Removing bolster help!

[terdl76]

Anyone know the best way to remove the rear bolsters here? I'm not planning on reusing them. I'm sure I need to locate the pins, drill out and remove but, are the bolsters soldered on. If so, can I take my torch to it, heat and remove?

[glennbad]

Are you taking the whole knife apart? If so, that makes life alot easier. Those bolsters are usually pinned from the inside liner side. I drill them out and then twist them off. They do not come off easy any other way that I know of.

Glenn

[Elvis]

Case bolsters are actually spot welded on at the factory. Much tougher to remove than ones just soldered on or pinned and heat alone won't do it. Am I correct in that you plan to rehandle the knife and turn it into a bare headed model? If that's the case, remove the center pin and slide in a thin, but sturdy blade to pry off the delrin. From there you can grind those bolsters until they are near paper thin and pry them off from there. A little work with a smooth flat file will remove anything sticking up too high that will interfere with the new handles.

[terdl76]

Yes, I plan on taking it apart. Ultimately I'd like to make it a single blade, back pocket style, knife. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. Thanks for the input guys!

[Elvis]

Best of luck on the project. Turning Case Trappers into single bladed knives is a favorite project of mine, but I've never thought of making one bare-headed. Since I have a yellow handled CV just waiting on me to do something to it, I may follow your lead and do the same to this one. How about we agree to show our finished knives when we're done? I'll probably be using amber jigged bone on mine. I'm not sure about a lanyard hole though. Drilling through those hardened backsprings is really tough on drill bits. Whether we show them off or not, I wish you sucess with yours.

[terdl76]

Agreed Elvis! Turns out the bolsters on mine were only pinned on. After knocking the nickle pin through I slightly drilled the brass pin from the inside and gave a little twist. Yeah, don't think I'll bother with a lanyard hole either. Maybe I'll find time this weekend to get a little more done.

[Elvis]

In that case, my apologies to Glenn. On my last factory tour when they had things up and running, there was clearly a spot welding machine attaching bolsters to the liners. That's what I based my answer on. Probably a good idea on the lanyard hole. The heat treating they do on the backsprings make them harder than woodpecker lips and they'll eat up a good drill bit even if you have a good drillpress and use lots of oil. I haven't got around to taking the bolsters off of mine yet, but I'll report back and let you know what I find. Looking good so far. Keep the update pictures coming! Is that some of the handle material you plan to use in the picture?

A little edit here: Was there actually a pin in there? It looks like it could have been a light spot weld since I only see one hole in that end. Just wondering.

[terdl76]

The more I look at it, it almost looks like they put a tiny pin in and maybe spot welded from the back side, I think? Soooo.... Your both right? Wrong? We all win . Yeah, I was gonna use it but it wasn't stabilized and snapped first stroke of the hacksaw. I'm gonna have to wait till I order something. I'm thinking jigged or smooth white bone.

[Elvis]

I'm pretty sure that is a spot weld. Having done the factory tours in 2008 and '10 (I opted out in 2012) and seeing the spot weld taking place, I wouldn't think your knife would be any different. However, Glenn is correct about most other brands out there. At this point it really doesn't matter since you've had success in removing the bolsters. Looks like I've got some catching up to do.

[glennbad]

I'm pretty sure that is a spot weld. Having done the factory tours in 2008 and '10 (I opted out in 2012) and seeing the spot weld taking place, I wouldn't think your knife would be any different. However, Glenn is correct about most other brands out there. At this point it really doesn't matter since you've had success in removing the bolsters. Looks like I've got some catching up to do.

No apologies are necessary, Bob. I was taking a wild stab based on what I have seen (which ain't a whole lot, mind you...)

I'm just glad it was an easy removal.

[Elvis]

Actually Glenn, your answer is probably correct on most knives ever made. After what I did to the trapper today, I'm convinced that they are still spot welded on Case knives though. The first picture shows the liner laying flat against my cutler's anvil with the bolster being pressed towards the anvil. A light twist to one side broke the weld loose right away. After a couple of seconds against a scotchbright wheel attached to my buffer, all signs of the spot weld were gone from the brass. From there I glued and pinned some amber Roger's jigged bone scales on the liners and ground them to fit. If you look closely at the tang of the clip blade, you'll also notice I've ground it for a half-stop.

