Spacer Material

Kumdo

Kumdo

Joined
Mar 7, 2000
Messages
1,048
So I'm about to put handles on a blade and I'm running into a problem. The Micarta I'm using is warped. Trying to flatten it on my Sears belt sander is giving me fits because the platen is too small. I was able to carefully do it on the disk sander (a trick in itself), but now I'm seeing that the steel itself isn't perfectly even. I'm still seeing light between handle slabs and the tang.

I've never used spacer material, but it strikes me as a viable option to get a tight fit. From what I understand, it's a thin sheet of (foam?) rubber. Is that right? I've seen a similar product in the craft stores- something like rubber paper. Would this work? Also, any suggestions on the handle problem in general is appreciated.

Thanks...
 
The only spacer Ive ever heard of is vulcanized paper or plastic. You will have to get you scales as close to flat a possible because the spacer has no appreciable gap filling qualitys. What you can do is once your as close to flat as you can get, is use some epoxie dye and dye the epoxie to match you spacer. this way, if you get a small gap somewhere, it doesnt stick out. Keep in mind that there is no substitute for a good fit and you wont be satisfied in the long run if you don't get is as close as you can. A piece of 60 grit sandpaper taped on a flat surface will remove alot of material fast. BTW, how did your micarta get warped?

Good Luck
Leonard
 
I hand sand Micarta to get it flat. It will usually have enough flexibility that if you clamp it hard it will close that gap, but your problem is probably getting the Micarta flat. It is VERY difficult to do perfectly on a machine. If I could I would. Hand sanding isn't my favorite thing...
 
Thanks for the info, guys. It looks like I'll have to hand sand the pieces down and hope for the best. In the past I've had a hard time getting wood evenly flat by hand sanding. Ugh!

The Micarta came warped. I probably should have sent it back, but I didn't realise it until I started working.

Thanks again...
 
I've never had Micarta come dead flat. It always needs some sanding. One thing to do to make your hand sanding go better is to do it on a flat surface and push the Micarta toward the end you will eventually cut off. That's the end that will likely round over some. Only sand in one direction.
 
In my experience epoxy will not hold if you try to attach two pieces that aren't flat. I sure wish it would :)

I tried using a piece of liner material with colored epoxy to hide the gaps on an early knife. I left it clamped up for 30 days. The bond seemed to hold, but the uneven gap was really noticable. My early mentor grabbed a chisel and beat the scales off, telling me to be more careful with my fit-ups. We are still friends.

One thing that helps me get materials flat is a piece of thick glass with sandpaper taped to it, as mentioned.

Another is using hot glue to attach a small wood block to the workpiece- it gives me a good place to hold on to while sanding thin pieces and avoids most of the 'rug burns' when you slip and run your fingers across the sandpaper...

The hot glue will let go with a sharp rap across the bond and leave almost no residue.

Please post a pic of your knife when you get it finished.

Dave
 
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