any suggestions for testing epoxy?

Tracy,

This is cool we're running similar tests. (I'll use the freezer, you leave yours on the porch :) ).

I'm not gonna worry too much about how much strength, myself. My goal is finding one that holds up to the environment.

I have a single bar of ats-34 with a couple of holes at one end. I was going to put all the samples on one bar. For the "is it still working test" I planned on mounting that at the end of a 8' peice of lumber. Then letting it pivot on a hinge and smack the ground or something. I don't want the sample to smack - Just looking for a jarring effect. I plan on doing that between each 'environment' chamber test.

(Thanks for the freezer idea. Knife left in winter cold, then tossed on the dashboard to thaw. That's the life of a knife alright.)

My thought is if the glue withstands impact at first, but can't later then it must have broken down.

Again, Tracy, if we are running similar tests with similar stuff (but not exact) and one type holds up for us both .... well it would say a lot to me.

Fitzo, I'll take you up on the offer of a little West Systems if you can.

Chuck, some rubberized super glue would be good to try out. Maybe I have to order some more titanium anyway.

Steve
 
I've used West Systems and I know it to be good stuff. Steve you can test Mike's. I just didn't like the pump system it used since it wastes so much. I know I could have measured manually but not when there is the Devcon 2 tube squirt and mix stuff around.

I've never even heard of rubberized super glue. Where do I get some of these fleixible epoxies at and I'll start picking up a few?
 
Throw them!
Go in the back yard and start throwing into a tree or whatever . If your not a knifethrower find one to give them a workout.

This is something I tried on a slab handled fighter I made. Stuck it consistantly for about half an hour along with quite a few misses and full force handle hits.
No real ill effects except the wooden handle chipped some.
Finally after my arm tired out I started hitting the block fence out back and it let loose after the handle had cracked to the blade.
Gave me total confidence in the "Bonding Agent" never call it glue:D

BTW I use K&Gs 24hr cure epoxy
 
Steve, I will get some West Systems in the mail to you in the next day or so. I have some little packets of the stuff in premeasured tubes. I never graduated up to the pump cans.

Alpha sells the black rubberized cyanoacrylate, Tracy.
 
This is a great idea and will go a long way to improve the products we make. I was just thinking about the testing procedures. From reading your posts in the past I think you probably have already thought of these things but I can't stop my self from suggesting them. If all of the pieces were prepared in two ways, one very clean and the other with less cleaning, we might find that one epoxy is better than the rest if put on in perfict conditions while another is the best under less than perfict conditions. Also, if all of the test pieces are secured with one or two square inches of bonding surface they should fail sooner making the testing procedure easier and faster. The tests others have mentioned involving heat, water, and other simulated "life" situations will yield very intresting results. I wonder if one epoxy will stand out in all areas. I guess those are your thoughts too.
 
In the end of all this, I expect Accra Glass to win but I also expect it will be so close in in many cases that it will be difficult to determine. I expect most failures will be due to glazing and not enough purchase of the metal surface. I will rough each up with a 60 grit and if I'm real ambitious I'll fire up the sand blaster with some AO like Lovelass uses.

I plan to try a couple with tests with liner material - double the joints, double the chance of failure. More in fact, I think if I soak the knife in water and freeze it, I can get a handle with a liner to fail from the liner soaking up water. We'll see.
 
No one epoxy could possibly stand out on all areas. The best holding power required flexability not brittleness. Everything is a trade off.
One batch to the next could show vast differences if the process isn't strictly adhered to. Worse thing you can do is get out in a heated shop, do your epoxy and leave letting the shop cool down. Ii might be hair splitting but summer epoxy is better than winter epoxy in many cases.
I'd wait 2 weeks before testing any epoxy regardless of the stated cure time and that's rushing it.
 
Riley, we're thinking along the same lines.

Since I plan on having all the test wood on the same bar, throwing my sample wouldn't work. It might strike one block more than others and throw off the results.

TomW, No kidding about curing. Every epoxy stat sheet i've seen uses 75+ degrees for the cure. Most benefited from long times above 100. I plan on curing in the oven overnight at about 100 degrees. Then wait a week for a full cure. That's one think we don't need: fast cure times.

Tracy,

Go live on this website for a while: http://www.loctite.com/int_henkel/loctite_us/index.cfm?&pageid=19&layout=3

search on epoxy or Hysol. the urethane adhesives are the flexible ones. I got u-05fl for testing. They're all available at McMaster

The think I like about loctite (besides customer service) is their data sheets are very complete. 3m and devcon don't have as much test data to work from.

Steve
 
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