glueing wood to brass

[Jim Barstow]

I need a decorative large (2") "wing nut" to allow the user to lock down a joint that can swivel. I've designed one with a brass core for strength and cherry "scales" like what is done for knives. I've attached a sketchup image of the design. (It shows only 1 scale attached.) I've milled one brass core and now need to experiment with the scales.

There are holes drilled through the brass core that I originally thought I'd use for Corby rivets but now I'm wondering if I need to use rivets. It seems to me that epoxy would fill the holes and act to lock the 2 sides scales together. Does this seem reasonable? Does epoxy actually work well for bonding brass to wood in the first place?

330901

[Ronald Blue]

Many use epoxy to glue brass tubes in wood pen blanks including myself. It should be more then adequate. Rough the surface of the brass up to allow better bonding and to remove the patina with sandpaper.

[Lee Schierer]

My experience with the type of insert you are proposing has been that they pull out when you tighten them. A dowel nut would be better as it would be perpendicular to the force being applied by tightening and much less likely to pull loose.

[Stan Calow]

I like this website thistothat.com for advice on what glue to use for gluing different things together.

[Jim Barstow]

There will be 2 of these on either side of the pivoting joint so the force will be be eating against each other. (The whole in the center is treated for a brass rod.)

thought about out using threaded inserts, fancy tnuts, and the like. They would require much thicker members and would ruin the delicate look I'm going for. I'm trying to make the "wing nuts" as much of a feature as the rest of the structure