Hate that…, .

Bummer dan. How long did you let the epoxy cure? I always wait at least 24 hours to be sure it is really hardened…. Also … did you pre-sand the scales prior to glue up?
 
Yeah I like cutting it off while it's still soft.
 
It looks like you have very big voids and/or gaps filled w black epoxy between your liners and micarta scales. I like to to flatten scales and use CA on that connection before attaching the scales to the knife.
 
There’s a fine line between it curing too hard and having to grind a lot of hardened epoxy off (think $belts$), and catching it just right and cutting about 96-98%off and saving a belt or two. If you cut it too soon it’s like rubber and it is elastic like rubber and pulls some out from between the surfaces. Outside feels dry enough, not so much on the interior.
All surfaces were flattened prior to glue up, just a case of too much pull and too dull of a cut.
I stopped using CA for anything about 2 years ago.

Cush, I rushed this one at 3.5 hrs (6 hours is a good sweet spot for me). I had to go out for an appointment and knew I wouldn’t get back to it until it was too hard.
 
DanF said:
There’s a fine line between it curing too hard and having to grind a lot of hardened epoxy off (think $belts$), and catching it just right and cutting about 96-98%off and saving a belt or two. If you cut it too soon it’s like rubber and it is elastic like rubber and pulls some out from between the surfaces. Outside feels dry enough, not so much on the interior.
All surfaces were flattened prior to glue up, just a case of too much pull and too dull of a cut.
I stopped using CA for anything about 2 years ago.

Cush, I rushed this one at 3.5 hrs (6 hours is a good sweet spot for me). I had to go out for an appointment and knew I wouldn’t get back to it until it was too hard.
Click to expand...
Huh… i should think about that. So far my glue-ups are not pre shaped … just rough scales … so i use that belt to sand down to flat around the circumference of the scales. I *do* however use q-tips to wipe away as much of the squeezed out epoxy as i can. Still, i agree, it does take some work to get through hardened epoxy.
 
I roughly cut scales to shape since I have a bandsaw and I wipe off excess epoxy, but is there really any belt or time saving in this extra step you are doing? I never got the YT makers that mix tons of epoxy only to have it squeeze out and have it all over the shop on full tangs. I do take care that I have a small squeeze out all around but no tons of epoxy oozing out everywhere.
 
I give my epoxy extra time to dry. I have one right now that has been drying for 24 hours and I'm itching to finish it, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow.
 
Those are some large gaps between the handle and the blade. Ensure both surfaces are flattened before glue up and you probably needed to ensure your screws were tight.
 
What epoxy are you using? It looks dark like JB Weld or did you dye it? Why is the glue line so thick?

I use JB Kwik Weld and can usually sand/grind on it in 30 min. Glue lines are dark, so I use something different like JB Plastic Welder when I use light color materials.

I rough cut my scales, finish off the front fully, then glue up. I clean up the front of the bolster of the epoxy before it cures and remove some of the squeeze out around some of the handle with a popsicle stick. I remove the excess when I do the shaping of the handle. The extra epoxy around the tang doesnt seem to make a difference handle shaping wise?
 
I wipe down with q tip, cotton ball. Goes a long way in minimizing
globs to clean up
 
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