Liner material shrank?

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
3,415
Ok so I am working on a knife and just glues the handles on. I let the glue set for about an hour and cleaned up the plunge and the liner mateial seems to have shrunk???? It is about a little less tha 1/32" , just enough to notice. I am thinking of cleaning out this area and adding glue with black dye. The handles are cocobolo with a black liner. Has this happend to you and how did you all fix this. Thanks again gentlemen. When I put everything together before gluing it was perfect.
 
I'm not sure about the shrinkage. What kind of liner was it? What kind of glue?

When I glue-up, I leave a little extra material all the way around. (scales, liners, whatever) After the epoxy is cured (I always give it 24 hours, just to be sure), I bring everything down flush with the tang and hand-sand/polish it up. I haven't had any problems with liners shrinking.
 
It is 30 min epoxy from USA Knifemakers and it is the black liner material from the same site. I dipped it in water when I was finishing the front part of the handles and let it dry. here is the liner material : http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=72&products_id=994

Here is the glue. I have used this stuff and its pretty good.
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/i...roducts_id=572

I guess I may not have explained. the knife has a gap now on both sides where the handle meets the ricasso.
 
Without a photo this is just a guess, but could the wood have swollen, not the liner shrinking?
Stacy
 
Here is a pic. I guess this might end up being my hunting knife now.

wip030.jpg
 
Yes, liner material does shrink. I found that out when I used it in some kitchen knives. If you seperatethe handle it is very visible it has shrunk. Frank
 
Well, I'll be darned; guess I've just been lucky. I take it the shrinkage happens pretty quick. As I said above, I leave a good bit around the profile while gluing up, I suppose the shrinkage is happening and I'm just not noticing it since there's still enough there to grind everything flush after it cures.

To clarify, I glue the liner material to the scales before drilling, with extra liner around the perimater of the scale. Then drill as normal after it cures overnight and shape/sand/polish the fronts of the scales. Then glue up the scales etc etc. Hope this helps.
 
James that is the exact method exept for glueing to the handles before attaching them to the tang. I may need to try that. Thea areas that have the problem are in front and where I have the exposed lanyard hole. The rest of it is good and looks very nice. I finish these two areas before I attach the scales. Thanks for the tip.

-frank
 
I always glue the liner material to the handle material first. I wipe both surfaces lightly with denatured alcohol first and let it dry. The I epoxy the two together and clamp it in between two peices of kydex with the shiny side touching the handle material / liner. After it dries the kydex pops right of and you can use it again and again with very little mess. The you are ready to cut, drill, and attached to the knife. Works every time. Hope that helps.
-John
 
Yup... use the same handle material, liner and epoxy and try "laminating" them together first, and see if it works better. I started doing that just make final assembly quicker and easier, but it seems we may have found another reason for it.
 
So James/John, the best way to prevent this would be cut the scales and glue the liner on, wait overnight, and then do the shaping?
 
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