latest addiction

[jdale]

I've been spending a lot of time in front of the TV with wire and epoxy.





The only issue I am having is that no matter how slow I turn down the sander the epoxy slightly melts and recesses into the tube. The melting really makes the different wire stand out, but i go through the work to color the epoxy i really want to see it. Any suggestions on how i should sand the pin after i epoxy it in the handle.

[Doug Lester]

I'm sorry that I can't give you any suggestions to solve your problem but DANG, you do good work.

Doug

[Eli Jensen]

sand it by hand?

[BCROB]

wow , looks great !

[Rog]

How do you color the epoxy? Nice looking stuff!

[Ed Caffrey]

The biggest part of your problem with the epoxy melting is the type of epoxy you're using. I am guessing it's currently a typical 2-part epoxy?

If you'r having the issue just finishing off the ends, it will be worse when they are in a knife handle. You might want to look for a "better" epoxy.....something like Acraglass or West Systems marine.

[jdale]

Originally Posted by Rog

How do you color the epoxy? Nice looking stuff!

Some of them are colored using fingernail polish, but it doesn't blend well. The rest are colored using normal acrylic paint, or a special acrylic paint used for painting medal miniatures

I will look into buying some Acraglass, but using only 3 pieces of pin to finish 11 knives last night im not sure if i will ever need to make any more. But im sure ill want more and just keep growing the collection.

Thanks for all the compliments everyone.

[jdale]

How viscus is the Acraglass, and now long does it take to set? I fill the tubes by creating a vacuum, and if its too thick it will not work with my method.

[Ed Caffrey]

One of the reasons I like acraglass is it's thin viscosity......I make a lot of hidden tang knives, and it "flows" better than most.

[TexasJack]

Epoxy and wood (or similar materials) around metal will essentially act as insulation. The heat builds up in the metal and has no place to go until the epoxy starts to melt. Eli Jensen's suggestion to sand by hand is a good one and I might even go one better and suggest you "wet" sand to give a means to disperse the heat. I put that in quotes because - depending on the material in your scales - you might not want to use water. I often use Danish wood oil (or something similar) on handles and will do my final sanding while it's wet with the finish oil.

BTW, that's an awesome stack of pins!

[reefera4m]

Loctite Hysol (try Fastenal) resists heat as well as Acraglass and you can get it in 50ml twin syringes. Also equal to Acraglass in holding power, is chemical and solvent resistent and dishwasher safe!

You might also try a file for the intial work.

[jdale]

There is a Fastenal store within walking distance of my house, but the price they want for the hysol is almost 2x what acraglas goes for. Honestly now I don't know if I even need it. I have made 16 knives with my pins and i haven't had a single issue. Once the pin is epoxied into the handle it looks like the wood disperses heat well enough not to melt the pin.

[xspook2158]

Those are some AWESOME looking pins!

Can I ask a couple of questions?

Did you insert the rods in the tube before applying the epoxy?

You also mentioned creating a vacuum, how did you acheive this?

Thats some really nice work.

Jeff

[jdale]

The wires are put into the tube before the epoxy is drawn into it. I didn't like how everyone else was making them in the tutorials I watched so I came up with my method of using a hand pump for bleeding brakes. I had to go through some trials to figure out what worked and didn't but I'm able to use the more inexpensive more viscus epoxies. I should try to make a tutorial about it

[xspook2158]

I think a tutorial would be a good idea it could be a lot of help, for people that have never made their own pins before.

Again those are some good looking pins. Thanks for sharing and answering my questions.

Jeff