cutting and finishing g-11

A

andrewfinnie13

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Jun 20, 2009
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364
i bought some natural colored g-11 from James Todd and was wondering what i can use to cut out the scales, shape and machine them , as far as the machining goes, i just wanted to know if i could use a dremel to give the handle a design and grip. i read some of the thread and some people were saying how it cannot be cut with a regular bandsaw. is there a special kind of blade i need to use?.
and also....do i need a full blown fresh air respirator to machine this stuff or can i use a particle mask?

thanks

andrew
 
Andrew,

I'm not sure if you are asking about cutting up blocks, or just shaping some scales. If it's blocks, this is how I did it, Cutting G10.

As for breathing protection, I would get the best I could lay my hands on. This stuff is nasty when cut. I used a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) when cutting mine.
 
G10/G11 makes VAST amounts of very fine dust when you cut it. Wear the best lung protection you've got, and use the best cutting tools you've got.

If you're like me and don't have a bandsaw with a proper blade (some suggest a tile-cutting saw, makes sense to me), be prepared for a long day and creaky elbows. You can cut it faster with a dremel and fiber cut-off wheel, but it gets melty and smokes like a chimney... this frightened me, so I went back to the hacksaw. I don't want to breathe that stuff. :eek: Mask or not, my shop is in the basement of my house, and I can't take a chance on poisoning my pets or kid.

G10 scorches easily even when cutting it with a hacksaw; the orange stuff turns dead black along the cut. This will get worse as the blade gets dull... which it will. Soon. But the scorches aren't deep and can be hand-sanded out.

Frankly, I would much rather hand-saw (annealed) high-alloy steel than G10. After my current re-handle projects are done, I absolutely refuse to work with it again, until I get a proper saw and blade. I have already lost money on both projects, due to time and saw blades. I can't wait to see what it does to my drill bits. :rolleyes:

Having said all that, I DO believe the "hype" about its durability. It's probably very much worth using, IF you have the proper tools to cut and shape it.
 
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I only cut G-10 on my metal cutting bandsaw with a metal blade, it eats the wood cutting blades in an instant. The dust is bad, you need gloves as well to avoide the itch. You can sand wet.

I would not use the dremmel, it throws too much dust, you can shape pretty well with 100 grit paper, its sands pretty easy.
 
thanks everyone.... ill get the best lung protection i can.i will be cutting this in my car port with probably a hack saw at first but looks like ill have to get a band saw seeing as i bought about 25 lbs from james...

thanks

andrew
 
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