Need help

[grussingcustomknives]

Hey i recently joined im a knife maker and hopefully soon to be pen maker! So ive been trying to make knife scaleswith alumilite clear with aluminum honey comb in it and it always snaps and falls apart why is this

 

[Skie_M]

Because the alumilite is not actually bonded to the aluminum, and the aluminum is not all 1-piece design and cast in a single part.

You can glue the parts back on that snapped off, but that won't fix the underlying issue ... the aluminum honeycomb is dividing the alumilite into discrete blocks that have no support other than the aluminum, which isn't a solid piece.

You can try reinforcing the aluminum by cutting it thinner, and sandwiching 2 layers with aluminum with a single solid layer of alumilite in between... or you could go with a more solid piece of aluminum to hold the design together... The sandwiching method should prove more economical and easy to do. Keep the 2 layers of aluminum honeycomb from touching by adding spacer blocks in between while casting.

 

[jttheclockman]

Welcome to the site.



I say you would have more success with a poly resin such as silmar 41 or an epoxy resin such as

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f43/epoxy-resin-question-136719/


I would also add that you may want to soak that in some acetone before casting also. It probably has oil residue on it. I have some of that and mine does.

 

[grussingcustomknives]

Because the alumilite is not actually bonded to the aluminum, and the aluminum is not all 1-piece design and cast in a single part.

You can glue the parts back on that snapped off, but that won't fix the underlying issue ... the aluminum honeycomb is dividing the alumilite into discrete blocks that have no support other than the aluminum, which isn't a solid piece.

You can try reinforcing the aluminum by cutting it thinner, and sandwiching 2 layers with aluminum with a single solid layer of alumilite in between... or you could go with a more solid piece of aluminum to hold the design together... The sandwiching method should prove more economical and easy to do. Keep the 2 layers of aluminum honeycomb from touching by adding spacer blocks in between while casting.

Would it fix it if i epoxy liners on it

 

[MesquiteMan]

Alumilite Clear will work fine for this application and has been used a lot. Material prep is going to be key as mentioned. Clean well in acetone before casting.