Acraglas users

J

Justin Presson

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Dec 4, 2013
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Getting ready to epoxy my first knife with acraglas and wanted to know any tips and how much to mix up? The knife is a full tang with about a 4" handle about 1.25" wide. it's 4 to 1 ratio and it's best to use syringes for measuring right?
Thanks
JP
 
It is important you get the mix exactly right and mix well for 4 minutes taking care to get all the nooks and crannies of your mixing container and rub the sides of your screwdriver (or whatever you mix with) against the side of the container.

I would mix 8 grams of epoxy with 2.1 grams of hardener (.263 ratio by weight) on your precision heroin scale for ten grams for a single glue up.

Syringes work too, 4 units epoxy to one unit of hardener. I use a scale, I think it's less messy.

You have plenty of time so take a moment to apply a film on the tang and rub it in and do the scale the same way too, then flip it over and do the other side.

It's thin and it sets slow so it is possible to squeeze all the glue out of the joint if you clamp with too much pressure, so don't over do that. I hollow out the back of the scale a little bit as a hedge.
 
Short answer, Yes. With practice will learn how much to mix up for a full tang/ hidden tang. Better to have too much than not enough. Don't try to use more hardener. It will not work.
Nathan is spot on with his advice.


Good luck and please post pics after your finished.

Bing
 
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Don't mix it in a solo cup(the red ones you get at a keg party), they melt. They also melt with acetone too... yes, I know from experience!
 
I use little plastic cups that I buy at a restaurant supply company, the kind they use to put single servings of salad dressing or dipping sauces in.

As Nathan pointed out you want a 4 to 1 ratio of resin to hardener. I don't use anywhere near as much as Nathan recommends. I mix up MUCH smaller batches, and use MUCH less precise measurements. I abhor waste. Anyway, as Nathan said, do as the instructions indicate and really DO mix it seriously (scraping all sides of the mixing container frequently) for four solid minutes. You will see a visible difference in the mix as you do so.

Apply it carefully. Do not overclamp the scales, squeezing out all the glue. Just tight enough to hold thing in place. If you have to clamp really tight to flatten out uneven spots, you are NOT ready for glue up. Get back to the files or sanders to get things to fit perfectly before you glue them.
 
Thanks guys I'm using corby bolts and from what I can gather just snug them up and I don't want to over tighten them. I think I will dimple the scales to like Nathan said.
 
You probably already know this, but I'll point it out anyway. You want to finish the front of your scales done before glue up. Otherwise you can't really get to them later.

I come back about 15 minutes after glue up and wipe any goo that has oozed out onto the blade and the front of the scales. It's much easier to get sooner than later. I wipe with a paper towel, then with a paper towel with a bit of acetone in it. It's a lot easier to keep the steel clean than it is to clean it up later.

Some blue tape on the blade prevents sticky finger prints later. Just don't get the tape too close to the scales or epoxy will wick under.
 
Quick question.... I have some acraglas on the shelf and my mentee is getting ready to glue up some scales
(he's working on a senior project and I've been guiding him along). The resin has turned into a waxy white solid. It's been a while, but if I recall the last time this happened to me I simply warmed up the resin bottle in a pan of water. Does that sound correct?

As to measuring, I always used syringes and washed them out really well afterwards. Use a different syringe for the epoxy and hardener and mark them for future reference. I bought a bunch of slim flat wooden stir sticks like you might use for your coffee, and they work great for mixing and application.

--nathan
 
Please ignore my post, was ignorant of the liquid mixing volumes:shame:
 
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silver_pilate said:
Quick question.... I have some acraglas on the shelf and my mentee is getting ready to glue up some scales
(he's working on a senior project and I've been guiding him along). The resin has turned into a waxy white solid. It's been a while, but if I recall the last time this happened to me I simply warmed up the resin bottle in a pan of water. Does that sound correct?
--nathan
Click to expand...

Yeah, that should work great.

Cashen once told me to stick it in the microwave for a few seconds. Sounds a little crazy but it works, so that's what I do.
 
jtwodogs said:
I must be missing something I have used acraglas from Brownels for years. It has always been a 1:1 ratio????
Click to expand...

Not 1:1... not even close. Read the directions. If you get anything more than 3:1 it get very hot very fast and becomes a fast setting epoxy.
 
Nathan B- mine does that when it's really cold in the shop. When that happens, I mix it in a ss condiment cup, and hit it a couple times with the heat gun. Don't COOK it... just hit it a couple times with the gun on low.

I've actually started doing that every time anyway, as it makes the Acraglas set-up faster. I am not smart enough to explain the chemistry behind it, but instead of being rock hard/fully set in ~24 hours, it's there in ~12-14 hours.


Nathan C gave some great advice. I set a little kitchen timer for 4 minutes when I'm mixing it. If I went by the "I'm bored with stirring this" unit of measure, I'd only stir it for about 1 minute. Keep in mind, those 4 minutes that you're trying to THOROUGHLY mix the resin and hardener, are the only time that crap is getting mixed!!!! So you have a short little job to do, to make sure it's done RIGHT.


As Bruce B mentioned--- too much hardener is bad. It won't speed things up... it will just impede the process, and won't cure out properly.
 
I seem to remember the microwave comments, but I've got the bedding kits with the metal screw-top tins of epoxy and resin. My wife probably wouldn't be too happy if I created plasma arcs in the new microwave. Thanks, Nathan and Nick. Ill give the heat gun tip a shot. Less mess and it's already in metal tins.

--nathan
 
jtwodogs said:
I must be missing something I have used acraglas from Brownels for years. It has always been a 1:1 ratio????
Click to expand...

The acraglas kit I have also says 1:1. The one I glued up with it hasn't shown any inclination to separate.

OT
 
Don't forget surface preparation.......clean surfaces are key...!
 
I don't remember the ratio but the Acraglas + glass fibers I bedded my rifles in gunsmithing school are still in perfect condition after 40 years !
The epoxy reaction is exothermal [gives off heat ] .So if you start by warming it it will set faster.Ain't science wonderfull !!
Acraglas is still one of the best both for shelf life and use life.

Are you sure that the 1:1 isn't the glass to resin ratio ?? Putting on a handle you wouldn't normally use the glass.
 
tryppyr said:
Not 1:1... not even close. Read the directions. If you get anything more than 3:1 it get very hot very fast and becomes a fast setting epoxy.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I have probably done 100 glass bedding jobs for indiviuals have gone through probably 20 kits, moved onto the family sized containers. Re-read instruction 1:1

Excerpt from directions;
MIXING YOUR ACRAGLAS GEL
ACRAGLAS GEL doesn’t have to be mixed all at one
time. The mixing ratio is 1-to-1 by volume. Do Not
weigh the resin and hardener for mixing, you’ll get the
wrong ratio.
 
I believe that Acraglas and Acraglas gel must have different mixing ratios. The regular Acraglas that I used to use was a 4:1 ratio. Maybe the Gel stuff is different. I use G-flex now and it is 1:1. Makes calculating so much easier.
 
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