newbie question about which glue for acrylic scales

H

hackperson

Joined
May 8, 2014
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Hi there,
this is my first post and I’m not sure if I’m in the right area BUT...
I’m kicking off my first knife project with a purchased knife blade blank (that probably disqualifies me from posting right there), reworked and fitted to a handle of my own construction.
Long story short, I’m looking for advice on the best glue for attaching acrylic scales to titanium. My experience gluing acrylic is that cyanoacrylate melts into the plastic, so forms a better bond but I’m not sure if this will adhere well enough to the titanium.
Whereas epoxy will probably stick well to the Ti but less so to the acrylic….
The components of the handle will be also held together by some small countersunk Ti bolts.

I’m also concerned how the glue will hold up to the heat differential between the two materials when I come to finishing the assembled handle on a belt sander.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance!
 
I haven't worked with titanium before so I can't speak to that. Are you pinning it as well as gluing? Either way, it's a good idea to rough up the surface so there is a better bond. A friend of mine even likes to drill small holes half way through the tang and the scale so there is a stronger bond that way.
 
Yes I was actually going to screw it together with little Ti bolts or failing that Ti pins.
My main concern is I'll need to do a fair bit of shaping with the belt sander after gluing and I don't want the heat to cause it to come unstuck.
Ti is like steel and epoxy sticks pretty well, but I don't know if it really sticks to acrylic that well.
The Ti is in the form of thin liner plates. I'll certainly roughen the surfaces too.
 
You should be able to dry fit everything together and shape it, then glue, and then hand finish. I try to do as much of the work as I can before gluing, especially when it involves power tools. A couple of knives ago I glued everything together, and then accidentally slipped while using a belt sander. I ended up putting a big gouge in the scale that I didnt want. Had I not glued everything yet I could have just pulled it off and then cut out a new one. Just my $.02.
 
I haven't glued acrylic to metal so I can't make a recommendation on what to use.
I would suggest you contact a plastic company (you should be able to find one in the phone book) and ask them what they would suggest you use.

Jim A.
 
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