SCALES WONT LAY FLAT ON TANG.......WHAT NOW?

[kansas stik man]

I have my blade almost ready to heat treat ( i would post pictures but i think im not smart enough to run photobucket lol) but i went to start on some scale of mahoghany  spelled .  and realized that my tang is not flat but i dont want to file on my blade any more is there anything i can do to make a good fit?

[Lin Rhea]

You either got to file it or shape the wood to fit it. That's just part of making knives.  

[Broke another one]

I would think that filing the tang is the only way to go.

[kansas stik man]

weill lin you build some amazing stuff and i always try your advice but i must not be staying flat on the tang while fileing.  so is it possible to sand the scales with a course paper to wear the fit the tang?

[Lin Rhea]

It's near impossible to get the tang flat by just filing it. You'll have to get something flat like a granite block and tape the sandpaper down flat and hold the tang on it flat and carefully sand it flat. Think flat. Dont tip it or roll it while sanding. Change directions some to get an idea of the area yet untouched.

[kansas stik man]

ok i can try that, another thing i thought about trying is leather scales. would they make it easier to get a good tight fit on the tang?

[Steve Nuckels]

Jerold, depending on the width and thickness of the tang, an option is to do a hollow grind on each side of the tang in the center leaving a small area around the edge to flaten.  That will also create a little space for epoxy and a better bond.  Also be careful when sanding the scales not to get them too hot, that could warp them.

Steve
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Potomac Forge

[Steve Nuckels]

Another method you could use is get the tang and scales as flat as possible then glue a heavy piece of black construction paper between the scales and tang.  That will fill the space and look good too.

Steve
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Potomac Forge

[kansas stik man]

the construction paper sounds pretty good but how will the paper hold up and how well will the paper do as far as providing a good glue surface to grab? i enen thought about a thin piece of leather to put between scales and tang do you think this would work?  if i cant figure somehting out ill just put alot of epoxy on and clamp it tight and hope there is enough epoxy to fill the small gaps. i know this is not the proper way of doing things but im running out of ideas.

[Cody D Works]

part of learning is trial and error. Just pick a method and go for it! I'm learning aot from trial and error...

[Scott Roush]

put a lot of big holes in whatever liner you choose... the glue will contact the metal of the tang through those holes. Although with construction paper it will probably soak through and not matter.

You shouldn't depend on your glue anyway. Make sure you peen your pins for a good strong mechanical bond that you can depend on.  Glue is best used for preventing moisture from getting in there.  Some people don't even use it if they  have good peened pins.

Don't see why leather wouldn't work. Leather alone makes a really cool handle material...

[Scott Roush]

By the way... Joe Keeslar uses thin copper sheeting between his scales.  He leaves the copper a little wider when he attaches the scales and if things aren't even he just peens the edges of the copper down and fills the gaps.  Cheating but it looks good!

[kansas stik man]

seems like it would be hard to peen the pins and not mess up the wood in the process.

[Steve Nuckels]

Scott is correct about the holes in the paper or leather.  I learned that construction paper trick from a Master Bladesmith at a ABS school I attended.

When peening the pins take your time, I put the pin in the vise and peen one end then slide in and cut off and peen the other end.  If you miss and dent the wood, wet it and use a hot iron or heat gun and steam the dent out.

Steve
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Potomac Forge

[Ray Hammond]

I would use vulcanized paper, rather than construction paper...thats construction paper that is 'plasticized' to not absorb moisture.

It's avilable from any knife making supply house.

[Ray Hammond]

I've used brass and copper liners on full tang knives.  You just need to make sure you drill a bunch of corresponding holes in the brass or copper and a little into the back/flat side of the scales...to create epoxy 'pins' through the whole set up in my opinion.

[kansas stik man]

where can you buy brass sheets?

[Ray Hammond]

Hobby lobby or Michael's

[kansas stik man]

i think the vulcanized fiber sounds better.  im not thingking that brass or copper would lood good on the knife im building so i suppose i need to order some.

[Ray Hammond]

I don't know - Joe Keeslar thinks copper and brass liners look REALLY good...he does them quite often...and I like them as well.

Pretty distinctive. That said though, since your mission on this one is to get those scales down onto the knife with no gaps, the vulcanized paper will work better for your needs since it is somewhat cushiony.

Just be careful about the amount of pressure you apply- so you don't squeeze all teh glue out...I've done that a couple of times...and besure to punch plenty of 'ghost' holes in your paper under the scales, and some shallow corresponding holes in the scale's "inside" to give you some hidden epoxy pins to lock the whole thing together in addition to your 'through pins'.