flattening thin handle material

Michael Black

Michael Black

Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
417
So I used 1/4" thick copper on my most recent handle as a sort of spacer and front bolster. I did some texturing on the front of the bolster with a ball peen hammer which obviously caused it to warp somewhat. I decided to just grind the backside flat again on the disc sander but couldn't figure out a way to hold it properly. Any suggestions? I tried vise grips which didn't work at all, and super gluing it to a board which worked at first, but the temperature got too high and the glue gave out. Pic below for some context.
 
Michael Black said:
So I used 1/4" thick copper on my most recent handle as a sort of spacer and front bolster. I did some texturing on the front of the bolster with a ball peen hammer which obviously caused it to warp somewhat. I decided to just grind the backside flat again on the disc sander but couldn't figure out a way to hold it properly. Any suggestions? I tried vise grips which didn't work at all, and super gluing it to a board which worked at first, but the temperature got too high and the glue gave out. Pic below for some context.
Click to expand...
double sided tape will work
 
Tape won't work with copper. It gets really hot.

Grind a piece of flat stock so it fits the hole in the guard snugly. Use two 1"X.5" pieces of wood as scales and rivet them to the flat stock leaving about 1/4" sticking out the end. No need to finish or shape anything, just make sure the ends are square and flat where the metal sticks out. The projecting piece will fit the slot on the guard while the square ends will support the copper piece. It's Ok if it sticks out a bit past the copper . Set the copper piece on the jig and press against the belt. The extra stud will grind away quickly and then you can thin the copper as needed.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Tape won't work with copper. It gets really hot.

Grind a piece of flat stock so it fits the hole in the guard snugly. Use two 1"X.5" pieces of wood as scales and rivet them to the flat stock leaving about 1/4" sticking out the end. No need to finish or shape anything, just make sure the ends are square and flat where the metal sticks out. The projecting piece will fit the slot on the guard while the square ends will support the copper piece. It's Ok if it sticks out a bit past the copper . Set the copper piece on the jig and press against the belt. The extra stud will grind away quickly and then you can thin the copper as needed.
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Stacy , my friend .................that would work for sure :eek:
You are at least right in one thing.........cooper really gets hot fast 👍
Now , I never give advice to someone if I m not 1000 % sure it will work and i don t try that before ......
Just for you , I cut piece of cooper from plated cooper tube and burn my fingers doing that , because I forget how fast cooper get hot .I make little scratches with angle grinder so i can remove them on grinder .......I used 20 m/s and 100 grit ceramic belt ...........................Job done in several seconds !
take double side tape ........
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cut small piece and glue to cooper
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then all that glue to some square piece of wood or whatever you have ....
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then do what you must to do on grinder ..................
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I must have luck and tape hold cooper .............. don t you think ?
 
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That surely is strong tape. Must be some type of VHB type. I have put scales on folders with 3M VHB strips.
 
Any thicker double tape would work .When heated they become more gummy /if that is right word / and will hold better .... But don t push your luck , make one pass and cool cooper by pressing it on grinder work rest steel ................
 
Michael Black said:
So I used 1/4" thick copper on my most recent handle as a sort of spacer and front bolster. I did some texturing on the front of the bolster with a ball peen hammer which obviously caused it to warp somewhat. I decided to just grind the backside flat again on the disc sander but couldn't figure out a way to hold it properly. Any suggestions? I tried vise grips which didn't work at all, and super gluing it to a board which worked at first, but the temperature got too high and the glue gave out. Pic below for some context.
Click to expand...
You can get rid of most warp before you sand it on grinder .Put that piece of cooper between two flat pieces of wood and use hammer ............soft cooper would cooperate :thumbsup:
 
I just hold it, I use a 36 grit ceramic and run it like 45/120 on my vfd, I keep water right there and grind gently for 2 seconds and cool, and repeat. Then I'll lap it on some 120 grit paper by hand
 
Granite plate with sand paper stuck to it. Use consistent downward pressure and rotate 90° every few strokes.
 
A.McPherson said:
Granite plate with sand paper stuck to it. Use consistent downward pressure and rotate 90° every few strokes.
Click to expand...
I've done this before I had a disc sander, but it's slow going. I had to remove quite a bit of material, so I was hoping for something faster. Definitely gets nice and flat though!
 
True! I've found that only pulling towards me works well too, if I rotate it 90° with every couple pulls.
 
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