Carbon Fiber WHAT A MESS!

Trace Rinaldi

Trace Rinaldi

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
1,774
I finally decided to use some of this stuff I have been getting from Gordon P.
Yeah it looks great, and its not as hard to work as I thought, and its tuff as nails. BUT DAMN I looked like a diesel mechanic when I was done working on some CF handles..HAHA!! This is some messy stuff!!
I am thinking of using rubber gloves while shaping this stuff. I think people dont understand quite how nasty some of these materials can be..LOL... Blue G-10 can make your beard look interesting as well:-)

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi http://www.pe.net/~thrblade/
 
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what i really hate is the little splinters sticking into your fingers...titanium is tame compared to carbon fiber! another thing i noticed was.. when you drill it...not only does your drill bit get dull VERY fast...but it also gets smaller too!!!! YIKES!

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Hi Tom:
Sorry I missed you at the Blade Show West! I REALLY wanted to get down there:-(
I KNOW what you mean!!! I thought I was losing it, when pins didnt fit the holes I was drilling!!! Luckily I tried em before I set them, I used a carbide 1/8" side cutter to slightly open up the tight holes before assembly. I like carbon fiber but I can see why makers think its a pain in the ASS to use...
Tom what do you recommend for drilling larger "Lightening" holes? Bit types, should I get a drill bit sharpener etc??? I am looking for an economical way to drill lots of large holes in mild steel. I figure you would be a good person to ask.

Thanks In Advance
Trace Rinaldi
 
Trace
I hope that you understand how bad CF is for you!!!!!
Wear coveralls, resperator, goggles, cap and gloves when using this product with power tools. The black dust produced is very toxic!!!!
When hand sanding to finish I do it in a tub full of water or with the aid of the garden hose to keep the dust down.
To drill I use HSS and toss them after two or three holes, go slow and use a cutting/lube compound on your bitts.

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Robert
Flat Land Knife Works
rdblad@telusplanet.net
http://members.tripod.com/knifeworks/index.html

[This message has been edited by R Dockrell (edited 09-17-2000).]
 
Trace,at work we use diamond edged hole saws to cut large holes in cf panels.As you stated the dust is a problem.ALWAYS wear a dust mask and gloves when working cf.Carbide bits last alot longer and undersized holes can be reamed to final size.

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~Gordon~
 
well...sad to say...we are all going to die, some sooner than others....when you work in your garage a sophisticated vacuum system isnt in the budget.....I say carbide...diamonds if you can afford them. or maybe stick to g10!!!!! I am planning on making a run of some superlite folders with carbon fiber scales and inlaid titanium lock, but havent tooled up for it yet... dont know what im going to do about the dust. guess i could do what a lot of guys do.. wait for a windy day and go outside
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If I could work outside I would , but there is more dust outside than in my shop due to construction in the area.
A cheep dust colector or even a shop vac can keep the CF dust in the shop down to a minimun.
Tom are you going to try and commit suicide by CF and drill bazillions of holes in your new knives and snort the black powder all day long? You must shoot muzzle loaders to!!
Have you decided on a name for your new model, if not may I sugjest "Black Swiss" or "Black Hole Ultra Lite". Just a few Ideas based on your past preference to drill holes in everything you can fit into a milling machine or drill press.


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Robert
Flat Land Knife Works
rdblad@telusplanet.net
http://members.tripod.com/knifeworks/index.html
 
Five .223 cal. rounds comprising a group with an outside center-to-center diameter of .250" equals ONE hole, not five--at least in my book!

Nice.
 
Thanks for the replies. I do wear a mask, and have a heavy duty fan blowing towards another heavy duty exhaust fan mounted in a window near my grinding bench. I dont see how you can work this material without some exposure to skin, but like Tom says....:-)
As far as AR's are concerned I built another Colt Ultra Match a while back that produces REAL small groups, sometimes (When I am all there) they all go in one hole like I tell em too..
I built it with the Match Colt lower with all the trick trigger parts, and one of those REAL RARE (Cant get em anymore) German made heavy barrels with the polygonal rifling.. Its a sweet rifle, I will hate to have to "Register" it.. Yeah RIGHT...HA!!!

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi http://www.pe.net/~thrblade/
 
For small jobs without a big filtration system, you can wet the surface that is being machined. This keeps the dust from becoming airborne. A small hand pump garden sprayer (>$20 at garden stores) and a flexible clamp can put a small stream of water onto the substrate to keep dust contained. This works for drilling and milling, but I think it would be messy on a sander.

I work at a national Lab for DOE. They don't let us machine G10 or any of the resin laminates such as carbon or aramid in our regular shop. We have to go to a special hepa(sp?) filtered shop.

Better safe than sorry!
 
jwv3:

You're absolutely right!

Too many makers take dangerous dusts from G-10, carbon fiber, Micarta, etc. too lightly. Of course, people once thought that asbestos was OK to work with.

Like you said, anyone who has been in a defense plant where they machine carbon fiber knows there is a real danger just by looking at the protective gear workers must wear to enter the "specially filtered" rooms.

I guess we'll have to wait for enough folks to get sick (or die) before the Federal Government starts mandating that a MSDS sheet must be attached to every piece we order.

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
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