I recognize that peidao as a mass produced pattern that was cranked out in large numbers at the end of the 19th cent., probably to arm hastily-recruited militias. They are quite common since many were brough back by foreign troops sent to quell the Boxer rebellion. Nothing about them indicates any sort of quality control, it seems that the components were made more or less to some sort of standard but without much care for fit and finish. When the saber was new, the pressure of the grip assembly kept the guard tight enough but as the wood shrank, the looseness was inevitable considering the oversized tang aperture.
One pattern of military saber of the 18th and early 19th cent., probably issued to the jianruiying or elite assault troops, had a solid brass guard peened to the blade via little spurs of metal raised from the tang's corners with a cold-chisel. The pommels and grips can be dismounted if necessary but those guards are on for good unless you get through the peening first.
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