New guy with epoxy/filework question

S

sb220

Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Messages
5
Hello, Thanks a bunch for everyone sharing their knowledge on this site and others. Without it I would never be trying my hand at this stuff.

Ive made one knife and sheath already......

knife1.jpg


knife7.jpg


knife5.jpg



Anyways, Im working on another knife for a huntin buddy and on the first knife I had to patch a bunch of tiny air bubbles in my exposed epoxy around the filework.

Im wondering if you guys heat your epoxy in the microwave or something. I would think that heating it would cause it to cure too fast or something strange and violent, but I cant think of any other way to remove the air bubbles.
Can I do anything to eliminate them?
 
Could have been, I just used 2-ton from the hardware store, so that may have been the issue. It was a thick consistency when mixing if that indicates age. So thick that I couldnt see how an air bubble could rise out of it without heating to give it a thinner consistency

Im planning on getting me some of the real epoxy (System 3) for this next knife, so hopefully I will have better results.
 
You will find that using a slow cure epoxy will solve the problem. The best way to eliminate the bubbles is to not put them there. Fast cure epoxies with all the peroxide accelerators, and whippig in air when mixing are the two biggest causes.

Get a good quality 24 hour cure resin. West system, System Three T-88, and Accraglass are all good. After mixing ( slowly) and letting the pot set for a few minutes, the bubble situation is virtually eliminated. I give the pot 2-3 seconds (yes, seconds) in the microwave to thin the viscosity if pouring into hidden tang holes, but normally just let it sit for five minutes before buttering the scales.
With a 24 hour cure resin, you have an hour of work time, and three more hours of set time to clean up, so rushing is unnecessary. The bonus is the slow set resins also have a much longer shelf life.
 
sb220 said:
Could have been, I just used 2-ton from the hardware store, so that may have been the issue. It was a thick consistency when mixing if that indicates age. So thick that I couldnt see how an air bubble could rise out of it without heating to give it a thinner consistency

Im planning on getting me some of the real epoxy (System 3) for this next knife, so hopefully I will have better results.
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I am not knocking the type of epoxy you used. I use a lot of Devcon 2ton myself.
And so everyone understands I am not trying to resurrect the glue wars thread by stating that. I personally think it is good glue!

The thing I was mentioning is the age of the epoxy. I often have a tube laying around in the garage that I use for this and that but when I get ready to glue up a knife. "I make sure the epoxy I am using is fresh and more than likely it has not even been opened until I get ready to use!" It keeps a lot of different problems from entering into the picture!

By the way I like the knife, I don't think I had mentioned that. I am of the school that a little filework goes a long way but you did a good job on it!:thumbup:
 
You can run very hot water over your epoxy tubes or bottles and they will soften up like they were originally. Don't throw old epoxy away just boil the bottle and it will last a long time. If you buy several bottle of it or super glue keep them in the frig until you want to open them. I have used some that was in the frig for over 5 years and it was as good as new.
Percy
 
The best way would be to not put the file-work in there in the first place. ;)

I used to do that kind of file-work, had the same issues, and after awhile realized it wasn't really the look I was after anyway.

If you took some of the time and effort it takes to do that filework, and do a nice, thin tapered tang--- it will give better balance AND a more flowing look to the knife. I think most folks feel the same way after getting more shop time under their belt.

That's a very, very impressive first knife! It's clean and has real nice overall lines. Well done! :) :thumbup: :cool:
 
I can't add anything except that's a gorgeous knife and sheath. :thumbup:
 
NickWheeler said:
I think most folks feel the same way after getting more shop time under their belt.
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Glad to hear that from you Nick. I thought that something was wrong with me for thinking that way about filework. :(

I agree, very good looking first try. Now let's see another one. :D

PS: What wood is that? Luv it!
 
sb220 said:
I had to patch a bunch of tiny air bubbles in my exposed epoxy around the filework.

Can I do anything to eliminate them?
Click to expand...

Nice knife.
Personally I don' like the epoxy filled filework, but that's not what you asked...

In addition to the info above on slower epoxy cure times and better mixing-

Try running a soft propane flame quickly over the epoxy surface.

It will heat up the air inside the bubble, the bubble will burst, then level out.
 
I dunno, I think filework looks pretty cool, but really I just want to try my hand at every technique I come across. Personally, the frontier looking stuff really grew on me as Ive been studying pictures of yall's work. Dunno the correct term for the style, but stuff like what Chuck Barrows does.

The knife Im working on is gonna be a hidden tang in antler, but Im messing around with the idea of putting some file work in a stacked guard Ive fashioned.....mabye I shouldnt let the epoxy fill the filework though? May be kinda cool lookin.


The wood above is from a block of Amboyna burl that was half sapwood and half gemwood(correct terms?) from House of Burl
 
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Awsome looking knife and sheath! I can only hope when i get my first knife done it looks 1/2 that good. I better get back at it :)
 
Is that your first knife in the photo? If so, wow! That looks great. The filework looks great, get some west system if you plan on doing a lot, it is one of the best brands and will probably be less problematic.
 
One thing I do when doing a small or large epoxy project is take my epoxy cans and put them in an electric skillet set on the lowest setting so when I dispense the two parts they are already warm. Since epoxy is exothermic I don't like heating it after mixing. A habbit of mine from doing large area lay-ups is to always mix my epoxy in a cup then pour it onto a large flat surface to help it dissipate the heat better and give a longer pot life, I.e. let the air bubbles come to the surface. I buy my epoxy by the gallon because I use it to repair my race boats as well, so it comes in metal cans and works better in the electric skillet. I don't know how well it would work for small plastic bottles but you could always try putting it into small dishes of very hot water.
 
Warming any epoxy will cause it to kick faster. It may work but you take a chance of the bubbles getting trapped because the epoxy 'freezes' to fast to let them escape. Try adding a SMALL amount of pure acetone. This will thin it without the heat and give the bubbles a better chance of escaping.

Experiment with adding acetone before you use it on real projects. As mentioned above, stir it slowly.
 
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