Make up the pattern with wire and tubing,using 12" lengths. When it is done, slip a 12" piece of plastic tubing over the end (it needs to be a snug fit). Mix up some slow cure epoxy (dye it with colorants as desired) in a plastic medicine cup. It is easier to fill the epoxy if it is warmed (about 90-100F). Place the end of the metal tubing in the epoxy and apply a vacuum to the tube. Either use a vac source (if you have one) or just suck on the tube like a straw. When the epoxy has come up into the plastic tube about 3-4", take the whole thing out of the cup of epoxy,turn over (plastic tube down),and clamp the plastic in a vise.Clamp in the epoxy area to prevent any air bubbles from going back up the tube to the mosaic rivet. Allow to set ,then cut off the plastic. Clean up any excess epoxy with a knife, sandpaper, and acetone.
I make a mosaic rivet with an "A" in the center of red epoxy. It really personalizes a knife. Letters only work if they are bi-directional , A,H,I M,O,T,U,V,W,X,Y.
To make a letter "A", I bend some right angle metal into a "V" and slip it snugly into the 1/4" tubing. I trim a flat piece for the cross bar of the "A" until it is right. I temporarily wedge it in place using a piece of round wire below the cross bar to push it tight into the "V", thus making an "A". Once it is positioned right, I put a tiny drop of CA on each end, to hold the cross bar in place while filling the epoxy. I use these rivets for personal knives and special gifts, putting one "A" rivet in the center and two smaller regular mosaic rivets toward each end.
Stacy
