Hello Everyone, Ed Clark asked me to post this, so here goes.
I posted up some pictures in "Knife Critiques" of a hunter I finished. The customer requested I use White Tail deer antler for the handle, and he gave me a 10 point buck rack to use. As you know, White Tail deer antlers grow with a lot of curves. I decided on using the crown as the butt of the handle and cut it off about 4" long. The antler was very solid with a small pith dead center, so I had no problem drilling the inital tang hole and cleaning it out to fit the tang.
The problem I ran into was where the antler made the curve. So I called MS Tim Potier who was one of my instructors from the Intro Class. Tim asked me if I knew how to drill a crooked hole? He then explained how to take a flat spade wood bit and drill the hole so the hole would follow the curve. He also told me to wrap the tang with a wet rag, heat it up on the end and then bend it to follow the hole. And last but not least, he told me to file some notches in the tang on the front and back sides to help grip the epoxy when I glued it up.
I put the antler wrapped in leather in the vise and chucked up a 1/4" flat spade wood bit in the hand drill. With the drill turning in the hole I had started, I applied upward pressure on the bit. It walked down the curve as Tim described. I just needed about an inch to be able to fit the tang.
I wrapped all but an inch of the tag with a wet rag and heated it to a dull red with my torch and quickly gave it a rap over the horn of the anvil to bend it. Opps, to much, so I tapped it a few times with the hammer until it fit the curve. It fit nicly!
I simply used a 3 sided file to make some notches in the tang before the glue up.
This info is probably old hat to the more experienced members, but it might help someone who encouters these issues for the first time like I did.
I know we read this a lot, but it is really great to be a member of an organization where people are willing to share their hard earned knowledge. I know I appreciate it.
Best,
Bob
Jared,
I read your post over in the video suggestions about the crooked hole. What I did was practice on a piece of 2x4 that I drilled like my tang hole. I clamped it in a vise and used the hand drill and wood bit. By applying upward pressure on the top of the hole with the bit it forces the spade end to go in the other direction kinda wallowing out the hole in the direction you wanted it to go. I had the block of wood and the antler in the vise at an angle so I could apply more pressure if needed. Hope that explains it better. I kinda knew what Tim was telling me to do, cause I never have a problem drilling crooked holes, even with the press, lol!
Bob
