Need advice on cleaning up Vine pattern on Spine

[MarkF]

Need some tips/advice on how to clean up the epoxy on handle when using a vine pattern on spine. Can't seem to do it without damaging the wood. Did not want to use acetone for fear of weakening epoxy.

My thought is to use thin a steel spacer between handle and spine, then I could use a hard plastic or brass tool to clean it up and it would probably look cleaner too.

What would be best way to apply the spacer:

1. bolt to blade for grinding/polishing then epoxy it in place at same time as handle
2. solder spacer to blade
3. epoxy with handle and then grind/polish

Thanks

Mark

 

[Akritz]

Mark,
Since the hardened epoxy is going to be harder than the wood and bonded to the wood your going to have a tough time trying to remove it without damaging the wood. Might be better to fill at this point. You can get dyes for epoxy to make it just about any color you want. Going forward, if you want it clean you need to do it before the epoxy cures, in this case a longer cure time will give you time to clean it up.

Hope this helps.

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

This is one of those issues that you have to think about "out of sequence". While it won't help on this one, in the future, take the slabs down to the tang, and false pin them in place. Then use a Qtip and apply Vaseline to the file work BEFORE gluing on the slabs. Then, once the epoxy is cured, use the following method:

It's going to require a lot of time and effort, but the best thing you can do for this one is to take a 3/32" brass rod/pin, put a sharp point on it, and "dig" the cured epoxy out. I say brass because it's softer then the steel, and will not scratch.