Gluing steel and Lignum Vitae

[Dave Beauchesne]

Greetings:

I am looking to build a hand chamfering tool for a gift for a machinist friend who is retiring. The tool is a turned handle with a corresponding hole for the 82* tool steel bit. Simple and viola! - a useful hand tool.

Will epoxy with an acetone wash of the Lignum V work?? I have made several others of the same design and score up the shaft of the chamfering bit before gluing with good results, but I have never glued Lignum V before.

Input appreciated and thanks. Dave B

[John Coloccia]

Having glued lots of oily wood, my thoughts have changed on this over the years. Forget about the acetone...it just smears the oil around. You either want a freshly planed surface, which you won't get, or a mechanical bond. In this case, I vote for a mechanical bond. Drill some small holes in the tang. You don't even have to go all the way through. Just drill some dimples in the tang, and if you can, poke some dimples in the wood with a sharp probe of some kind....as many and as deep as you can.

That would be how I personally approached this. I'm sure there are other great ideas for making this work.

edit: I should mention that after doing this, you then glue it with epoxy. The dimples you're making allows the glue to mechanically pin the handle in place.

[Chris Fournier]

Personally I would rough up the metal and use polyurethane glue.

[Winton Applegate]

Before I knew anything about it I used to wear a T shirt that , for some stupid reason, I bought at the state fair. It said "candy is dandy but sex won't rot your teeth".
Epoxy is dandy but
A nice brass pin pressed through a hole in the shaft and a hole in the handle won't rot your teeth.
Yes I am for both but especially that pin.

[Steve Voigt]

Drilling and pressing a pin through the shaft is the best solution if the shaft is unhardened, but if it's hardened, forget it. In that case, john's solution is best...you should be able to dimple even hardened steel, though you may kill a couple drill bits.
There have been a couple published tests showing that on woods like L.V. or cocobolo, epoxy wasnt as good as titebond III, and polyurethane was significantly less effective than either.

[Phil Thien]

Personally I would rough up the metal and use polyurethane glue.

^^^^^ This.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've had good luck with the approach Gramercy used in their turning saw kit - the rod has some grooves milled around it for the mechanical interlock.

I would defer to pretty much anyone else over me here, just sharing my data point.

[ray hampton]

grinding small notches in the tang may be easier than drilling and cutting the hole in the handle bigger at the bottom will give the glue a hold

[Dave Beauchesne]

Drilling and pressing a pin through the shaft is the best solution if the shaft is unhardened, but if it's hardened, forget it. In that case, john's solution is best...you should be able to dimple even hardened steel, though you may kill a couple drill bits.
There have been a couple published tests showing that on woods like L.V. or cocobolo, epoxy wasnt as good as titebond III, and polyurethane was significantly less effective than either.

Steve et al: The shank of the tool is hardened, so a pin is not really an option - as well, there won't be a lot of torque on it considering what it is used for. As in past models I have built, I put numerous angled grooves with a zip disc all around the shank, in this case I will score the inside of the hole with some grooves and ensure there is a bunch of epoxy slathered everywhere - I loathe poly glue and don't own any at this time - Thanks for the input fellas!! P.S. - none of the other ones I have made, including African Blackwood, Pau Ferro, Cocobolo, etc. etc. have failed yet, I just have never turned Lignum, or even used Lignum - better to ask the question, and possibly learn something at the same time.