Covered tang question

[mgarbell]

I picked up this Torrey as part of a lot that I recently acquired. The blade and scales are in pretty decent shape, just need new pins and a polish. However, the other side of the tang is missing the MOP covering.

I'm going to see what I can do to replace that side with something, but my question is what do I use to pin it? The holes are smaller than 1/16" and I can't find any rod smaller than that.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[mgarbell]

Ok, I did some more searching and I'm able to find smaller brass rods.

Looking for any advice doing the peening though, as the MOP is so thin. I really don't want to crack it.

[Fnord5]

What I did for mine, was drill the tang out.
Glen recently did one where he just epoxied the tang scales in place, with no pins or holes.

As for peening, don't, just secure them with some glue.

[mgarbell]

As I want to preserve the existing piece, since it has the stamping on it, should I just fill the holes on it. What would I use, epoxy?
Do they make while colored epoxy?

[kimfella]

The holes are smaller than 1/16" and I can't find any rod smaller than that.

I saw a hint the other day (haven't tried it myself yet): Drill the 'proper' size hole in a angle iron bracket, chuck your slightly oversize brass rod in your drill. 'Drill' the rod through the hole.

I don't recall any specs on how much you can take off in one pass, but I guess if the smallest rod you can get is TOO big, take it down in two or three passes. Presumably if you do this a lot you may wear out your angle iron, so start over with a new hole.

[Cedrck]

A jumbo size paperclip cut to length will work nicely.

[balaban9331]

if you're nervous about peining this small diameter,why don't you just crazy glue the pins in?then file them down.that way,if you glue all the parts together,the pins will just be there for looks but you don't have to worry about filling holes and the razor stays original as possible.

[mgarbell]

All great suggestions. Thanks for all the replies. Once I actually finish, I'll post back with pictures and what I ended up doing.

First thing, I need to get a new piece of MOP for the back side of the tang!

[GsSixgun]

Smaller diameter brass rod is available on the K&S metal displays in most Ace hardware stores....
If you cant find it let me know, I can....
Epoxy works well but you still need the pins in there... I used them for a mechanical lock inside, I did not drill through and peen them, with the newer epoxies it isn't necessary like it was back in the day...

You can "turn" brass rods down using a drill press and sandpaper too...

[Noswad]

McMaster Carr has brass rod as small as .020" in diameter. They are a bit more expensive than some places, but what is your time worth per hour of looking around?

Another company that is interesting to look at their website is Small Parts (nothing smaller than 1/16" in diameter for brass though).

[Noswad]

I just got looking at the picture of the covered tang and have a question.

Is the makers information on the steel and you are looking through the MOP? Or is it contained in the MOP?

Either way it looks pretty cool.

[mgarbell]

It's actually on the MOP. That's the main reason I want to try and keep it original. I'm a little scared of trying to shape a piece of MOP for the other side, since I've never worked with it before, and I assume it's fairly brittle. I'll probably sandwich it between some thin sheets of wood to shape it, unless anyone else has other suggestions.

[Noswad]

Matt,

I was thinking some about your shaping the MOP.

You might see if you can find any forums about making custom guitars or other wooden musical instruments. Some of the guitars out there have amazing inlay work in the necks.

Best of luck and post a picture when you are done, I am sure it will be great.