How do you drill for a hidden tang?

G

glarmore

Member
The title tells it all. I have been primarily making full tang knives. I am currently making a large (11" blade) hidden tang bowie. My first attempt to drill lengthwise through the handle material resulted in scrapping a pretty nice piece of curly bubinga.

I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction as to how they do this.:confused:

Thanks,

Glen
 
If you can bore the block with a drill press (in a drill press vise) while it is still over-size and square this is probably the easiest way, although if you have a bench model you will not be able to drill the full depth in one shot.
I usually just mark center lines lengthwise on the block, put it in the vise, and use an extra-long drill bit so that I have decent visual references to align the hole by eye. If the block is a bit over-size I can usually get the hole straight enough this way. You can also try drilling from both ends, but I find this to usually be more trouble than just drilling straight to begin with.
 
I'm about to do my first hidden tang I had a nice piece of stag handle but I think I will do wood the first time
 
A.W., I'll go so far as to suggest making a practice handle out of scrap before even using good wood, let alone stag. The little things that can go wrong are easier to see than they are to explain.

Justin is right, do your drilling first, when your block is nice and square. This also leaves room in case you drill a little crooked or off-center.

What if you don't have long drill bits, OR don't want to try drilling from both ends? Select pieces of wood no longer than your bit and stack them up, with a spacer between them. You can cut the same block to the appropriate lengths, or use two or more different woods. It looks "custom", baby! :)
 
Thanks for the tips. Cutting it in half allowed me to drill all the way through on my press. I then used a file to connect the holes. Now I have a multi part handle with an osage center. Now I just have to make the end cap.

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Thanks,

Glen
 

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Mark the tang on the side of your block and put it in a drillvice, adjust so the lines are square to the vise and drill one side. My tangs are tapered so I have to adjust for the other side ( top or bottom ). Turn it over so you can drill from the back end of the handle. Connect the holes with a sawsall blade and files. You need a drillpress for this.

I hope it makes sense.
 
glarmore said:
Thanks for the tips. Cutting it in half allowed me to drill all the way through on my press. I then used a file to connect the holes. Now I have a multi part handle with an osage center. Now I just have to make the end cap.

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2thumbs

Thanks,

Glen
Click to expand...

That going to look very nice.

Seved
 
It ain't rocket science. For a straight centered hole, mark center each end of the grip, then use a drill center, drill from each end. To make a simple drill center, drill a hole through your drill table of the size you decide you want. Using two nuts and a section of all thread with one end turned to a point, mount it in the hole. Set your drill bit center on the point and lock it down. Put the center of one end of the grip on the point and drill the center of the other end short of passage. Flip it over, and repeat. Centered hole. I used 1/4" all thread. You might want larger, or drill under size then open up to what you want. With antler, you just drill a starter hole, then open up to fit, hopeing and trying to not drill out the side. Epoxy fills any void inside.
 
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