First slipjoint , need some advice

backtines

backtines

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys I figured Id give this a shot at making a slip joint.

I started making this knife a few days ago . I didn't copy an existing blade or spring , I just winged it , so I know my dimensions may be off in certain areas.

One thing Id like to know is , After i make my spring and blade , does it need to be HT and tempered before I try it out ? Im worried that if the spring is not HTand tempered, when the spring bends, it may not come back. For my project I ht both before I tried it and made adjustments.. Your thoughts ??

Just a few questions:

Ive seen a few videos on guys soldering the bolsters in place and some spot welding them . I know for starters I can solder them in place , but would you recommend spot welding? What do you use?


What are you using as a shim for your main pivot pin when peaning the main pin ? I was thinking of using a feeler gauge and cutting a little "U" out of it . And what Shim size do you prefer ?


Nail nick ? Ill use a dremil with a cut off wheel for now , but what are you using ? A fly cutter ? , dove tail ? and what size?


Ive seen guys mill down the spacers in the area of the pivot to prevent scratches and use bushings as the pivot for smoother and tighter action , but for now Im gonna stay away from that . I just wanna build one to make sure it works first , then I can move on.

Please excuse light in pics , They are not very good , but I guess you can get the idea ..

Please take a look at this stuff and don't be afraid to rip me, don't be afraid to be harsh . Id like to know what you guys are seeing wrong at this stage . What I can say on a positive note.. The knife does have a nice snap during opening and closing.

Thanks..


 
Looks good from what I can see. Yes heat treat before putting the spring under a load. You can spot weld but you will need to heat the whole bolster to a cherry red and cool after it is welded. I have spot welded and soldered, now I mill them out of bar stock.

I use a .003 shim with a "V" cut out to keep from locking up the knife and take up the slack a little at a time after the shim is removed. If you later decide to use bushings no shim is needed.

Mill relieving prevents scratches on the tang and helps make a smoother action.

I have used a fly cutter and a surface grinding wheel for nail nicks. The fly cutter is used before heat treating and the stone can be used after.

From the photo with the blade open it looks like the spring is laying flat on your spring notch. you want it to touch at the rear of the tang and the front of the spring. If not it will rock in the open position. Same thing with the half stop, dish out a slight area in the middle with the high spots being at the corners.

I will look to see if I have any photos of the tang area for you.


Good job, now go make some more.


Craig
 
You can see the slight gap under the spring I was talking about in this photo.

14.jpg
 
thanks craig for these tips , can you send me another picture of the tool you are using to hold the blade and spring ?
 
I use it to set things up before heat treat. I leave the spring about .010 - .015 high at the half stop and closed position. I bring that down on the knife after heat treat.
 
nice work! Yes, don try the action before the spring and blade are ht'd...and always oil the joint before trying the action otherwise you would gall the contact areas.
Relieve the liners if you have a mill, or you can try to etch out the reliefs if you have an electric etcher. I also skipped this passage on my first slippy!!!
I dare to say that is better soldering than spot welding (i don't want gaps/visible lines)...the Bose's method on youtube is almost foolproof, at least i nailed it perfect on the first try :)
have a good slipjoint journey!!!

Stefano
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top