Novice trouble

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KraytDragon

Joined
Oct 11, 2005
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I have made several knives and like to use mosiac pins in the handles. So far on all three of the knives the mosiac pins have "bubbled." As far as I know I have just used standard brass and aluminum rods. I used standard epoxy that I bought at a hardware store. I did add some black powder dye to the epoxy. I coated the handles in polyeurathane for shine and protection. After several months to a year the pins have bubbled up and are discolored. Looks almost like what happens when batteries leak. Is there something I am missing or doing wrong. I presume that it is a bad chemical reaction but I am not sure which items are causing it. Could it be the black dye? Anyone else see this before? Thanks for the help.

John
 
I have not heard of this before. I also add dye to epoxy. I mixed a test batch
and let it set. A couple of batches did not set hard, so I changed dye. I was using blue.
A mate on mine suggested the black toner from photo copiers. I have not tried it I normally use powder paint. I have also used a small portion of my daughters paints they come in small tubes.

SOme of the others may have brand names that are suited to your location.
 
KraytDragon said:
I have made several knives and like to use mosiac pins in the handles. So far on all three of the knives the mosiac pins have "bubbled." As far as I know I have just used standard brass and aluminum rods. I used standard epoxy that I bought at a hardware store. I did add some black powder dye to the epoxy. I coated the handles in polyeurathane for shine and protection. After several months to a year the pins have bubbled up and are discolored. Looks almost like what happens when batteries leak. Is there something I am missing or doing wrong. I presume that it is a bad chemical reaction but I am not sure which items are causing it. Could it be the black dye? Anyone else see this before? Thanks for the help.

John
Click to expand...
hmmm when you assemble these do the ends of the rods contact the tang? two differing none noble metals, with and electrolite= battery. could the epoxy be serving as an electrolite? i wonder if its acidic or alkaline? both of which could create a current. what you could be seeing is galvonic action.
or i could be(like my mother-in-law says),,, an idiot.
 
The pins that I made go all the way through both handles and the tang. They are one piece. I make them a little extra long then tap them into the hole then file them flat to match the surrounding wood. Could I not be waiting long enough for the epoxy to dry? I usually try to wait a couple of days at least before placing these pins in the handle. Could it be the polyeurathane that I cover the handles including pins with?
 
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