I'm obliged, Rick! In considering the work still to be done, I'm fretting a little bit about joining the gandar to the gambar. Like Alan has said, a butt joint on its own is a bad idea. I have considered the correct method kindly explained by Alan, but I'm wondering if I could get a nice solid attachment by drilling a few holes into the gandar, inserting some brass pins and glueing them into place with their ends protruding, and then marking them against the opposite face of the gambar, drilling holes to accept the pins. When the two pieces are brought together for epoxy glueing, the pins are themselves glued and slid into the holes. (The pins needn't be brass, they can be bambu too.)
I am of the opinion that this joint on any keris scabbard is its weakest point. Making the scabbard out of a single piece of wood would certainly make that spot stronger - I recall reading that this has been done; however, I don't recall ever seeing a scabbard without a join line at that point.
That said, my good wife is of the opinion that I sometimes don't recall all that well...
