[Scott H.]

Ok- I've managed to put together a wooden scabbard for my Baron. It was a perfect fit when I had it clamped, but after gluing it together my sword won't go all the way in. It's sticking out about an inch. It feels like the part that's getting stuck is near the tip of the sword. Is there ANY way to fix this or is my whole project defunct now?

As a side note- One really begins to appreciate the subtleties of the tapers of these swords when carving out the wood slats to match. Thick to thin, angles change, shapes appear and disappear. I was amazed.

Now back to the matter at hand... Can anyone please help?

Thanks in advance,
Scott

[Aaron Schnatterly]

[Scott H.]

Thank Aaron!

I think it's a combination of swelling and glue ooze. Before gluing the halves together I oiled the sword areas in the wood slats. Then, after gluing, and using the clamps, the center line on both sides of the scabbard were depressed inward slightly, making the whole thing concave. Which, as you mentioned, might be the insides actually swelling with the oil. As the day has progressed, that concavity is lessening somewhat, and I've gained about a half an inch insertion. But that might also be due to me jamming the sword in and out like a pogo stick for about fifteen minutes. It gets really stuck in the bottom though and is very hard to pull back out.

Any other suggestions out there? I'd hate to trash all that work with only a half an inch to go.

Thanks again,
Scott

[Aaron Schnatterly]

[Scott H.]

Again thanks, Aaron!

I haven't shaped the outside completely yet, so there's still hope. And I should've thought about distributing the pressure of the clamps... But for my first scabbard I gotta say I think it's come along quite well. Even if it doesn't fit my sword

Have a great day,
Scott

[Aaron Schnatterly]

You're welcome, Scott!

I hope this works out right for you. It has been my experience that these projects are frustrating, but worthwhile. I also found that with each subsequent one, time decreases, and ability increases. This curve is pretty sharp in the beginning, but levels to a more gradual refinement of skills over time.

I would suggest finishing the tapering, and keep playing with it until it either works or you are ready to give up. Worst case, the experience gained will help a lot towards a second (and successful) attempt.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Scott;

If you take a metal coat hanger or heavy wire and make a small sharpened hook at the tip of the straitened coat hanger you might be able to scrape out some of that excess glue that OOZED out and caused the blockage. If the problem is not to extreme, with a little patience and cursing this might work. Also good if something ever gets jammed at the bottom of any scabbard.

Also taping an abrasive cloth at the end of the wire might let you remove a little extra material from the inside walls ?
Just be carefull not to loose the abbrasive cloth by jamming it at the bottom of the scabbard.

Hope this helps.

[Aaron Schnatterly]

Those are some good tips, Jean. The sharpened hook/pick edge of the wire may work, kind of like a dental pick to scrape the crevises. My only concern is with the tight tolerance Scott used in carving out his core. If there isn't much space for anything but the thin blade edge, I'm not sure he'll be able to get even emory cloth into that sharp angled, tight space. If it were closer to the mouth...

Of course, I haven't seen the project piece, so he'll have to judge for himself if it will help or not.

[Chris Goerner]

If everything else has failed, and you are at the point of throwing the scabbard away, here is one last idea you might try. Get a thin piece of metal -- about the same size and shape as your blade would be best. Heat it up with a torch, and slide it into the scabbard. The metal needs to be hot enough to sear the wood without being so hot as to char it. Since there won't be much oxygen inside the scabbard, you shouldn't have to worry about the wood actually catching fire (at least that's the theory).

DISCLAIMER: I have never attempted this myself, and can't say what it will do to the glue you've used. I have heard of people saving similar projects (but not scabbards) in this manner, but due to the potential for completely ruining the piece, would attempt this myself only after every other option has been exhausted! Even then, you may want to experiment on a mock-up first.

Though I've never heard anyone mention it, I would suggest keeping an eye on how far in you press the metal bar. It stands to reason that if it will sear away a bit of the wood, you could potentially push it all the way through the tip of the scabbard if you aren't careful.

Good luck, and remember... stop, drop and roll!

[Aaron Schnatterly]

Not a bad last-ditch plan, Chris. Of course, the primary issue is on safety. I know that goes without saying, but it's what I do for a living. (yup - I work hard to be this lazy! )

Since only the business end would need to be heated, you could do a dry run, and place a few wraps of tape at the appropriate depth to stop at the mouth to prevent it from going too deep.

[Jonathon Janusz]

This one's cake. Take the Baron over to dat dar bench grinder and shave a half inch off'a that thar pointy end. . .

[diving for cover feeling way too punchy. . .]

[Sean Flynt]

Add that half-inch back at the throat as a separate piece? It'll be covered with leather and/or metal anyway, right? If the extra, unusable .5" you'll still have at the tip-end bothers you, just shorten and re-taper the outside of the scabbard at that end.

[Jared Smith]

If the sword is binding near the scabbard mouth, you can fix this by sliding the sword in and out with some sand paper on the flat surface of the sword. Trim the paper to match the sword profile, about 6" to 8" long along the blades' length. If you don't know where it is binding, use a non-permanent marker and rub ink over the surface of the blade. Insert the blade until it binds and withdraw. You can see where the interference is by the location where most of the ink rubs off of the blade. There is no good fix if the interference is far down the blade. You really need the scabbard to fit snug within the first few inches of the blade from the guard.

You should be able to sand as far in as about 8" from the guard. I recommend using self adhesive sandpaper, however, I have been able to gradually work non-adhesive sandpaper as far in as the length of the paper (close to 10"). If you are not careful, you will easely oversand and create a loose scabbard. You can compensate buy coating the sword with water thinned (about 3 parts water to one part glue) wood glue and inserting. Be sure to clean wood glue off the blade immediately, as there is really no good way to clean it off once it sets up!

The total interference you need is represented in thousandths of an inch. Use 120 to 180 grit sand paper!

[Scott H.]

Thanks guys!! A lot of great suggestions!! (Except for the one about taking off some of the blade )
I suppose I could just clip that end off in a paper cutter and use it a pocket knife

Anyway, I'll let you all know how it goes!

Thanks again,
Scott

[Jonathon Janusz]

Seriously, though, best of luck. Another good trick I learned somewhere is if you have a bandsaw (or can get access to bandsaw parts), take two or three cut lengths of blade, sandwich them together by some means (epoxy/glue/solder/etc.), and you've got yourself one of the world's longest, thinnest, edge-on files. Coarser the blade, coarser the cut of the "file".