At this stage I like to glue the joining rod into the handle, whcih allows me to have an indication as to where the shank will join the head and also to have something to use to hold the head in the vice whilst I am working on it. I use a two part epoxy resin quick setting glue and I drill the holes in both the head and the shank just slightly oversize so that the glue does not cause a piston effect and stop the rod being inserted fully into the drilled holes. I have seen a shank split with the pressure of trying to force the rod into the hole. Grooves or any other method can be used to overcome the problem, depending on what one is used to.
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One can just see the hole that has been drilled into the end of the horn together will the length of rod that I will be gluing in. I always cut the rod oversize to allow plenty of material to hold in the vice. |
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Before gluing the rod in, ensure that the face of the end of the horn is flat. This is easy to do when one can file right across the surface but difficult when the rod has been fixed. Also remove any surplus glue before it sets, otherwise it is difficult to make a good marriage between the head and the shank. |
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Choosing the right size of shank is made at this point. It must be thick enough to support the head and thin enough to allow the join without having to remove any bark from the shank. Obviously if one is using a debarked shank this is not so critical. |
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When making this stick I knew I was going to insert a lapel pin under the mouth of the fish so I cut off the surplus horn. Normally if it is good quality horn I like to utilise it to carve something appropriate, but for a first stick I recommend the it is removed so that one can establish a line for the shank and the position of the chin of the fish. |
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This is the first meeting of the shank and the head. One can see the gap at the front of the joint but it is easy to eliminate by drawing a parallel line on the shank that mirrors the bottom of the head. One can also see that the horn, on the shank part of the head needs to be removed from the top on the inside and the bottom on the back. |
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A better joint has been made and the adjustments made by removing horn from the head. If one draws around the top of the shank onto the base of the head then one has a guideline when filing the head and the shank is kept away and not damaged. Always leave a small amount of horn to be removed when the shank and head are glued together. |
