homemade mosaic pins

[Bodork]

I had alot of people ask how I made the mosaic pins in the last knife I posted so I decided to give my 'secrets' on this thread.
 I'll be honest here. the reason I tried them myself was cost. I was going to have to pay $25.00 plus $8.00 shipping for ready made 12" pins. Granted, they look better than the ones I made, but mine aren't THAT bad!
 I went to Hobby Lobby and in the section by the model cars they sell small sheet brass. I have used it for spacers in knife handles. They also have a whole lot of brass tubing and rods in various sizes. They even had a star shaped tube! I grabbed a package of each and brought it all home.
 
 Then I started putting the smaller rods and tubes into the larger ones. The star fit pretty good into my biggest tube. I wish it fit a LITTLE tighter so it would stay centered but it's not that bad.
 
 Then all I did was cut the star piece and a round piece about 1-1/4" long. I put epoxy all over the star, shoved it into the tube and forced epoxy all through it.
 
 I could have put this smaller tube into the star but I'll try that later.
 
 I have enough tubing to make 4-12" pieces. I will try different configurations of tube and rod until something fits and looks good from the end. Next time I buy stuff, I'll know what works with what.
 The most expensive tubing was the star. 2-12" pieces for $7.00. I spent $30.00 for everything.
 I have read that you can add india ink to the epoxy to make it black. I've also seen red. You can use copper wire, paper clips, etc. to fill the tubing. They also had aluminum. They didn't have the square tubing though.
 Good luck, Mike

[Leftieshot]

Good job Bodork, thanks for the info!

[MYSTIKBOW]

Thanks Mike. That does look pretty simple now that you show it that way. What is the dia. of the pin?

[imskippy]

very useful info thanks mike. Skippy

[bailebr3]

yes! very useful and pretty simple. i'll be trying this out soon.

thanks mike

[Kevin Evans]

Thanks, Thats my style also!!!

[B M A]

Bodork- nice work.  Thanks for the tutorial. The mosaic pins in you latest knife look great, so does the knife.  
Brock

[OconeeDan]

Hobby Lobby also sells a "junk bag" of rods/tubes, I have bought them and you get enough in them to make several pieces.
I use a "Mighty Vac" handheld vacuum pump, sold for automotive purposes such as bleeding brakes and testing vacuum devices.
Connect a clear tube from the vacuum pump to the mosaic pin tube you have already assembled.  
Then connect a short clear plastic tube to the other open end of the mosaic pin (like fish tank tubing).
Mix your 5 min epoxy in a little paper cup, add colorant.  
then you stick the free end of the plastic tube in the epoxy, give the vacuum pump a squeeze or two, and wait.  It will suck the epoxy in like a straw.
No need to keep pumping if there is a vacuum.
Wait until the epoxy emerges out the other end of the mosaic pin, then release the vacuum so you don't suck it into your vacuum pump.
Works great and very few air bubbles.
There are several brands/sizes of vacuum pumps, I use the Mity Vac brand and it is aluminum.  but cheaper ones are available.
You may can use an electric one but you have less control.  Like from a food saver.
Tried it first using my mouth and sucked like a straw.  Do yourself a favor, don't try it.  You can't come close to enough sucking power for it to work.  Well, maybe some of you can!  :p  
Dan

[skullworks]

Great ideas all around! Thanks guys! Dan...that was just wrong! LOL!

[just a bit outside]

Dan, you suck so bad.

[Bodork]

Hey Dan, maybe you can tell us what you use for the colorant. What mixes with the epoxy?

[OconeeDan]

Sorry about that last jab!
I have some colorant for laquer based paints that I use for one of my other jobs (bath repair), so that is not of much help.  
I THINK that tint is tint.  Do a search and you may find a source.  I bought mine from one of my suppliers,  www.integritycoatings.com,  ...it seems like a tint kit is about 150 bucks or so.
You would be much cheaper off by using tints from Jantz or another knife supply company, a little goes a long way.
Dan

[skullworks]

I have used India ink to make epoxy black or brown. Doesn't seem to effect the holding power.