Any one mill and press fit bolster

I have been thing about a way to make bolsters,look clean and flush I would like to mill the bolster about a 1000 smaller than the blade and press fit it and then drill and pin it.i would like to hear what you all think
Nathan
PS to you contersink a space when pinning
and penning.
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2000
Messages
95
I use a press fit for guards. I've found that most hot rolled steel is slightly oversize, so I slot the guard at with either a 1/8, 3/16, or 1/4 end mill. Keep measuring the thickness of the steel as you are descaling it. Once you get the scale removed, keep trying the fit until it "feels" like it would be a tight, but doable fit. Sometimes I will heat the guard before driving in on. If you try for a good press fit, DON'T drive the guard on until AFTER you heat treat the blade -- might not be able to get it off. Uhhhh......nevermind how I know this....

John Ownby

http://www.johnownby.com
 
Nathan, what do you mean by press fit???

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Nathan check out this tutorial by Terry Primos, I think this is what you are talking about..

http://www.shreve.net/~primos/guardtut1.htm

Eric

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Its not a good idea to have any pressure against the blade. The gaurd or bolsters should be a relaxed but not loose fit. I once pressed a gaurd on a Paul Bos treated 440-c blade. It was very tight but went on, in the morning the blade was broken in half. Believe or not. Bruce B.
 
In my tutorial, I referred to the fitting of the guard as a pressure fit. Perhaps I need to change the terminology.

This is not a guard that has had the sides hammered or pressed to fit tightly against the tang. The guard slot is milled to just slightly under the width of the tang just behind the ricasso. When slid up the tapered tang, it begins to hang just before flushing up with the guard stop on the back of the ricasso.

Then the seating tool is used to gently tap the guard forward to rest flush against the guard stop. In the picture, the hammer may look large because it's a closeup shot. This is a small hammer that I also use to peen pins. I don't beat the guard forward, I gently tap it as described in the tutorial. The fit is tight enough that the guard will not slide off on it's own, but by holding the guard and tapping the tang on the work bench, it will come right off. There are no stresses beaten into the tang. It's just a nice close fit with no gaps.

Also, I've had so many people email asking if the JB Weld will hold the guard as well as solder. Neither JB Weld or solder should be used with the intentions of holding the guard on. The purpose of either is to seal the joint from moisture and contaminants.


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[This message has been edited by primos (edited 04-15-2001).]
 
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