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carbon fiber - tips for sanding & shaping

Rival1314

Rival1314

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
1,425
hey all,

I will be working with CF for the first time and was hoping some of you that have experience would be kind enough to empart any advice you may have. I will be using stanrard 2x2 twill pattern CF. I have both 0.15" and 0.30" thickness and will be making scales for folders (I prefer to use the 0.15)

How fine do you sand/polish?
Do I use same safety precautions as g10? (do I need more?)
anyhting special that needs to be done to preserve a finish?

any tricks you have learned to make shaping/sanding/finishing easier?

thanks! I appreciate any and all advice...
 
First off, use every piece of protection equipment possible. CF dust is nasty stuff, splinters are worse. Gloves, long sleeves taped down or tuck into gloves, eye, ear, lung. I also wear a hood. You are carbon based too, your body doesn't reject splinters like with other stuff. If hand sanding, doing so under runnin water helps, if power sanding use sharp belts and good dust collection. I will fire up the shop vac and locate the hose to suck up the dust right from the grinder. Sand to 2500 grit and polish. Clean your sandpaper/belts often, it is slick and can load up high grits quickly. If you encounter dry spot or small voids between the warp and fill you can use CA glue to fill it. A finish is not mandatory but I have heard of people using CA to finish it.

If you get the rash (invisibly small fibers embedded in your skin) HOT water and a good scrub with a coarse towel will help.


-Xander
 
thanks! I appreciate the suggestions...I will definately tripple up on my safety measures.
 
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