Spacer material

echoashtoreth

echoashtoreth

Member
Hi All,

I am just a beginner now but am partial to working with wood... that said, some of my favorites (high resin) don't play well w/epoxy. and I don't love the pastel colored fiber spacer material that is standard on the market... Has anyone ever utilized hardwood veneer as spacer material? If so, what are the pros/cons? (aside from the small fact that I am burying the 'money shot' between the tang and handle, that is... :steve:)
 
Never used veneer but try it.
Although it's a relatively small area, I'd be concerned about water absorbsion and a tight seal from scale to liner/ spacer to tang if you're talking liners. If it's just a spacer sanwiched between a guard and handle.....go for it. People use both terms interchangably so I covered both not knowing what you actually meant. If you look around, sooner or later a bulb will light up. The broken kid's toys had unlimited possibilities....so did detergent jugs and all for free.
There are other choices from Tracy.

http://usaknifemaker.com/handle-mat...-72.html?SID=9f1a68f8466a417579d1b03085d04b13


Rudy
 
I've used it a few times , but it took a while to get right ,

finish the tang ( filework etc ) over cut veneer ( 1/16 ' or so sorry used to using MM so 0.5 mm for me)
drill with timber drill ( small spike in centre with a high edge that cuts the outter edge before the rest ) for both sides and use some rod to place on tang
i then cut some softwood about 1/4" thick and place as scales for interim and clamp ( vise etc ) and trim to match so the fits perfect or as perfect as i can get

remove and estapol ( varnish , shellac , what ever you use ) and return when still tacky , place on my real scales ( already sized etc ), fit corby bolts and tighten

the tacky estapol acts as glue and seals the timber and prevents moisture getting near the tang insides , you'll need to ensure the estapol is tacky but not wet , getting wet estapol out of file work is a bugger .. it look ok but i prefer to use brass or the very thin 3 colour synthetics as its less fiddly .. but a nice contrasting hardwood , does look nice and once set is no issue , have 10 year and more blades about with them and no problems so far
 
I've used everything from Picnic plastic plates in red & blue to those disposable cutting boards that are color coded in Red, Green, Blue, Purple & white. I am currently using Red & Black Kydex and I am very happy.

Wood veneer wouldn't be my first pick ether because of moisture but i've been wrong before so give her a go!
 
Thanks for all the great replies and food for thought!!! I have thought about moisture (affecting the veneer and penetrating) and was planning to either hit it with thin CA or a wood hardener (kinda figured the epoxy wont penetrate though it should be enough to seal - can't be too careful)... I figure if that technique works with the shoulder spacers (i.e. chevron style) it will work on the thin wood... Guess I now have an excuse to visit the local specialty wood stores and see what I can acquire inexpensively. :) Thanks again! I will post some pics when I get one done!

thanks again!
 
coloured plastic plates ? GENIUS!!! , i got everything from gold and silver to flouro pink and black , CHEERS!!!
 
All - after all the wonderful ideas, I have a blade in the works using Birdseye maple (white) veneer as the spacer, tx ebony handles and chevron mosaic spacer at the bolster. So far she's looking mighty fine! I will send pics when finished. Thanks again!
 
Jephco just introduced some .60 (yeah its thick but pretty) "warood" spacer material. Very cool stuff!
 
Hello. I have used many materials as spacers and liners. There are some great ideas here.


As far as the original question. Yes. I have used the wood veneers. These work well but often lack luster. As the end grain is normally not even visible on a thin spacer..

On a side note: I have been using G10 to make custom spacers, with good results .
 
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