 
james terrio said:
You could make one similar to what BMK showed in the scandi thread, that looks pretty solid and fool-proof. However, a fixed jig might throw you off if you make different length handles, use different stock thicknesses, etc. But an adjustable one like Fred's Bubble Jig would work on most anything flat, bevels or tangs. I'd like to try that myself but I'm too darn cheap :D


James,
Whatever works, man!
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When I see your paypal come in I'll know you have won the lottery.:)
I made up a couple of degree wedges specifically for tapered tangs. They are .5 and 1 degree angles. I put the bubble on the magnet that I hold the blade with and grind away. You just need to keep an eye on the spine to edge dimension and keep that even.
Fred


jaymeister99 said:
Why? I use for exactly the same reasons BMK says.

I got a 90 degree angle I got for a jig for my blades. I was thinking about making the same for the tang, only bigger.
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BMK is dead on; if you make patterns for the blades you grind and keep track of the grinding angles that were used to grind it; it is easy to reproduce that exact blade with the very same bevels.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of knife making is the innovation that knife maker demonstrate.

Fred
 
OUTSTANDING! "Improvise, adapt overcome." Good stuff.

jaymeister99 said:
Well, there is another reason. Actually two. I was born without the muscles on each side of my left hand. Yea, sounds weird. And I have a slight tremor in my left hand, which makes it difficult to hold anything steady. Especially if I try to hold it tight.

Neither is really a handicap to me. Its only a real problem having a thumb wrestle, or grinding a blade. I improvise, adapt, overcome.:thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
This thread just tempted me to do a tapered tang. I did it by hand using the sparks to tell me where the pressure was. It really is quite a bit easier to me, than flat bevels.

Thanks jaymeister99.

EDIT: I wrote this up and had to walk away. I just came back and hit send. Then caught back up.
 
ONeill said:
+1
to answer Freds ? , because you become dependent . Please do not miss understand me here , I have no problems with jigs but I do have a problem with dependency . Learn both ways .
Click to expand...

Risk averse is what I would be referred to in the financial world; my approach to knife making is the same, I go with a sure thing. I don't think I would call that dependent; more like backing a winner.

Fred
 
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