Thread: Carbon Fiber how-to?

OK, so I'm still very green. I have had a wade and butcher ebay waiting patiently for sometime and I think I will attempt to restore it soon. The blade will be sanded polished honed but I am wondering about the scales. I want to do carbon fiber but I wanted to know a few things about the qualities of carbon fiber. I dont know how heavy it is and so I wonder which thickness do I want? .125 inch or thicker? I have a dremel and I am going to be using a carbide cutter I think, or anyway, amazon DIYers seem to think it cuts plastics well. I was wondering if I need to seal carbon fiber after I cut it? Will the fibers unravel or will they be burned/melted from the cutter friction (the cutter has carbide on the side to shape/sand while it cuts) or will I need to seal with epoxy? I read that Dan Floppyshoes recommended polyurethane spray to bring a shine on G10 and since carbon fiber is somewhat similar, I imagine that I will need something like that? Also, I understand that the dust is non-biodegradable and I wonder what the cheapest mask I can get away using is...not to endanger myself but merely to save money. Is a regular white papery mask from the hadrware store fine enough to stop injestion?
Finally, for drilling the holes, can someone tell me a size of the bit I'll need to cut the appropriate hole? I understand that the tubing is 1/16th inch but where do I go for such a fine tip? Dremel compatible?

Sorry, I have no power tools aside from the dremel and I dont really want to hand cut, I'd rather spend the time sanding the edges and just cut out a basic outline with a dremel.

Any help appreciated. Sorry for all the questions.
-Alex

I think Philidelph might be the guy you want to talk to on this topic.

i have some CF that i have not yet started to try out but seeing how i wouldn't grind G10 or even most the woos i have on hand with out a true respirator. little paper mask is for looks
if you can smell what your working on your getting it in your lungs

also i have been told to put on long sleeves and gloves taping them together master smith advice to me "working CF is like rolling around in fiberglass just more itch to it " also tolsd me to clean up the whole shop as it floats around alot when grinding. this same man has worked with a pile of G10 and never had much problem