Southern Mistress Bowie (finished pro pic)

[D.Ellis]

Looks like enough blade to behead a wildebeest! I like that!
Got a question for you Lin. How is the ball finial attached at the butt? I assume threaded on, but how did you grip it for final assembly if that's the case?
Darcy  

[Sarge11]

Lin,

OUTSTANDING!!

Sarge

[Lin Rhea]

Thanks

Darcy, the ball started as a cube from a larger bar of 416 into which I drilled a hole about 1/4 inch deep. The threaded rod fit snug but not tight down into the hole. I hard soldered it with some high temp silver solder. After turning the ball round and texturing it I established the length necessary and cut the machine screw. The machine screw threads into a coupling nut attached to the tang by splitting the nut half of its length and pinning it. This was dry fit several times to make sure it would work smoothly before applying the acraglas. When I was ready, I taped the butt cap dome area. I used water pump pliers with a leather piece in the jaws lapping down onto the butt cap. The acraglass acts as a lubricant to some degree so I have to be aware of the point of actual contact and just tighten it down a half turn or so beyond that. There was no leaking of the acraglas after it was snugged down.

All of the real work should be in the fit and the mechanics to be sure there is no problems while the adhesive is being applied. I do a two stage glue up on a handle like this. Sometimes three.

[D.Ellis]

Thanks for the detailed reply Lin. Makes sense and helps me understand the connection(no pun intended) between the earlier pics of the tang with no threads and the ball at the end.
Most people cannot comprehend the amount of work in a project like this.......
Thanks again for posting your work here.
Darcy