I just need to slow down I guess. Here are two knives I made this weekend and I'm not happy with either of them. For the smaller one, I had the bit grab when I was taking it out of the drill press and it oblonged the back hole and I thought it would be ok. The other one, I was sure I had the lines perfect when I drilled the holes and after glue up, nope. Darn it. I'm still gonna give these away to some friends, I have too many knives but I'm still trying to make one that would be salable. Not that I plan to sell it but that's the goal I'm striving for. Oh and I have basically given up on plunge lines. I'm not blaming my grinder but I don't have the skills to really get a nice plunge on my 4x36 belt sander. I tried for even plunge lines and got so frustrated that I gave up and flat ground them instead. Screw it. And that's my finger, not a big sausage. You can tell by the spot I ground off my finger.
Misaligned wood been there a couple weeks ago and even after double checking alignment. Changed up to only brad point bits on wood and composites and hope this stops any wiggles if the clamps are not tight enough.
I think you're doing pretty well. It takes a lot of trial and error and figure-it-outing to get things perfect. Even after 50 knives, you'll find something that you don't like about your creations. Reality is, you'll have to let it go. Knifemaking and OCD are not compatible. LOL Well, the best part is, that most people don't see what you see. For the alignment issue some step-by-step may help. I do this. Clamp one scale. Drill one through the tang into the scale, but stop just before breaking through. Flip over and finish the hole from the other side. Temporarily pin the first scale. A few 1" pieces of wooden dowels that match your pins work good for this. Only tap the dowel through into the tang and flush with the open side. Carefully align and clamp the second scale to match the first scale which is now pinned. Pay attention to any seams or matching faces. Get it right here. Fronts lined up? Check! Clamp. When the clamps are tight, carefully twist and pull the dowels out of one hole only. Leave the other(s) in. Drill through the tang and first scale, but stop just before tearing through the far side. Flip over and carefully finish the hole avoiding a tear-out. Press the dowel through the original hole, through the tang and into the opposite scale. Tapping with a wooden mallet works here. Not too hard. Repeat steps 5, 6, 7 and 8. You should have a wooden pinned handle. You can shape the handle very close to the steel in this state. Using a punch, tap the dowels out. With a pencil, mark the scales for Left and Right on the insides. Dan
Another way of avoiding break out when you're drilling your scales is to put a piece of wood underneath your scale and drill through into it, making sure to have fresh wood and not a hole underneath for the next drilling.
Better and certainly not bad. It looks like the right scale is forward about 20 thousandth. The contrasting woods can play up any minor offset. I wouldn't be too worried about it, as you get more practiced your eyes will become proportionally more critical. Dan
When you drill your holes clamp you blank on the outside of your scale and drill in through. Chip out will be on the inside. We all learn from our mistakes and I learn everyday and someday a lot more than others lol.
Grahamm I've only finished one knife, and even though I got to the point of saying to myself, "Dude you got to just put some handles on one of them!" I was cursing the plunge the whole time! I have a box of failed projects, and have given each one of them plunge lines the middle finger, so I feel for you, but don't give up! I am going to try a file guide on my next projects to see it that will help! Keep it up man, nice knives imho.
for the plunge lines I have resorted to a 150-200 grit and a dowel then chased one side to match the other. Slow and tedious but it can save a blade from the recycle bin
