Tips for knuckle relocation

[Thomas Cole]

I think that moving the knuckles is easier and cheaper than pulling 
hammers and hanging them on new shanks.

You'll need to make the jig for the first job, of course: a sled that 
rides in the miter gauge slots of your table saw, with a suitable 
arrangement on top to hold the shanks, an adjuster to locate the shank 
at the right point to cut the new slot, and some way to quick clamp each 
shank securely while being cut.

I remove the old knuckles, flanges removed, by freehanding them through 
the band saw, leaving the old core flush with the shank. For cutting the 
new slots to fit the new knuckles, the table saw blade needs to be the 
right width. I use a plastic cutting blade which happens to be perfect 
for Tokiwa knuckles, but most likely you'll have to narrow down a blade 
by holding a stone up to the side of the running blade to adjust the 
kerf. I find that knuckle cores vary in thickness slightly so you may 
want to leave a tiny bit of slop for variances.

The beauty of moving knuckles is that you can put them at the distance 
you want and not only what the shank makers offer, it's easy to do (once 
you have the jig), and it's a great fix for an action which has new 
parts but the action ratio is not right (previous techs fault :-)

Right after I built my knuckle relocator system, I attended a PTG 
meeting where another tech had done the same thing, only it was a better 
system! He said he was going to make them for sale if anyone wanted one 
so I cautiously recommend him (he's a busy guy these days). Contact info:
   
    Roland Kaplan
    rkaplan at speakeasy.net

Tom Cole  


Jon Page wrote:

> I've dodged the bullet so far but there is an upcoming job in which the
> owner wants to keep the hammers from a previous rebuild (old shanks).
>
> I'm speculating that moving the knuckle from 15.5 to either 16 or 17 mm
> will accomplish desired touch weigh results.
>
> Are there plans for a jig or a floating-loaner jig for such a task?
>
> I haven't  even determined if I have a saw blade of the appropriate 
> width.
> Feedback on what I'm in for is appreciated.