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Per the title; can anyone recommend me an adhesive type/brand and any preperation required for sticking horn & bone together (water buffalo horn & camel bone to be precise)?
I have a couple of blades I want to give the 'black tie' look so would appreciate any advice on sticking these two materials together.
Try the Poly Glues (gorrilla Glue) for laminate type work on Ivory and Bone I find them better than the CAs and epoxys.
You will probably be going to roughen the surfaces to be joined and thoroughly degrease them as you have got this far, so I won't go into that.
Glutine glue has been used for ages for these types of natural material, but unfortunately it is not waterproof. An epoxy-type glue works well, as do some super-glues and Resorcinol glue. Success really depends on good pretreatment of the surfaces. Traditionally, though, rivets are often used in conjunction with a thin shim liner - this helps overcome some of the stress that the natural material is subject to at the bond.
Regards,
Neil
polyurethane glue, like gorilla glue, or a slow setting epoxy will do the job. Both pieces need to be perfectly flat. Sand the sides to be glued with some 220 grit sandpaper in an orbital sander to score the two pieces. This will give the adhesive a surface to lock into, then glue them together. You will want to put the pieces between two flat boards and clamp the boards together as tight as you can to clamp the laminate together. I have gone as far as putting pieces between a couple wax paper lined boards (you will get squeeze out so line them or you will glue your scales to the clamping boards) and parking the front tire of my truck on top of the boards.
If you use polyurethane glue, a little bit of water to moisten the two pieces to be glued will help with the bonding. Polyurethane glue likes water, just don't over do it.
cannonfodder already touched on this but if you use polyurethane glue be prepared not only for squeeze-out as you would with any adhesive that is being tightly clamped, but also for extra squeeze-out due to the glue's expansion as it cures. If you use too much, it can get messy. And as it's a tough strong glue, it can be a pain to clean up if it sets where you don't want it setting! I once made a hell of a mess with it while repairing a wooden chair. :)
+1 on the water/poly tip too.
All good info.I like the polys because they are reletivly slow in curing,say overnight.
When your working with natural materials such as Bone,Ivory, wood,horn, these Materials are somewhat porous to a point.
The fast cure epoxys and CAs do not work well as they cure to fast and have no time to make a bond deep into the cell structure of natural materials.
You will get a bond with the fast stuff,but it will be a brittle bond,and it will break with any shock,be it thermal or mechanical,JME.