as i set out to make micarta...

L

L.K.Smithy

Joined
May 22, 2007
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273
i have a couple questions.
as i understand it it is made with fabric and fiberglass resin. my dad taught me to make fiberglass with plain old epoxy; how would this compare to the fiberglass resin from the hardware store.

this said, whats the difference in fiberglass and micarta?

im gonna use some old denim jeans. im also looking for some new and old canvas. What about paper, is that what black paper micarta is made from? (Duh?) any other ideas?

any pointers welcome. thanks!!! :D
 
What you are making is often called "MYCARTA" . Micarta is a registered trade name for a phenolic resin and fabric material. Calling resin and cloth 'micarta' is misleading and somewhat deceptive.

Think about it this way, If you made knives with deer horn handles, would you feel right about calling them "BUCK KNIVES".
Stacy
 
i have been using the "mycarta "tag for the epoxy fabric handles i make for myself
when i get to the point that im set in the way i make it and the epoxy i use i will need to come up with somethign different to sell it under. right now its more of a few scale sets here and there realy for people to test not so much to make $$ on
 
Don't use fiberglass resin unless you already have some and you're doing it as a trial. Fiberglass resin will yellow with age. Instead, use a good long set epoxy with a UV stabilizer.
 
lukus said:
Don't use fiberglass resin unless you already have some and you're doing it as a trial. Fiberglass resin will yellow with age. Instead, use a good long set epoxy with a UV stabilizer.
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I've used West Marine epoxy, and it comes out cheaper just to buy mikarta by a long shot. Very frustrating really.
 
sounds good. i will be making MYcarta. ill be making it for my own use anyway, and i have loads of epoxy so im gonna have fun with it. thanks allot everyone!:D
 
lukus said:
Don't use fiberglass resin unless you already have some and you're doing it as a trial. Fiberglass resin will yellow with age. Instead, use a good long set epoxy with a UV stabilizer.
Click to expand...

when you come by that old yellowed out white westinghouse micarta you just let me know and i ll have you ship it to me so i ca burn it :D

the white and the rag are some of the hardest to get ahold of if i hear right
 
LK.
The resin traditionally used with fibreglass in applications such as boats was generally polyester, which is what you will most likely get from most hardware shops. (avoid it) It is still widely used, but is rapidly being replaced by epoxy due to it having a better tendency to resist water and being more stable and resistant to UV, salt etc. (your dad's right on the money)

Fibreglass is just that... a glass fibre matrix set in resin. Generic micarta (mycarta as named by others) is generally any type of fabric set in resin.

You could also try paper or any other fibrous material. Formica/Arborite (kitchen countertops), after all is just paper (pulp fibre) in resin (melamine)

For most applications you want to have as high a volume of fibre in relation to resin as possible. You could experiment with vacuum forming with your vacuume cleaner and a packet!.

Have fun experimenting! Show us how it turns out

Lang

PS. Another really cool thing to try would be woven carbon fibre, if you know someone with small scraps for you.
 
I've made a couple bits of this stuff now and I've used both boat builder's epoxy and fiberglass resin. As has already been mentioned, the fiberglass resin will yellow almost immediately, the lighter your cloth, the easier it is to see. The boat builder's epoxy seems to be lighter, but it also has "blushing", so you want to look carefully for it. Regular old epoxy will definitely yellow with time. Go with something that is made to be exposed to elements.

For what it's worth, I like the way the Bondo works better than the boat builder's epoxy, imho it seems to get denser or harder and somehow manages to penetrate better. This goes against what I expected to happen with the thinner epoxy. That being said, I think the boat builder's epoxy will look better and possibly last longer in most applications. It is not cheaper than buying materials in most cases, it's just that you can get some unique patterns and colours.
 
bladsmth said:
What you are making is often called "MYCARTA" . Micarta is a registered trade name for a phenolic resin and fabric material. Calling resin and cloth 'micarta' is misleading and somewhat deceptive.

Think about it this way, If you made knives with deer horn handles, would you feel right about calling them "BUCK KNIVES".
Stacy
Click to expand...

Stacy I'm going to your chops on this one :D deer don't have horns,,:eek: they have antlers hehehe
bulls, cows and Bufalow have horns to mention a few ;) OH and cars :D

Ariel Salavererria had a great Toot on his sort of micarta but I see the link is dead, I'll have to see what happen to him??
 
Antler - horn whats the difference. Are we going to let a little keratin come between friends. Sounds like a Gray area to me.
Consider this,.... Do deer get 'horny', or 'antlery'?........ I rest my case.

Stacy

I was mostly pointing out that micarta is a somewhat different material.
 
can you make mycarta in a vise? could you use wood veneer? thanks.

edit: Oh yeah and I figure that 100% cotton "resume" paper would be best for paper mycarta?
 
bladsmth said:
Antler - horn whats the difference. Are we going to let a little keratin come between friends. Sounds like a Gray area to me.
Consider this,.... Do deer get 'horny', or 'antlery'?........ I rest my case.

Stacy

I was mostly pointing out that micarta is a somewhat different material.
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keratin and calcium :D
oh it makes a world of difference, you see, deer get Horny towards the rear and antlery' towards the front
a bull gets horny at both ends :eek:
hey Now that's a GrEy area, this Gray is not getting in between them any of them :eek: :D

Keith
paper
it all depends on the effect you want, with differant papers you'll have differant layering visible,
how I'd do it
soak the material real will, get as much air out as best you can and compress , I'd build a disposable wood box line with polyurethane, and make a wood piston to compress it all with a hand press.
 
Dan Gray said:
how I'd do it
soak the material real will, get as much air out as best you can and compress , I'd build a disposable wood box line with polyurethane, and make a wood piston to compress it all with a hand press.
Click to expand...

thats how i doo it in my HF 12 ton press
just make large blocks then cut them to size on the bandsaw
 
butcher_block said:
when you come by that old yellowed out white westinghouse micarta you just let me know and i ll have you ship it to me so i ca burn it :D

the white and the rag are some of the hardest to get ahold of if i hear right
Click to expand...

Is the rag the same stuff that used to be called camo by some? If it is, I've got 3 or 4 sets that's been sitting in my handle material drawer for 20 yrs. I used it once and decided I didn't really like it. I might even have some old white. Maybe I just need to clean some stuff out and sell it off to make some room.

I remember when the black canvas and the green canvas was rarer than hens teeth. Bought a bunch of it from Tom Merringer (sp?) the sword guy.
 
i would love to see the rag if you have it cause the stuff im making is to get as close to "rag" as possible
 
butcher_block said:
thats how i doo it in my HF 12 ton press
just make large blocks then cut them to size on the bandsaw
Click to expand...

How much pressure do you apply? I guess that is a loaded question considering you have no pressure gauge, so I'll put it another way. A few quick pumps to squeeze some of the resin out, or do you hang your body weight off of the handle? I have the same press, and I'd like to experiment with homebrew mycarta too.

BB
 
you kind of have ot play with it. thats why i can tell some one jsut how i do it but still they must figger for alot of loss till they get it right. i still have some blocks that dont come out right

start in small batches and scale the amount of fabric yardage and epoxy to weight then scale up

rememeber 60/40 cotton polly usess way less epoxy then bluejeans or canvas
can you guesss how i found that out? :)
 
have you ever trying to find purple Micarta? good luck :D
this is a design a lady did herself for her hubby for their 25th W/A and she wanted purple spacers :eek::)
so I got some construction paper from a craft store that came close and there you have it. I used epoxy. it didn't come out to bad for a girly design aye :D
L-look.JPG


BTW, way you don't need a lot of presure.. :)
 
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