Tap and Drill Mods

R

rwATR

Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
145
OK, there are a few knives I would like to get my hands on (eg. Paramilitary), but the fact that they're tip down only really bothers me. Can anyone suggest a site that will walk me through how to tap and drill the handle and liner? Also, what kind of tools and skills will I need for this? Thanks in advance.
 
I've done this a couple of times, with a drill press, clamp, and then tapped with a standard (HSS?) tap & tap handle. For drilling small holes I don't think you'd need cutting oil, but you might with the tap. I 'eye-balled' the tap alignment, and got it done pretty well. If you take your time & go slow, lining up, drilling, and tapping the holes isn't too difficult.

Bear in mind I only did this on a couple of mid-range (price-wise) tacticals, G10 scales w/stainless liners. For more expensive knives, you need to be a lot more sure of hole placement. Mine were users, so if I messed them up, well, the goofs just added character. ;)

Hope this helps a little.

thx - cpr
 
Hmm...for the cost of a drill press I'd rather just buy another knife. I can see the whole set-up being useful if I have a lot of handles to tap and drill. In any event, thanks for your input!
 
You'd probably want to use the drill press as a tapping guide as well. Clamp the knife down before you drill, then unplug the power and chuck the tap in place of the drill bit. You'll turn the chuck by hand. It's not a great way, but works well enough if you're only doing a few holes.

Ask your friends if anyone has a drill press you could use. Somebody's bound to own one.
 
DutchV is right, and I forgot to mention, that I used a friend's drill press.

thx - cpr
 
You can probably do it by hand if you go slow. Practice on a crap knife from the flea market.

One way to make sure you don't screw up too badly is to mark, drill and tap the first hole, then screw the clip back on and use it as a guide for the remaining holes. The last thing you want to do is drill and tap all three holes only to discover that one of them is out of line!
 
If you are thinking about modding a knife, why would you balk at a drill press? You obviously have some desire, courage, or know how. Once you get the drill press, you will find other needs for it. You can buy them cheap enough to try it out.
 
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