Trying mosaic pins!

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
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I had to run to the hardware store, so I thought I'd buy the stuff needed to make some mosaic pins. One of our esteemed BF brothers (was it Alan Folts?) mentioned using the tubing like a straw to draw the epoxy in, reducing the air bubbles. That's what I did, so we'll see how it works. Also, I used Testor enamel paint (red) to color the epoxy, and at first I was worried that it would ruin the epoxy components' ability to react and form the glue, but about 10 minutes later, it looks like the epoxy is beginning to set up. If the epoxy doesn, in fact, set up, then making these things is unbelievably easy and clean to do (which means I probably screwed up somewhere!). I'll let it sit overnight and seehow it looks tomorrow and post my results. I used a brass tube with a square aluminum tube inside it. In the aluminum is a solid brass rod, and there are also solid brass rods around the four flats of the square. Should be cool if the epoxy sets up. I'll post an update when it seems like it's finished doing whatever it is going to do...
Steve
 
Well, so far so good! A little of the epoxy backrd up into the tube I used for suction, but only about 1/2", so not too much of the pin material will be wasted. It's been about 4 hours since I finished the process, and the epoxy seems to be setting up pretty nicely. It's still a little soft, but Devcon 2 Ton doesn't set up all that fast, in my opinion. Should be nice and hard by tomorrow. I will do a final update once I cut into the pins and finish them...
 
Well, those pins turned out pretty good, so far, and I am using them in a knife as we speak. One thing that didn't turn out too well was the large center rod did not set up in the aluminum square piece. It looks like the space left in between the rod and square was just too narrow for the apoxy to want to climb up. I epoxied all over the rod and stuck it back into place, so we'll see how that works. Otherwsie, you could use a smaller diameter rod, but then you would risk a little "float" and the rod may not be centered. Also, the epoxy seemed to take longer to set up, but the Testor's did not otherwise taint it. So far so good, and we'll see once I finish them up!
 
you certainly arent afraid to try something new are you....one problem you are going to run into...as you said...are bubbles. unless you use a strong vacuum system to pull the epoxy thru you will end up with bubbles...sometimes in the worst places... also...if you use any geometric pieces.. squares...triangle and such...make sure you line them up to look the same if you are using more than one....good luck....youll need it..(not you necessarily...its just one of my favorite expressions) tom
 
All I did was suck the epoxy up like a straw. I no doubt got some bubblesdue to the fact that I had to mix some more epoxy as I ran out, and I kept taking the suction off to try and guage where the epoxy was (didn't ffel like tasting any of the stuff!). For th latter problem, I would try and find some clear tubing to use. I used black vacuum hose. I didn't taste any epoxy, but it was darn close! :-) I figure that if I did get any bubbles that end up on the surface of my pins, I will simply mix some more red epoxy and fill them in. Can't be that big of a problem, but who knows! So far they have turned out as well as I expected, and were pretty easy to make, really. Mine aren't all that fancy, but beat the hell out of regular pins for sure.
 
Chiro75-
Thanks for the tips I have made a few by packing epoxy in the pins. I'll give it a
shot thanks
Steve45
 
CHIRO 75
Try about a foot of clear plastic gas line attached to the top end of the pin to suck on. This method reduces the risk of a mouth full of epoxy.

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george
 
I have tried the vacumn method in the past and did not think it as easy or efficeint as just buttering the materials as I reinserted them into the tube. On tubes, I just keep buttering the top until epoxy comes out the bottom.

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Ron Ruppé
www.ruppe.com/Knives/index.htm
 
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