brass liner problem

[Nate Webb]

Hey all. I glued up some multi-part handle scales last night. I thought I'd give 18ga brass a try as liner material for the first time, as the color combination looked wicked sharp.

I roughed the brass and the woods (stabilized maple and blackwood) with a 120 grit belt, and drilled dimples in both bonding surfaces for the epoxy. The epoxy was my normal g-flex.

Let it sit in clamps for 24 hours, but when I took the clamps off and tested the bond, the brass just popped off with almost no resistance.

What did I do wrong?

 

[weo]

Did you clean the liners with acetone or something else before glue up?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

What weo said.
Also, only clamp with the lightest clamps you have. I use those little 5-fo-a-dollar ones at HF.

FWIW, copper and its alloys have gluing issues. You want to wipe off with fresh sandpaper, clean with acetone, and glue immediately to prevent oxidation of the surface.

 

[Nate Webb]

Hmmm, I didn't use acetone... I just washed with dawn dish soap after roughing the surface. Not sufficient?

 

[Kraken Tactical Edc]

Hmmm, I didn't use acetone... I just washed with dawn dish soap after roughing the surface. Not sufficient?

Use a drill to rought up the surface dont drill completely through though

 

[Nate Webb]

Use a drill to rought up the surface dont drill completely through though

Exactly what I did

 

[DevinT]

Epoxy requires a little space to adhere, around .005.

When it’s flat and the adhesive is squeezed out, it won’t bond.

There are two part adhesives better suited for this. (adhesive plus accelerator)

Super glue would probably work also.

Hoss

 

[Nate Webb]

Epoxy requires a little space to adhere, around .005.

When it’s flat and the adhesive is squeezed out, it won’t bond.

There are two part adhesives better suited for this. (adhesive plus accelerator)

Super glue would probably work also.

Hoss

Thanks Hoss. I might give super glue a try next time. That I have plenty of

Also, I'll do test pieces next time before I go all-in.

 

[Tom Lewis]

The most important thing I have found is to like others have said to rough up the surface. This gives the epoxy something to stick to.

 

[ea42]

120 grit is too fine, I use 60 grit most times. G-Flex is fine, superglue won't hold. As Stacy said light clamping pressure is best.

Eric

 

[Nate Webb]

Looking back, I suspect over clamping was my main problem. That and possibly not leaving the brass enough tooth to grab hold of.

I'm going to do some test pieces this weekend and see what works best for me.

 

[Hengelo_77]

Also epoxy doesn't like cold.
Let it set somwhere warm

 

[Nate Webb]

Also epoxy doesn't like cold.
Let it set somwhere warm

I always do glue-up in my house, which stays a consistent 72 degrees

 

[PRSblade]

I like to dimple all mating surfaces with a drill bit in many places so the epoxy doesn't escape.