Attaching Bone to Brass?

[Joe Dirt]

What's the best way to attach bone to brass? (to much work and not worth pinning it).
Adhesive brand names?
Tips?
Tried and true?
Don't do this?

Thanks,..................... Joe

[orvet]

I prepare both surfaces by sanding them.
The bone I sand on a belt sander with 40 grit to help the glue penetrate well.
The brass I usually rough up with a 40 or 50 grit sanding drum on my Foredom (or use a Dremel).

Then I clean both surfaces with 98% pure isopropyl alcohol. Denatured alcohol will work too, but 98% pure isopropyl is much cheaper and usually available at drug stores.
The cleaning is critical, as some bone dyes seem to have an oil base to them and the brass can have oil on it as well.

I allow the alcohol to dry very well.

Then I glue with Mid-Cure epoxy. It holds MUCH better than the homeowner grade epoxies available at home improvement stores.
I usually get mine form USA Knife Makers Supply.

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/epox ... p-571.html

As good as that glue is, I still like to pin my scales.

Let us know how it turns out.

Dale

[Joe Dirt]

Thanks Dale! Just what I needed to know!

................... Joe

[Joe Dirt]

Dale. Should I sand the scale and the liner laterally? Or opposed at 90 degrees?
Does it really matter much?

.............. Joe

[orvet]

I don't think it matters.
The purpose is to just rough the surface to give the glue something to adhere to.
It doesn't need to be pretty. I often use a 24 grit 1/2" X 1/2" sanding band on my Foredom.
If you use a course sanding band on a Dremel or Foredom, be sure to stay away from the edges of the liner and the edges of the scales. You don't want to mess up the edges where it will show when the knife is finished.

Dale

[snorkel]

What I have found to work really well is to dimple the brass and side of the scale that will be glued with a 3/32 bit in the drill press. It takes a couple of minutes, but the effect is like a bunch of small epoxy pins and it holds really well. You have to be careful not to put the dimples to close to the edge of the scale material though and you have to make sure not to drill the dimples too deep.

Prior to the dimpling, I rough both sides up with 60 grit sand paper as well.

I used this technique prior to working on knives any time I used epoxy to glue something.

It also helps to use acetone to remove any oils in the scales and brass. I can post some pics next time I rescale a LB7