I've got a knife in the works that will have a wrought iron guard and I want to etch it and I want it to STAY etched. Last time I ended up grinding it all away to fit the guard to the handle. So on this one, I want to pin the guard to the handle (which will be a morticed hidden tang) so I can have everything securely in place while I sand and true everything up... then take it apart, finish the wood, etch the guard and put it all back together without doing anything else. Since it won't be a through-tang, it won't be a true take-down... I just want the pins to hold everything together.
My plan at this stage is to just take some thin pin stock, drill the holes, put it all together and see if it works...but...any tips for making this a successful venture?