BC1 - HANDLE PINS & LANYARD HOLE

HANDLE PINS & LANYARD HOLE

Before I get to the cutting edge I will explain what I am doing for the brass handle pins. I wanted the lanyard hole to be about the same diameter as the handle pins, yet this hole has to accommodate 550 parachute cord which is typically 0.125 (1/8") in diameter.

An immediate solution is to precisely drill out a small piece of .25 brass rod to 0.187 (3/16"). With a little work from a tiny rat-tail file this should be ample room for a piece of para cord to slip through.



I drilled a hole just a shade under 0.25" into a wooden block and tapped a piece of brass rod in, about 1.25" into the hole. This, along with the drill press would keep the hole as vertical as possible. The bit size for boring out the brass was 0.1875". This seems to have worked better than I thought it would.


Showing brass round stock and drilled lanyard hole liner.
 






Double checking the diameter before committing to the holes.

After checking the stock with a caliper, I then drilled the holes in the knife stock. Recommended steps:
1 - Centre punch
2 - Drill pilot hole
3 - Drill to 0.25".

Set the drill press to the lowest speed and be sure to add a drop of oil to each hole before drilling.