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What kind of epoxy do you use?

DOC-CANADA said:
Very informative thread. Thanks for starting it Rock. I'm going to bookmark it for future reference.

Doc
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You're not kidding Doc! Thanks everybody for the info...this will come in handy down the road:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
Man, you guys go to way more trouble than I do. I do use a lot of 5 minute epoxy. Be quick. Have everything clean and ready and clamps on hand. I squirt what looks like equal puddles on a paper plate and stir it for a few seconds (~20) with a popsickle stick, then use the stick to smooth it on.

I've never mixed more than 30 seconds. I've never heated during mixing. And the only time I use expensive epoxies like West Systems is when I'm making mikarta.

Edited to add: I do use more 2 ton than the 5 min though. The extra time is really relaxing.
 
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Man I'm glad this question came up, I've got a few projects I've been wanting to finish and can't because I have had bad luck with epoxy, I tried the JB weld epoxy in a tube and that stuff sucks, I tried the plunger stuff and that sucks. So I think I'll try the devcon.

right now I'm at my mother in laws house and used some of her devcon 5 minute last night to put a ferro rod in a smoothed piece of fatwood, we'll see how it works
 
I may have to try the wally world eposy, Andy....

Right now I use 30 minutes slow cure and loctite 330, for most things.

On SOME things, where it will WORK, and you have to know- gorilla glue and titebond original get used. If the fit is Really good and you've got a reasonable wood gorilla glue will do fine on a knife handle with peened pins. (Titebond is for bows) Gorilla glue has ZERO gap filling property.

the loctite 330 will do some gap filling, and the epoxy is nice for things like cocobolo or lignum vitae where I drill holles all over hell and gone inside knife scales to get more epoxy in there to hold that oily sh-stuff.
 
More important then epoxy type is surface preparation. I've used 2 ton epoxies, JB Weld and have settled on Gorilla glue. GG expands and fills in where needed. It's especially strong when both pieces are clamped for 24 hours. I will add, if flexing is needed GG is not the best choice. I was told this by a cabinet/furniture maker.
Scott
 
my understanding of the various epoxies is that the longer the curing time, the stronger the bond but also the longer that strength lasts. the short acting epoxies tend to lose strength over time, we are talking years here. but a knife handle is permanent so i use the long cure time epoxies as much as i can, jb weld is a great product but it does have some color which may be objectionable on some products. and i have used soem gurrilla glue with good results, it is very stron, remember to dampen the surfaces slightly as this aides in glue strength and curing.

alex
 
Alex, thanks for pointing out about dampening. GG sets up in about an hour and a half, depending on temparture but full cure is 24 hours.
Scott
 
Gossman Knives said:
More important then epoxy type is surface preparation. I've used 2 ton epoxies, JB Weld and have settled on Gorilla glue. GG expands and fills in where needed. It's especially strong when both pieces are clamped for 24 hours. I will add, if flexing is needed GG is not the best choice. I was told this by a cabinet/furniture maker.
Scott
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Hey Scott, you use the Gorilla Glue for knife handles? I always hated the stuff because it expands all over the place.
 
It's REALLY easy to clean up gorilla glue in the beginning stages. Qtips and sometimes damp Qtips work great for me
 
I use gorilla glue if I need a waterproof glue for an outdoor furniture project. But you gotta stay after it while it expands, cleaning that ugly foam off. Its really messy stuff.
 
Gossman Knives said:
GG expands and fills in where needed.
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It does indeed expand, but there's no strength in the spaces. The squeeze out is very fragile like foam. I've only had succes when the pieces fit together well. You are absolutely correct about longer clamp times.
 
shotgunner11 said:
Hey Scott, you use the Gorilla Glue for knife handles? I always hated the stuff because it expands all over the place.
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Yes, like Andy said you have to stay after it while it expands. I only clean around the ricasso with a Q Tip and acetone. It also sands off easily. I just grind off the excess when shaping the handles. With any glue/epoxy, clamping is important for a tight seal. Also the two pieces need to be roughed up and cleaned before applying the glue plus they need to fit together without any air space. When it comes to epoxing handles, the epoxy is mainly a sealant. I would not depend on epoxy alone. The pins/bolts are what hold the scales on.
Scott
 
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