Can I thin epoxy

[davek]

Can I thin epoxy and still keep its strength? What do I thin it with?

Here's what I need. I pick up old kitchen (and occasionally other type) knives at
yard sales. I only get the old carbon steel knives. These are better than new,
expensive chefs knives (as in any old tool). Often - usually, the handles are cracked.
I need a glue which will be strong, and also be able to be squirted into the cracks
with a syringe without much exess. Then, a little wood dust and sanding, followed by
staining and tung oil, and I have a great knife. I am now using super glue and want
something less brittle and more of a filler. If I could thin epoxy and still keep the strength
it would be optimal. Or any other ideas?

[Tiffers]

You can warm epoxy in order to pour it. I dont know whether it would stay runny long enough for you to pour it into a syringe then squirt it into the cracks. Might be worth trying?

Tiffers

[ZDP-189]

Yup, warm epoxy. Choose a slow setting type that's not too viscous.

[Colin KC]

you can thin the 24hr epoxy by warming (but the 5min will go off far too soon)

[TLM]

Most epoxies can be thinned with methylethylketone or acetone, both also slow down the hardening reaction. The down side is that the result is slightly more porous than without thinning.

TLM

[Stuart Ackerman]

One third acetone mixed into just mixed epoxy ( 24 hour ), which obviously has not gor hard....
If any bubbles are visible with 10X magnification, fill bubbles with superglue..

[Lord Farquhar]

I stand my tubes in a cup of hot water.
I hate it in the winter trying to mix thick epoxy in the cold. I used to keep it in my pocket but then they leaked.

[MattW]

Buy a boat building epoxy (SP Systems, or West are a couple of manufacturers).
They do several different grades, but what they generally have in common are that they are very 'thin' to start with - you add colloidal silica or other bulking agents (depending on the job in hand) in order to bring them to the required viscosity.
Some grades are designed especially for coating and wood impregnation, so are very thin indeed.
Most boatbuilding suppliers (and larger chandlers) stock a range of epoxies.
hth
Matt
(been doing boaty stuff for some time now :) )
PS. Common sense, but worth saying anyway - always use gloves (and ideally a respirator) when handling epoxy - it is frighteningly easy to become sensitized to epoxies, which can lead to complete intolerance (of even the fumes). Boatbuilders have had their careers ended by this.

[Dave Budd]

could just try thin CA from axminsters

Or Chair Doctor - glue for squirting into chair joints with a syringe.