Removing epoxied G-11 scales - What temp?

Erin Burke

Erin Burke

KnifeMaker...ish
Joined
May 19, 2003
Messages
1,330
I glued up some scales last night, and today I ground them down to the same basic profile as my knife tang. It was then that I noticed a gap on one side between the tang and scale. I have heard that epoxy will release if heated. What temp should I shoot for to release the epoxy. I assume that it is sub-450f so as not to mess up my blade temper. I am using Acraglas epoxy if this makes any difference. Will epoxy-release temps damage my G-11 scales?

Thanks in advance. Below is a photo of the gap for reference.
3579016942_58af188fe9_o.jpg


Erin
(aka Hypocrite)
 
can't help with your question Erin but I can give you this thought . There are no mistakes , only a new design . Grind out the gap by changing the handle design .
 
This may seem kind of barbaric but you can drive out the pins and just pry the scales off (in a gentle manner) Been there done that ! :) I'd imagine if you heated it to around 2-300 degrees or so the epoxy should let loose if the prying doesn't work.
 
I tend to go with what Jack said if there's not going to be a big change in the appearance. As far as heat for the oven goes I'd start off at around 250 and go up from there until you find the heat that works. I would think around 400 degrees would be the max you would need.
 
Attack (an epoxy dissolver) would take care of it. I'm pretty sure it'd liquify your scales, though.
 
Thanks for the help guys, but I got it taken care of.

I ended up throwing it in my kiln for awhile. I started at about 200F and ended up at about 350F before I was able to remove the last pin (which was a PITA). I was able to clean everything up, cut new pins ('cause the old ones got kinda mangled), and epoxy things back together. The gap is gone. :thumbup:

I don't disagree with the "there are no mistake, only design changes" philosophy, but find that it does go a bit against my nature. It takes me a long time (and a lot of eraser) to get a design to look right on paper. I hate to change it because I screwed something up if there is another alternative. However, I'm a newbie, so repeated screw-ups may eventually wear me down. :D

Erin
(aka Hypocrite)
 
sometimes you never know Erin until it is all done , you may like the redesigned one better than the drawing.

I forgot to mention . I would have cleaned up that bolster and pins some before putting on the scales .
 
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