Let's build a Texas Toothpick slipjoint together.

[Mike Turner]

Don glad to hear you saved the mammoth ivory scales.

[Don Robinson]

It looks as if the set with mammoth scales is going to be OK, but the other set warped just as badly even though they were clamped to the plate.

It seems the epoxy squeezes out at the joint between the ends of the scales and the bolsters. This must swell up and get larger as the epoxy cures, forcing the bolsters to bow downward away from the scale side.

I'll have to use the pin only method on that set.

Somebody please email me once every 3 months for the rest of my life and remind me never to use epoxy on a folding knife again. :

[Mike Turner]

Maybe try a different epoxy Don, I use Acraglas and Locktite 330 depend. I will be using the Acraglas on mine so I will keep you posted about twisting. I have never been a fan of fast setting glues or epoxies they always give me grief.

[Mike Turner]

Don I have a question, I was fitting mine up to drill the hole thru the spring and liners when I noticed the spring does not go to the end of the rear bolster just like in your pictures here seems to me this maybe a problem. HELP






[QUOTE= #139
05-07-2009, 02:11 PM
Don Robinson
SOKN Moderator

Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Brownsville, Texas
Posts: 3,536
Now with the blade off the plate, move the rear of the spring upward 1/32" to 1/16" , and drill the last hole all the way thru the stack.

This will make the spring apply pressure to the blade tang in all positions.

Simple, huh?

The whole method depends on having the plate under the stack as all the work is performed.

Important!!Look carefully at the gap between the bottom of the spring and the scribed line.
Attached Thumbnails



Don

Custom Made Knives by Don Robinson

Custom Knifemaker's Supplies
Last edited by Don Robinson : 05-07-2009 at 03:18 PM.
[/QUOTE]

[CWKnifeman]

Don, A couple of things that might help you out. When you heat your liners and bolsters togather clamp them to a flat plate this will help keeping them flat. Also, if you use locktight 326 speed bonder as directed, the scales will cure quickly with no heat build up to cause the liners to warp any, or glue expansion as with some glues. I was waiting for some of the folders to be finished before I posted a picture of one of mine. I will post it in a day or so.

Anyway I thought that this might be of some help to you and the others as well.
Take care and you are doing a really great job.
Curtis Wilson

[Don Robinson]

(quote) Don I have a question, I was fitting mine up to drill the hole thru the spring and liners when I noticed the spring does not go to the end of the rear bolster just like in your pictures here seems to me this maybe a problem. HELP (quote)


Mike, in that photo my liners are WAAAY oversize. The spring is OK. I don't ever profile any part of a knife except the blade and the underside of the spring until all the parts are made and fitted together. I then sculpt everything together by eye.

When my knives are finished the spring won't quite come out to the rear of the bolsters. The length of the spring depends on where the blade point comes to in the closed position. I grind the profile of the rear bolsters so they just barely cover the end of the blade, and let the spring run out wherever it will.

I suggest you check your spring by mounting it on your plate along with the liners and blade and see where the point of the blade is.

I know your blade is made to scale because you posted a photo of it.

If your spring is more or less made to the drawing scale you'll find it will work fine. It doesn't need to cover the points of the rear bolsters. Mine don't either. They never do.

I don't ever want any excess metal on a knife. If the blade point is barely covered that's all I want.

[Don Robinson]

Mike, I just took photos of the knife that show the spring doesn't come all the way to the end.

I hope this solves your "problem", and that it isn't a problem after all.

Please let me know.

[Don Robinson]

Originally Posted by CWKnifeman

Don, A couple of things that might help you out. When you heat your liners and bolsters togather clamp them to a flat plate this will help keeping them flat. Also, if you use locktight 326 speed bonder as directed, the scales will cure quickly with no heat build up to cause the liners to warp any, or glue expansion as with some glues. I was waiting for some of the folders to be finished before I posted a picture of one of mine. I will post it in a day or so.

Anyway I thought that this might be of some help to you and the others as well.
Take care and you are doing a really great job.
Curtis Wilson

Hi there, Curtis.

I don't use a plate when I heat the bolsters after spot welding because I want the red heat to soak all the way thru evenly. Remember this was the set with welded bolsters. That's why it was necessary to heat them up. This isn't what caused the warping.

The first time I epoxied the liners I used Devcon 2-ton epoxy. I've used that for twenty years with no problems until now. And yes, I've read the "Glue Wars" thread.

The second time, after removing the scales I used 2-part Epoxy 330. One set came out OK, the other thinner set warped. This was the integral set with thinner bolsters, and the overall shape of the handle was quite a bit narrower.

I have some Loctite 330 depend with a spray activator that will give an instant bond. I'm going to use this next and it'll probably work out OK.

I'm convinced that the 2 part epoxy swells as it cures, forcing the liners to bow toward the inside of the knife.

[Don Robinson]

Curtis, you and anyone else who has made a Texas Toothpick slipjoint are welcome to post photos of your work here, but I suggest as you said, that we wait until we have finished one or two of our knives.

I have several toothpicks on my web site.

[Don Robinson]

I drill the extra pin holes for the scales with the scales mounted and pinned to the bolsters.

I drill all the way thru the mounted scale and liner.

I make a countersink on the inside of the liners to accept a peened pin end. This will keep the pins from coming out.

I peen one end of each pin and insert the pins before using glue, but you can glue the liners on first, then drill, c'sink and insert the pins using epoxy or super glue. Either way works.

In the attached photo I'm using the liner to hold a pin while I gently tap all the way around the end of the pin using a small ball peen hammer.

After the pins are glued in place I use my Dremel tool to grind the peened pin ends so they are flush or below the inside surface of the liners.

[Don Robinson]

I've gotten the cart before the horse again.

I used my rise and fall fixture again to finish the settings in all 3 positions. A little polishing on a deburring wheel was all it needed. All positions read within .002" of each other.

Before making the scales I assembled the knives and rough ground the profiles all the way around, then profiled the bolster curves.

Always do most of your grinding before you mount your scales. Heat caused by grinding will burn scale materials.

[Don Robinson]

Everybody, read this post carefully.

Mike Turner has called my attention to a serious mistake.

It seems my CAD software has developed a glitch that causes some of the toothpick printouts to be out of scale.

Use a scale and measure the lengths of the dimensions shown on your prints. If they don't match you have a bad printout.

After Mike alerted me, I checked a new printout and found that the sizes on pages #1 and #3 are out of scale. The length of the blade shown on page #1 actually measures about 3 9/16" with a scale, not 3.315 (approx. 3 5/16) as shown on the print. If your prints are like this you will need to make new copies and change the scale on pages #1 and #3 to 93%.

The copies I used for my two knives are correctly printed, so I don't know how many of your copies are out of scale.

If your copy is like the one I'm looking at now, your liners will be way too long for your blades.

Please tell me if your copies are bad.

I apologize for this mistake.

[Mike Turner]

Well Don since I have more work and material in my frame integral I am going to stay with that. I have enough thickness I can forge my blade out and should be real close but I will have to make a new spring, I do have a piece left of my damascus I can forge out.

I am sorry to have been the bearer of bad news but hopefully no one else had this problem.

I am heading to the smithy now to get forging and I will have to surface grind the blade and spring again so I maybe a couple days till I catch back up.

[Don Robinson]

Good luck, Mike. Hope it all works out. Keep us informed.

[Mike Turner]

Well Don I was able to forge the blade pretty close to the larger pattern and forged the piece to the spring size. Tomorrow I will be surface grinding them so it looks like I am back on track.