[Josh MacNeil]

Hey guys. So I'm in the middle of re-doing my MRL Two Handed Falchion, which consists of a complete tear down, new grip and permanent assembly. My plan is to do it the "Albion Way" with the cross and pommel wedged into place and the handle put on last. The tang is tapered like historical pieces so wedging the pommel in place will be no problem. But I'm having issues with getting the cross on there. The shoulders were the typical right angle Windlass deal, so I've been doing some necessary reshaping. The issue I'm running into is getting the shoulders the right shape to get the cross to sit on them snugly. I keep getting a side to side wobble, edge-wise. Does anyone have any tips to getting the right radius to get a snug fit?

- JM

P.S. I can post pictures if that will help, but it will have to wait at l;east until tomorrow. Thanks in advance!

[Scott Woodruff]

I would suggest that instead of trying to get a precision fit as is done in a modern machine shop like Albion's, you might try doing it the medieval way. This could include using wooden, iron/steel or brass wedges. If the fit isn't too bad and the metal of the cross isn't too hard you could try peening the cross the way Albion does it. Basically this involves hammering the material immediately around the slot to spread it and make the slot tighter. If you can not reach it with the hammer peen you could use a punch. I don't know if I described it very well, but there is a video at Albions site that will show you what I mean.

[Nathaniel C.]

I've done a couple of complete rebuilds on windless swords. I think the original fit between the guard and blade make it virtually impossible to get an Albion like fit. The guard slots on all the windless swords I've had were far too wide and the blades too this. You can make the blade fit tight laterally but it will never fill the the whole slot.
What I've done in the past was to wedge the guard as best I could and then fill in the rest with J.B. weld or something similar. Just make sure to do a clean job so it's not too visible. I also used epoxy to mount the grip.
I've don this twice and once I threaded the pommel back on with epoxy and the other time I peened it. Both worked quite well and were extremely solid hilt assemblies.
If you do the grip last then you can pour epoxy into any gaps left in the guard slot or the pommel cavity from the tang so it won't show once the grip is in place.
I can send you photos of mine if your interested but i'm not sure that it will mean much without being able to hold it.

-Nathaniel

[Josh MacNeil]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I figured as much, but I though I'd double check to get some ideas before I committed to anything. I've got some copper sheeting laying around that would serve quite nicely for wedges. And of course the all mighty JB Weld is always a bonus. I may toss the guard into the fire tonight to soften it up a bit before I proceed. I've noticed that Windlass seems to make their guards from harder stock than their pommels for some reason. The pommels seem to be more susceptible to corrosion than the guards too. Probably due to the difference in hardness.