# Wa handle glueing



## 83kamaleon (Feb 23, 2019)

I usually use a few drops of super glue to temporarily mount my handles to avoid the heat of the grinder to degrade the epoxy,then when I'm almost finished I dismantle the bolster with a side pressure and use epoxy and finish the handle by hand sanding.I was thinking about using simply super glue until the end and use the epoxy just for the tang,what do you think? I'm worried the joint could be weaker like this


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## Matus (Feb 23, 2019)

I glue the handle together with epoxy, shape and finish it and only then glue it onto the tang. I only had problems with metal spacers (nickel silver to be exact) which would delaminated even without heat (seems like G/flex does not eant to stick to it), so until I will have a better solution I will stop using that metal.


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## Dave Martell (Feb 23, 2019)

I've never (intentionally) used just CA glue on spacers however I have had handles fall apart during shaping where I went to CA glue to save the day. It sure does take heat a lot better than epoxy does. On those occasions I didn't disassemble the handle and re-epoxy, I simply installed the handle filling it with epoxy and no one but me is the wiser for having done so.


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## Tim Rowland (Feb 23, 2019)

I always fully assemble and glue up prior to shaping.
As mentioned above by more talented and experienced handle makers than myself never use CA glue exclusively.
Permanent fixing of handle to tang always use a quality epoxy like G-Flex. I might also suggest using their black epoxy dye if your ferrule is a darker wood or synthetic as it will help "hide" any small imperfections in your tang slot.
For glue up of the handle pieces it depends on handle materials what gets used.
If only wood to wood or if only using phenolic spacers Titebond III is excellent and has plenty of strength.
If using g-10, acrylics, bone, micarta, reconstituted stone, or metals always use a quality 2 part epoxy again like G-Flex.
Exception to that rule as Matus pointed out is Nickel Silver........because F#*@ that stuff bonding with anything short of an industrial liquid solder that you can only buy by the gallon. You are better off using stainless steel or pay up for sterling silver.
Also I should say that Acetone is your best friend, make sure everything is clean for a proper bond.
With that said always, always, always drill the holes in your metal spacers before stacking! Yes you can pin it to help with alignment if you heat it up to much while shaping and have to re-epoxy.....we have all done that more than once.

I guess one major question as to give any better advice would be what tools do you have at your disposal?


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## RDalman (Feb 24, 2019)

I like to reduce my use of epoxy and ca. I make wa handles with one piece of wood and put the horn/antler on that, glue those together with regular wood glue/white glue, then I install the handle with a little melt glue.


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## inferno (Feb 24, 2019)

I do everything with 12-24h epoxy. I don't like CA. To glue metals you have to rough up the surface, should never be polished imo. 

Use gloves and don't get glue on you. Epoxys are not healthy.


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## 83kamaleon (Feb 25, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> I've never (intentionally) used just CA glue on spacers however I have had handles fall apart during shaping where I went to CA glue to save the day. It sure does take heat a lot better than epoxy does. On those occasions I didn't disassemble the handle and re-epoxy, I simply installed the handle filling it with epoxy and no one but me is the wiser for having done so.


That's what I wanted to do intentionally...so it works


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## 83kamaleon (Feb 25, 2019)

Tim Rowland said:


> I guess one major question as to give any better advice would be what tools do you have at your disposal?


I do my handles on a disk grinder and finish them by hand


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## Bert2368 (Feb 25, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> I've never (intentionally) used just CA glue on spacers however I have had handles fall apart during shaping where I went to CA glue to save the day. It sure does take heat a lot better than epoxy does. On those occasions I didn't disassemble the handle and re-epoxy, I simply installed the handle filling it with epoxy and no one but me is the wiser for having done so.




If your epoxy is not holding due to heat, try JB Weld. You won't have to dye it for use with dark materials, it cures to a dark grey/black color. 

I use JB Weld to keep wooden handles of bullet moulds from coming loose. It is rated for tempsratures up to 550 F.

https://www.jbweld.com/collections/automotive/products/j-b-weld-twin-tube


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## Tim Rowland (Feb 26, 2019)

83kamaleon said:


> I do my handles on a disk grinder and finish them by hand



Depending on the disk grinder that could be why you are having trouble with epoxy heating up. Is it connected to a VFD? When I am mechanically sanding either on a belt or disc sander I keep the rpms below 1200 to reduce any unnecessary heat up of the piece. If you don't have a direct drive disc sander with VFD and you want to slow it down you can always try the handyman special way by getting yourself a speed controller for routers and try it. It is a type of a dimmer circuit made for inductive loads. They are not very expensive and should do the tick. But how well it will work depends on what type of a motor is in that sander. I think Rockler has them on sale right now for like $40. https://www.rockler.com/router-speed-control


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