Wood Stacked Hidden Tang

J

jawilder

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Jun 27, 2006
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I have a good supply of 1"x12" sheets of walnut, white oak, and cedar. I would like to make wood stacked handles similar to the one seen here.

Boot%201-11-07%20b.jpg


A few questions:

1. Would LocTite 60 Min Epoxy be strong enough?

2. I have trued the "washers" using granite. Should I keep them nice and smooth at 320 grit, or scuff them up to say, 60 grit for the epoxy to bond to?

3. Would it be worth stabilizing them?

Thanks
 
Jason I would think if you get them stabilized then I would use the same epoxy that you use putting them on a knife, but there may be other or cheaper epoxy you could use but I know that would be safe to use. If you keep them just the way they are then I do not know why you could not use regular carpenters glue on them to glue the up with. I have seen wood tested with that glue and the joints hold better than the wood its self did. Nice looking piece you have there. Is that one you already glued up?
 
Jason,

Is your plan for the tang to pass through all of the layers and mechanically attached to the butt/pommel (through or stick tang)? Or do you want to stop the tang part way into the handle (hidden tang)?

Either way you'll want to some sort of physical measure to prevent shearing of the different layers.

The tang of a through or stick tang should be robust enough, if you fill any internal voids with epoxy and fit the pommel on good and tight.

A hidden tang should have pins between each layer to prevent shearing, especially on the layers that the tang does not pass through. I would use two 1/8" pins.

and yes, you definately want to scuff up your joints for the epoxy to grab hold on.
 
WadeH said:
Jason I would think if you get them stabilized then I would use the same epoxy that you use putting them on a knife, but there may be other or cheaper epoxy you could use but I know that would be safe to use. If you keep them just the way they are then I do not know why you could not use regular carpenters glue on them to glue the up with. I have seen wood tested with that glue and the joints hold better than the wood its self did. Nice looking piece you have there. Is that one you already glued up?
Click to expand...

Wade, I wish that were my piece, but I can't claim it. It is by another maker here in Winnsboro. I haven't had a chance to to visit his shop yet though.

For the pommel, I had planned on using another piece of walnut just glued on to hide the tang hole. I'm not sure I have the skill to do anything otherwise. I would love to be able to thread the pomel on or peen it on, but am not aware of any tutorials on how to do that. Any suggestions?
 
Just get a basic tap and die set, thread the tang and tap a pommel, and tighten it down to hold the handle together. Then shape it all at once.

I'll see if I have any pictures what that looks like prior to assembly, but if I don't someone here will I'm sure.

Edit: Well, I don't have appropriate photos and neither do I have the ability to draw this for you, but someone here will.
 
The seam between two pieces will disappear better if the mating surfaces are at 60-80 grit than they will if at 320 grit.

Mike
 
Mark Basford said:
Jason,


A hidden tang should have pins between each layer to prevent shearing, especially on the layers that the tang does not pass through. I would use two 1/8" pins.
Click to expand...

I do this on all spacers after first noting the pins on one of Karl Anderson's in a work-in-progress, thought it was ingenious... Not only do they add strength, they help line everything up... done right, the pieces snap together like lego...;)
 
last night I was playing around with my pommel and decided to weld the tang to a bolt and then weld a nut onto a mild steel pommel. My weld for the nut looks like crap but I think it will work if I hollow out the last part of wood going to the pommel.

Would this make a nice tight fit?

I think I will look into getting a tap and die set in the future.
 
i would say that welding on the bolt is ok. i braze mine on with a hard silver braze. the nut does not give you very many turns of adjustment as a threded hole but you should be ok.
 
after several attempts I found out that you MUST have a bolt in the nut when you weld it or you will ruin your threads... at least it did for me
 
Jason you can run a die over the bolt and clean up threads and it should be ok.
 
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