Help securing my blade

[TannerFrey]

i'm working on my first saber and i still need a way to secure my blade because i plan to do some dueling with it. the problem is that the blade holder that i have is MHS style 9. if you don't know off the top of your head, it's tapered. that's the only problem. Do you guys have any tips on drilling and tapping on angled surfaces? the trick is that i want the screws to be perpendicular to the blade. any help is appreciated!

as a side note, if a padawan learner were to seek out a jedi master for help, would the master simply say "read the archives" instead of helping the padawan? Of course not!

[$tarkiller]

First off, welcome to the forums. Unfortunately, I have never worked with that BH before, so I'm not too sure. Assuming you don't have a drill press or access to one, you might have some trouble drilling the hole yourself. but I would say just keep the screw a little longer than you would if you were using a straight BH, so that way, your screw ill be straight when you screw it in. And that's assuming you bought a thumbscrew. Btw, I can ell you to read all I want. I'm not a Jedi Master. ;) but we need to know what kind of screw you have and yes, do some more reading. As I say to every n00b, read until your eyes hurt.

[Jedi-Loreen]

What type of drill will you be using? Hand drill or drill press? You'll need to put it in some kind of vice to hold it at an angle so you can get the hole perpendicular.

If using a bench vice and a hand drill, put a rag between the jaws of the vice and the blade holder to protect it.

I have blade holder #10, and it's tapered the same way as #9, it just has the cut outs.

I used a friend's drill press. He didn't have a vice for it, but a piece of wood with a V shape cut into it. I used some craft sticks (like narrow tongue depressors) to prop the blade end up a bit so the drill bit would be perpendicular. Then I used masking tape to tape the blade holder down so it wouldn't move, once I had it turned with the place I wanted the hole to go facing up.

Crude, I know, but it worked. :p

[Shadar Al'Niende]

as a side note, if a padawan learner were to seek out a jedi master for help, would the master simply say "read the archives" instead of helping the padawan? Of course not!

People around here are more than willing to help, they just want to know you aren't just waltzing in here with an entitled attitude and asking to be handed all the answers when 5 minutes of searching could find the answer on your own. They get sick of answering the same question 50 Gaziliion times because people are lazy ;)

As long as you show that you have made some effort, the community will meet you halfway! :D Enjoy your Saber, can't wait to see pictures of it as I have never used that BH!

[infa008]

here is the real solution for ya.

you are trying to drill and tap on the angled surface but stay perpendicular to the blade correct?

If all you have is a hand drill your best bet is to use a centerdrill(combination drill countersink) to start your hole but it has to be smaller than the tap drill size. This helps to avoid walking the drill. If all you have is drills then start with a smaller drill as a pilot.

Start drilling perpendicular to the angle untill the head of the drill is just below the surface using light pressure.

Slowly turn the drill up, perpendicular to the blade while still drilling lightly, then continue to drill through perpendicular to the blade with more pressure until you break through.

Then do the same with your next bigger drill( tap drill size). the drill should follow the smaller pilot hole.

then just tap it perpendicular to the blade.

if you have a drill press with a vise then you could use an end mill first to create a flat bottom just below the surface. Then center drill on that flat and then drill and tap through.

any other machining questions just PM me. I've been cutting metal for almost 2 decades.

[TannerFrey]

Loreen, Could you post some pics or a link showing what you're talking about with the v shaped wood?

please and thank you!

[Lord Dottore Matto]

infa008 just explained it perfectly. Start the hole with a smaller bit (1mm deep) then reposition the bit perpendicular to the blade and drill through. Next, drill the hole out with the correct sized bit prior to tapping. Aluminum is soft, so you can also manipulate the hole and how the threads are positioned by subtle force on your tap. just make sure that you screw the tap into the hole at the angle you want your set screw to go and you are there.;)

[TannerFrey]

i know, but i'm not confident i would be able to do what infa008 suggests w/o messing up the blade holder. better safe than sorry i suppose. :)

[infa008]

if you start with a center drill(combination drill countersink), you will have much more control as the center drill only protrudes from the drill chuck about 1/2" rather than 2-3" length of a standard drill. Also clamp the holder down very securely so you can get two hands on the drill giving you more control also. If you do not have a vise you can use a wood clamp to clamp the saber to a table. Just wrap it in a towel thickly so it doesn't roll out on you. After you clamp it give it a couple tugs to make sure it's secure. Also by starting with a smaller drill, if you bugger up a little bit but get most of the hole good, then the larger drill will clean up as it follows through.

make sure to hold the drill firmly and push the drill through firmly also. You don't want the drill to be just touching and bouncing around. give it a gentle push right on through.

the starter hole helps tremendously with keeping the drill in place and not letting it walk off to the side.

remember to use the "tap drill size" for the tap you are using. A 1/4-20 screw is drilled with a #7 drill(.201"), not a 1/4"(.250") drill.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

I prefer to use center drill bits to start the hole and then use the correct size bit to drill the rest of the way through. The best thing to do is get a vice to hold it at the angle you want the hole to be.

[TannerFrey]

lol, my bad on this, but i just realized that if i put the BH in a clamp and take the drill press to it, the screws will be perpendicular to the blade.
i feel like a noob :P

[DJMoonbass]

hey just remeber. DONT BE LIKE ME!