Knife Handle Aluminum Dust Contamination

[Erwincm]

Hi guys. I'm a bowyer considering laminating a thin accent strip of soft aluminum between two different woods in a bow handle. I figured someone here has tried this before in a knife handle construction. I built a small test sample and found that the aluminum dust produced from sandpaper 400 grit and above wedges itself into the grain of the adjacent woods and produces a gray discoloration of the otherwise beautiful woods. Does anyone know of a trick to prevent this from happening? Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Sincerely,
Charles Erwin
Madison, AL

[bjansen]

Try to seal the wood material  after your sanding at a lower grit (a sealer such as super glue, high solids vynl sealer (my favorite on bows), or even shellac should work), then proceed to sand to your finer grits.  The sealer will simply seal up the pores thus the contaminate cannot "get in".....of course if you sand too deep, you need to re-apply a sealer.  

Also, a stiff backer material behind your sandpaper will make sure the hard aluminum, and softer wood surfaces stay flush with each other.

[Erwincm]

Can you recommend a high solids vinyl sealer product? Is it a clear product? I plan to finish the bow with T-bird clear epoxy. Would the vinyl sealer underneath be compatible?

[bjansen]

I get my high solids vinyl sealer from thunderbird. It is clear and sands like a dream come true. Just ask them for it, they have it and it is compatible. I use it on every bow I make now.

[Erwincm]

Excellent! I'll order some tomorrow. Thanks Brad...