jbswearingen
Member
I have one of Capn Eddie's bars. Now to make my first handle. I have the process down but don't know what size to drill the hole. 3/8"?
Help?
Help?
I have one of Capn Eddie's bars. Now to make my first handle. I have the process down but don't know what size to drill the hole. 3/8"?
Help?
For a 3/8" round bar, I would use a slightly larger bit - V if you have one, or 25/64 if you only have fractional bits.
Others have pointed out that the hole needs to be slightly oversized to allow for the epoxy. I would make one other suggestion - dril a 'breather hole' through the side of the blank into the hole near its bottom so that as you press the bar into the hole, there is a way for air behind the bar to escape. The diameter of the breather isn't important - I use a very small numbered bit for this. The hole will fill with epoxy (or whatever glue you use to hold the bar) so it won't interfere with the smoothness of the handle, but it will prevent compressing air in the hole behind the bar that will try to force the bar back out of the hole.
In a few instances, I've used a dremel to grind a mortise in the side of round bars to provide a path for compressed air behind the bar to escape. That works but it's much more work than simply drilling a small breather hole into the side of the recess in the handle.