Can hot scale pins damage the epoxy?

K

KentuckyFisherman

Well-Known Member
I searched before posting, but found nothing. I'm a relative newbie and had used brass pins on my scales until today, when I wanted silver pins, so I used stainless steel. I got everything glued up and let it cure 24 hours. Then I cut the pins off as close as possible with a Dremel. Next step was to sand the pins flush with 80 grit on my belt sander. When using brass pins, they can get hot, but these steel pins were producing little curls of smoke in no time, even though I was trying to rotate from one pin to the next fairly often.

So, my question is whether excessive heat on those pins can soften the epoxy to the point it is weakened? Or does the epoxy harden up again and still do its job? Are nickel silver pins softer, and thus produce less heat? Are they expensive? The simple solution, I guess, would be to just slow down my grinding on those steel pins, but there's got to be another way. Do the rest of you have this issue, and what tips can you pass along?

Thanks for any help.
 
As long as you didn't get the epoxy super hot, it should re-harden after it cools. That said, I never like to rely solely on the epoxy to hold the scales in place. All adhesives fail eventually, and customers/users often help it to get there, whether they leave the knife in a hot car, run it through the dishwasher (or washing machine), or do any other number of things that might weaken the epoxy.
I normally use a tapered pin reamer to ream my holes slightly and then give my pins a quick peen, in addition to the epoxy. That or some kind of mechanical fastener also works. I view epoxy as more of a sealant to keep moisture out from under the handle, than something to keep things in place.
 
Not sure about the epoxy, but if you get the pins too hot they can burn the edges of the holes they are in if wood, or possibly melt other synthetic materials.
 
I use stainless pins a lot .......the larger the pin the hotter they get......1/8 pins are not so bad.....1/4 pins like to get hot.......just go slow with a new sharp belt and keep switching from one pin to the next so as not to get them too hot.....the first rough grind is the worst but as soon as you are flush with the handle material you are ok....go especially easy with ivory and some of the new composite materials...if i am using antler slabs i like to just leave the pins about 3/32 long and peen them into a dome.....looks really good polished
 
SLOW AND DELIBERATE are the keys! Heat in any stage of finishing a knife is your enemy. If you change/changed the color of the pins when grinding, then yes, you very likely broke the epoxy bond.
If that is indeed the case, then you are the only one who can dictate what needs doing next. Personally, I would tap the pins out with a punch/drift. Rough them with 400 grit and then re-glue/reinstall.
 
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