I'm in no way trying to turn this into some kind of contest because this knife is being done for a charity auction that will be held at the Case Collector's Reunion next July at the Case Factory in Bradford, PA, so there will be some filework involved too. So I'd just like to thank terdl76 for the idea of a bare headed trapper that I hope someone attending the auction will see fit to buy to help out the Children's Cancer Fund it will be going towards.

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[wildcat]

bearhead single blade is gonna be sweet cant wait to see the finished pics. now i wanna do one

[terdl76]

Beautiful start Elvis. I'd like to think of this as sharing ideas, no contest. If it weren't for AAPK I wouldn't be enjoying this great and self satisfying hobby anyway. It may be a while for me, still waiting for scale material. Best of luck and I look forward to your progress.

[Elvis]

I appreciate the inspiration.

[glennbad]

Looking great already!

[terdl76]

So I'm going with Bacote because I'm impatient and that's what I had laying around. I'm getting a bit frustrated with this one. After peening the pivot pin the blade had a good bit of wobble. So I peened more. The blade is way to tight. Start again, same thing. The only way the blade will snap open and shut, is to have wobble. I marked the springs to be sure I used the same one that was paired up with its original blade. The tang of the blade rubs terribly. Any ideas? Frustrating!

[Elvis]

The Bocote is a beautiful choice. Try lightly sanding and polishing the inside of the liners, especially the area there the tang swings around it, then cut a notch in a feeler gauge (to fit around the pin) using one that is around .007" or maybe .008" placed in between the blade and one side of the liner and leave it there while peening. Don't be surprised if you need some needlenose to pull it out afterwards. A good buffing of the blade tang itself might help the situation also.

I finished mine today. Let me grab my camera and I'll show you the end result.

[terdl76]

Great tips! You'll have to excuse me, this is all still pretty new for me. I've done some lite mods before but nothing to this extent. Hurry with the camera already!

[Elvis]

I did. Please don't be discouraged. I've been doing this sort of thing for a number of years now, so don't expect to get the hang of it overnight. It took me a lot of knives and LOTS of mistakes to get to where I'm at today. I'm glad to answer any questions you have and offer any tips I can. You can also PM me if you like. By the way, both backsprings are the same on these knives, so either one should be fine.

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Again, this one is amber Rogers jigged bone with matching filework on the inside of the backspring, but that picture didn't turn out well enough to see it, so I left that picture out. Looking at the filework in a picture has made me wonder if I shouldn't disassemble it and add a few more lines to the filework. Also, this one was done for a charity auction next July at the Case Collector's Reunion. Don't give up! I think you're off to a great start.

[terdl76]

Great knife, great cause. I hope you make a fortune!

[Elvis]

I won't make a penny, but I'm hoping the children cancer fund will.

[wildcat]

You both did agreat job!

[Elvis]

Thanks Wildcat. Another trick I've picked up over the years is when you have it working properly, but still feel a bit of rubbing in there that you don't like is to use a light abrasive (like auto polishing compound) placed with a toothpick into the tang area and work the blade back and forth (open and closed) a few times. Most often, this will do away with those little "bumps" you feel during the opening and closing process. Just be sure to wash it all out with a light oil and lots of air pressure followed by some rubbing alcohol and more air pressure. By then, she's ready for that final drop of oil and some pocket time.
(With the wood handles, I think I'd tape them off really good with something the liquids couldn't penetrate.)

[terdl76]

Anyone know offhand what size the nickel bolster pin is? I was lucky enough to reuse the original but had to take it apart a few times. And if anyone has a spare piece, I'd gladly pay you to avoid the $10 shipping fee through Jantz. Also have a few Case shields I'd part with, if interested in trade.

[Elvis]

I'm pretty sure I can help you out with the pin problem. I'm tied up tomorrow morning, but when I get to my shop tomorrow I'll see what I can find and send you a PM. I could probably find a use for the 2 shields in the traditional pattern too. I've found out that they can ship in a normal envelope if taped to an index card, so nothing more than an extra stamp would be needed.