Thread: Another finished restoration

Originally Posted by Bruno

2) I only tighten the butt pin completely once the blade has been pinned because that way I have a bit of leeway for centering the blade.

How do you adjust blade centering? Do you use more spacers on one side than the other.

Originally Posted by Kyle76

How do you adjust blade centering? Do you use more spacers on one side than the other.

Nono.
It is actually very easy to center a blade by tapping the butt pin. When I get home tonight I will post a picture of how I do it.
Not that it is so incredibly difficult, but I don't think I can make myself clear in a couple of words, and a picture says it all.

Thanks, Bruno. I'll be on the lookout for your reply.

My wife already packed the camera so I had to use paint to make a schematic.
Actually this schematic is even better because you immediately see what's happening.

For this to work you have to make sure that the pinholes are properly aligned to start with. If you look at the picture you can see that the pins will work as levers. Depending on where you tap, they will force the whole assembly one way or the other.

I always pin the butt first, but don't tighten the pin completely. Just enough to keep everything together and the spacer into place.
Then I pin the blade with the blade folded shut at first in order to get as close to the ideal position as possible.
If the shape of the blade / scales is so that it comes a bit loose when opened, I tighten the pin with the blade open.

Finally I tighten the butt pin, checking every dozen taps if the blade is still centered.

From the schematic you can conclude that you can also correct the blade center by tapping the pivot pin, but the problem is that you also risk tightening the pin too much so that opening the blade becomes difficult.

The butt pin does not have this problem so you tap it without having that problem. Of course you have to take care that the scales don't crack, or the wedge it it is fragile.